Vindication!!!

True story, but the names have been changed to protect the innocent and guilty.

An early 90s eighth-grade classroom. The students in this Algebra 1 Honors class are all the cream of the crop of their middle school. The red-headed girl in the corner with freckles is an accomplished violinist. The Asian Boy ignoring everyone else is already trying to decide between a few Ivy League schools. In the middle of the class jotting down raps in a notebook is Cute Chocolate Boy. Cute Chocolate Boy recently transferred to this middle school, therefore, he is an unknown commodity to teachers and students. He's made a few friends, Circle Head and Lanky Indian Kid, and the girls seem to be intrigued by his newness. However, many of the teachers have yet to be swayed by his intellect and natural charm. One teacher, especially, seems to have it out for him. It's his Algebra teacher, Ms. Should Retire. Ms. Should Retire sits angrily behind her desk, peering at each of her students. Class doesn't start until she takes the ten or fifteen minutes she needs to sip the coffee that has painted her teeth the color of her soul.

On this particular day, the class has finished the lesson on factoring and everyone is just kinda doing their own thing for the last fifteen minutes of class. Cute Chocolate Boy walks over to Skinny Jewish girl and gets a piece of candy. On his way back to his seat, he notices the test that they were supposed to take at the end of the week laying peacefully on Ms. Should Retire's desk. He contemplates for a moment, but he knows he doesn't need it, so he walks away. A few minutes later, class ends and everyone leaves.

The next day, as Cute Chocolate Boy enters class, Ms. Should Retire stops him.

"Hello, Cute Chocolate Boy. I have a question for you," she hissed through her darkened teeth between sips from her thermos.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied quizzically.

"Did you see a test on my desk yesterday?"

"Naa."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes...I mean, No. Yes, I saw it on your desk when I was walking."

She leaned in really close to him, placing her heavy paw on his shoulder. He could hardly breathe through the cloud of caffeine and cigarettes.

"Do you know what happened to it?"

"No!"

He pulled away from her so he could look directly into her face and understand what she was saying.

"Well, Cute Chocolate Boy, the test was on my desk yesterday and it's not here, now. Now, I'll turn around and you can walk away. And if the test is on my desk, no one will get in trouble."

"Are you saying that I stole your test, Ms. Should Retire?" he asked with enough volume that the entire class stopped to listen. Even Asian Boy stopped working in the Calculus book he'd checked out from the library to check out the action.

"No. I didn't say that."

"Well, that's what you're insinuating," he snapped back.

Her face dropped. The classmates gasped and looked to each other for clarification.

"What?"

She didn't know that Cute Chocolate Boy had been reading the dictionary almost everyday since he was five years old.

"I didn't steal your test. I have an A in your class. Why would I steal your test?"

"You know, it is very serious offense. I'm gonna have to write you a referral."

He sucked his teeth and gave an indignant smirk. He looked around the class and started to figure out what was going on. Besides Circle Head, Cute Chocolate Boy was the only Black kid in the class. And Circle Head had been there for three years and fell in line with whatever the teachers said. Plus, the other kids had told of how Circle Head's parents came out to the school and beat him in front of the class because a teacher told them that he didn't turn in an assignment. So, everyone knew that he didn't want to face that embarrassment again.

Though he was young, Cute Chocolate Boy had read and experienced enough to make a deduction.

"You're a racist pig!" he shouted. "I'm going to the office."

As he walked to the office, he realized that he might have given away his upper hand with his last statement. But he didn't care. It was the NWA he'd been listening to and The Autobiography of Malcolm X he'd been trying to read. Even as he grew to become Handsome Chocolate Young Man and Sexy Chocolate Grown Ass Man, he would always have an issue with holding his tongue when he felt he was being wronged.

Once the office received the referral, they called Cute Chocolate Boy's mom at work. Damn! He hadn't thought about that. Once that realization crept into his mind, his head dropped into his hands. The next thing he knew, he was awakened by a slap to the back of his head.

"Get up," Mama said as she snatched his arm.

They walked into the Principal's office. Sitting at the table, chatting, were the Principal and Ms. Should Retire. She began to go on and on about how she was certain he'd stolen the test because one of her best students told her. And she lamented on how offended she was by his accusation of racism.

Mama let her speak for a while, then she put her hand up to stop the spiel. She turned to her son and looked him in his eyes.

"I'm gonna ask you one question. And you already know what I expect from you, right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Did you take that damn test?"

"No, Ma, I didn't."

Mama turned to the principal and Ms. Should retire and said, "Don't you eva call me from my job for some nonsense like this! My child is a good student. I think he has an A in your class. You didn't call me to tell me how good he's doing, but you call me because some other student told you he stole a test? You've gotta be kidding me!"

Cute Chocolate Boy smiled as his mama chided his now sworn enemy.

"Ma," he interrupted. "She embarrassed me in front of the whole class. I think she should apologize to me in front of the whole class."

Mama agreed and so did the Principal. They all walked down to the classroom. As they entered the door, all the students scattered to their desks. The teacher that was watching Ms. Should Retire's room met them half-way with a stapled stack of papers in her hand. The top page read Unit 4 Test. She said that a student found it underneath the teacher's desk.

Cute Chocolate boy smirked. Mama peered at Ms. Should Retire whose chin had dropped to the middle of her chest. The Principal shook his head then "cleared his throat".

The apology sounded like Guy's Piece of My Love or Eric B. & Rakim's I Ain't No Joke to Cute Chocolate Boy. He not-so humbly accepted her apology and aced that test. The rest of the year, however, was quite contentious. He had to nearly walk on egg shells because Ms. Should Retire was waiting for the moment to pounce on his slightest discretion. But she never got the pleasure.

Moral of the Story? I don't know. Whatever you want to take from it. I just wanted to share.