Payback Time
In high school, our AP Economics teacher was also one of the sponsors for our senior class. One morning, she started her class with “the importance of being responsible”. She told the story of a senior girl who claimed to have paid her senior dues due that day but could not show a receipt. Therefore, she was not allowed to attend prom that week.
The teacher verbally lambasted this girl’s character, calling her a liar and telling us that her tears wouldn’t change the situation. Meanwhile, she never admitted fault for her record-keeping, nor did she give the student any benefit of the doubt. When I found out who the girl was, I went ballistic. She was a friend of mine who worked to take care of her family because they didn’t have much money.
Unlike what the teacher said, she was one of the most responsible people in our class! There was NO possible way that she didn’t pay her dues. Down the hall, I could feel my friend’s tears, knowing she had saved enough to buy her dress the previous weekend and had finalized her plans. Our classroom rallied behind me, pleading with our teacher to give her a break, even if it was her fault.
But the teacher was relentless and said, “Sorry, rules are rules. I can’t just let anyone who claimed to pay their dues waltz into prom, now can I”? I got angry as the argument continued for a few minutes, and our teacher became jovial in her steadfastness. Just when I was about to say something that would jeopardize my own graduation, I realized that weeks before, I had put my checkbook in my bookbag to pay for my dues!
I dug into my bookbag, found it, and wrote a check for the amount. It wasn’t much, and I had been working a lot to save for my car. While the rest of the class carried on with the argument, I stood up and walked to the teacher’s desk. She became angry and said. “You need to get back to your seat, or I will write you up for insubordination”! I said loudly, “Here, this should cover it”.
The room went silent. I stood firm, although my voice began to quake. I told her, “I am not leaving until you accept this check and I receive my receipt. This girl deserves to go to prom like everyone else, and I will NOT stand idly by and watch this happen to one of my friends”. She looked at me and back at the check.
With fury, she took out her book and wrote my receipt while saying snidely, “Well, I applaud you for your heroism, but she won’t always have someone to bail her out when the time comes”. I responded, “She will as long as she is my friend”. With that, I took the receipt back to my desk. I wanted to tell her where she could stick it, but I had already done enough.
I saw the girl moments later when class let out and was greeted with a huge hug and tears rolling down her cheek.