Chapter 7: The Principal Makes a Choice
He made three phone calls in the next twenty minutes.
I waited in the hallway with Letty and Millie.
A school counselor I hadn't met before brought two cups of hot chocolate from the staff room without being asked and set them on the bench between the girls without saying a word.
Letty wrapped both hands around her cup.
Millie took one careful sip and then held it like it was something she didn't want to put down.
"Are you scared?" Letty asked her.
"A little," Millie said.
"Are you?"
"Yeah."
"You don't look it."
Letty almost smiled.
"Neither do you."
Mr.
Okafor appeared in the doorway.
"Would you come back in, please."
We filed back into the office.
He remained standing.
"I've spoken with the district's student welfare coordinator and with our school counselor, Mrs.
Reyes, who will be joining us shortly.
Based on Millie's written record and her account of ongoing comments, I am opening a formal bullying investigation effective today.
Brooke Hartwell will be interviewed this afternoon.
Her parents will be notified."
He looked at me directly.
"I am also documenting that this morning's meeting was initiated based on a parent complaint that, upon review, does not constitute a policy violation by Letty.
That documentation will go into the school record."
"And the demand for a formal reprimand?" I asked.
"Withdrawn.
There is no basis for it."
Letty let out a breath.
"What about Mrs.
Hartwell?" I asked.
"Parent advisory board matters are handled separately.
That is above my authority to address directly.
But the district coordinator is aware of the timeline of this morning's events."
It wasn't everything.
But it was more than I'd expected when I'd walked through that door two hours ago.
Mrs.
Reyes arrived and took Millie gently aside to begin her own conversation.
Millie went without hesitation, her notebook tucked under her arm.
I pulled Letty into the hallway.
"How are you doing?" I asked.
She thought about it seriously, the way she always had, even as a small child.
"I'm okay.
I'm glad Millie said something.
She's been carrying that for a long time."
"She has."
"Mom." Letty looked up at me.
"Is it bad that I'm a little angry?"
"No," I said.
"It's honest."
"I just wanted to do something good." Her voice was steady but thin at the edges.
"I wasn't trying to make anyone feel anything.
I just — I knew what it felt like to watch someone lose their hair and not be able to stop it.
And I didn't want Millie to feel alone the way Dad—" She stopped.
I put my arm around her.
She leaned in.
Just for a moment.
Then she straightened back up.
I called Diane Sorrell from the parking lot.
"The school is not disciplining my daughter," I said.
"They've opened a bullying investigation against the student whose parent filed the complaint.
If you run a punishment story, it will be factually wrong."
A pause.
"That's a significant development."
"I know."
"Would you be willing to speak on camera?
Your daughter's story — the wig, the friendship, the reason she did it — that's the real story here."
I looked through the school's front window.
Letty had gone back inside and was standing in the hallway talking to Millie again.
Millie was laughing at something — a real laugh, surprised out of her.
"I'll think about it," I said.
"But not today."
I hung up and stood in the cold air for a moment.
Then my phone rang again.
A different number this time.
One I recognized immediately.
May you like
Mrs.
Hartwell.
