Page 123 of I Can't Even Think Straight

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“One last thing before I let you go.”

Mr. Ndour’s voice snaps

my attention back to him.

“I’m sorry if you’ve felt

unfairly targeted by me,” he says.

“Thank you, sir,” I say, astonished.

I’m shocked to get an apology from a teacher.

I think of Obi, who apologizes

for everything all the time,

to the point that his apologies

have lost their meaning

and sometimes feel annoying.

But Mr. Ndour’s apology

is meaningful and overdue.

“I want the best for you, Kai.

According to all your heads of years

throughout school

you’ve been a model student.

You’ve never had

so much as an official warning,

let alone a detention,

before this academic year.

I would like to put

the past few weeks behind us:

chalk them up to experience.

As I’ve said, what I’ve learned is

I need to treat each

and every student as an individual,

regardless of who

their group of friends is.

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