Chapter 22 - The Criminal CaseCameron hated court.
Long hallways.
Waiting.
Adults whispering.
Rules about when he could speak.
Mrs. Donovan ultimately accepted a plea agreement on charges related to the classroom assault.
No dramatic prison sentence.
Probation.
Community service.
Anger-management treatment.
No contact with Cameron.
Her teaching career was already over.
The judge reviewed Cameron’s victim-impact statement.
He had kept it short.
I was afraid adults would believe her because she was the teacher.
I felt humiliated when she hit me and let her son use my property.
I do not want revenge.
I want adults in schools to understand that having authority does not make their version automatically true.
The judge looked at him.
“Anything else?”
Cameron thought.
Then said:
“No.”
Mrs. Donovan turned slightly.
Their eyes met.
She looked older.
Tired.
Not terrifying.
Cameron realized something strange.
He had spent months imagining her face.
Angry.
Panicked.
Dominant.
Now she was simply a person sitting beside an attorney while a court explained conditions she had to obey.
Her power had been contextual.
A classroom.
A ruler.
A title.
A child expected to comply.
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Take those away and she became ordinary.
That might have been the bitterest ending of all for someone who had confused control with respect.
