hint?"
Rachel asked.
"Well, all I can say is that we
got the power on this one, Rache. We kids do. Not Mr. Peterson, not
even the school board. We do. We got the leverage. And if we have
to use it, we will."
"What if I don't like the plan?"
Rachel said. "It's my butt that's on the line. Do I have veto
power?"
Tabby was silent for a
moment.
"Actually, no," she said finally.
"Because this problem is bigger than just you. Jimmy made me
realize that. You're not the only kid who's getting pushed around
in this school. You might be getting pushed harder than most, but
you're not the only one. Not by a long shot.
"What Peterson said about you
being new and different and that's why kids are picking on you is
BS. Total BS. There are kids in this school getting picked on who
have lived here their whole lives. Good kids. Good kids who are so
beat down now that you hardly notice them anymore. Because they're
hiding most of the time.
"So along comes you, this girl
with an incredible, angelic voice. With a voice and a talent like
you have, you can't go unnoticed, you can't hide. So you are the
perfect poster child for what needs to be done. Jimmy says this is
an actionable moment, because the business about kids treating
other kids like shit has got to stop. And he's right."
The class bell rang, and the girls
went their separate ways.
●●●
Later the same day, after Mr.
Peterson called Phil Moore, Tabby's father, and told him of his
conversation with Tabby and Rachel; after Phil Moore called Tabby
at school; after Mr. Peterson also alerted Ed Reynolds, the
president of the Chante School Board, as to what the two girls
said; and after football practice, the six kids climbed into
Sheldon's old Ford for the ride up to the cemetery.
"OK, you got the floor, Jimmy,"
Tabby said as Sheldon pulled out of the school parking
lot.
"Well, first of all, you should
know that Sheldon, Bull, Rodney and I unanimously agreed that we
should put this plan into action. In fact, each one of them
separately said yes without me even asking them whether they would
go along with the idea.
"Second, it is our thinking, that
is, the thinking of the four guys in this car, that you should be
left out of this thing altogether, Rache. We don't want this to
become known as a plan to rescue Rachel Stark. We want to focus on
how to stop the bullies at Chante High, whether they be boys or
girls, from picking on kids that they, for whatever reason, don't
like. There is no need, Rache, for your name to ever even be
mentioned.
"OK, here's the plan. We four
guys, and just us four guys, nobody else, are going to go to the
principal's office first thing tomorrow morning and ask to see Mr.
Peterson and – and – Coach O'Connor.
"If Mrs. Wright says Peterson is
not in, or he's too busy, or for whatever reason he's not able to
meet with us, we will wait. We will skip classes and wait there all
day if we have to. Sooner or later he has to come out of his hole.
And when he does, well, we'll grab him. So to speak.
"And here's what we'll say. We'll
ask him first of all to call Coach O'Connor into the office. Then,
when the coach is there, we'll tell them we think there is a
serious problem with bullies at Chante High. And we, all of us,
have some examples of that we can talk about.
"Then we'll ask, in a very
non-threatening manner, if he will take action to correct that
situation. If he says there is nothing he can do, we'll say yes
there is.
"We'll say Mr. Peterson, first of
all, you have a bully pulpit. Perfect name for it, huh? What we
suggest you do, Mr. Peterson, is call a special assembly to talk
about the bullying problem. Give examples that have been brought to
your attention, without using names, of course. And tell the kids
that such behavior will no longer be tolerated.
"Then second, announce that a
special committee will be formed to deal with the problem. This
committee will consist exclusively of students – 8, 10, 12 –
however many. And they will be
Rachel asked.
"Well, all I can say is that we
got the power on this one, Rache. We kids do. Not Mr. Peterson, not
even the school board. We do. We got the leverage. And if we have
to use it, we will."
"What if I don't like the plan?"
Rachel said. "It's my butt that's on the line. Do I have veto
power?"
Tabby was silent for a
moment.
"Actually, no," she said finally.
"Because this problem is bigger than just you. Jimmy made me
realize that. You're not the only kid who's getting pushed around
in this school. You might be getting pushed harder than most, but
you're not the only one. Not by a long shot.
"What Peterson said about you
being new and different and that's why kids are picking on you is
BS. Total BS. There are kids in this school getting picked on who
have lived here their whole lives. Good kids. Good kids who are so
beat down now that you hardly notice them anymore. Because they're
hiding most of the time.
"So along comes you, this girl
with an incredible, angelic voice. With a voice and a talent like
you have, you can't go unnoticed, you can't hide. So you are the
perfect poster child for what needs to be done. Jimmy says this is
an actionable moment, because the business about kids treating
other kids like shit has got to stop. And he's right."
The class bell rang, and the girls
went their separate ways.
●●●
Later the same day, after Mr.
Peterson called Phil Moore, Tabby's father, and told him of his
conversation with Tabby and Rachel; after Phil Moore called Tabby
at school; after Mr. Peterson also alerted Ed Reynolds, the
president of the Chante School Board, as to what the two girls
said; and after football practice, the six kids climbed into
Sheldon's old Ford for the ride up to the cemetery.
"OK, you got the floor, Jimmy,"
Tabby said as Sheldon pulled out of the school parking
lot.
"Well, first of all, you should
know that Sheldon, Bull, Rodney and I unanimously agreed that we
should put this plan into action. In fact, each one of them
separately said yes without me even asking them whether they would
go along with the idea.
"Second, it is our thinking, that
is, the thinking of the four guys in this car, that you should be
left out of this thing altogether, Rache. We don't want this to
become known as a plan to rescue Rachel Stark. We want to focus on
how to stop the bullies at Chante High, whether they be boys or
girls, from picking on kids that they, for whatever reason, don't
like. There is no need, Rache, for your name to ever even be
mentioned.
"OK, here's the plan. We four
guys, and just us four guys, nobody else, are going to go to the
principal's office first thing tomorrow morning and ask to see Mr.
Peterson and – and – Coach O'Connor.
"If Mrs. Wright says Peterson is
not in, or he's too busy, or for whatever reason he's not able to
meet with us, we will wait. We will skip classes and wait there all
day if we have to. Sooner or later he has to come out of his hole.
And when he does, well, we'll grab him. So to speak.
"And here's what we'll say. We'll
ask him first of all to call Coach O'Connor into the office. Then,
when the coach is there, we'll tell them we think there is a
serious problem with bullies at Chante High. And we, all of us,
have some examples of that we can talk about.
"Then we'll ask, in a very
non-threatening manner, if he will take action to correct that
situation. If he says there is nothing he can do, we'll say yes
there is.
"We'll say Mr. Peterson, first of
all, you have a bully pulpit. Perfect name for it, huh? What we
suggest you do, Mr. Peterson, is call a special assembly to talk
about the bullying problem. Give examples that have been brought to
your attention, without using names, of course. And tell the kids
that such behavior will no longer be tolerated.
"Then second, announce that a
special committee will be formed to deal with the problem. This
committee will consist exclusively of students – 8, 10, 12 –
however many. And they will be
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