On the Come Up(77)

Screw Karen and her son.

“Thank you, Mrs. Pittman,” Superintendent Cook says. Karen gets a mix of applause and boos as she returns to her seat. “Next question, please.”

Jay has made her way to the front of the line. From over here, I can practically see the steam coming off of her.

“Go, Aunty Jay!” Sonny shouts. His momma and Aunt ’Chelle clap for her.

“Superintendent Cook,” she says into the mic. “Jayda Jackson. It’s a pleasure to finally speak to you.”

“Thank you,” he says with a small smile.

“It’s a shame it has taken this long. For weeks, I have left you voice mails and have yet to receive a call back.”

“My apologies. I’m extremely behind on—”

“My daughter was the one physically assaulted by Officers Long and Tate last month,” Jay says, cutting him off. “Wanna know why? She sold candy, Dr. Cook. Not drugs. Candy.”

Jay turns with the mic, looking at Karen. “While some of us are afraid of the impact songs will have on our children, there are parents who are absolutely terrified for the safety of our children at the hands of people who are supposed to protect them.”

There’s so much applause. Aunt ’Chelle shouts, “Preach!”

“A lot of these kids are afraid to roam this neighborhood because well-meaning people may get the wrong idea,” she says. “At home, they’re afraid because not-so-well-meaning people may put them in danger. You’re telling me they have to come to school and deal with the same mess?”

We can barely hear her for the applause.

“The fact is, Superintendent,” Jay says, “the uprising on Friday was in response to what happened to my daughter. Those two were back on the job after assaulting her, as if what they did was okay. Is this the kind of message you want to send to your students? That the safety of some of them is more important than the safety of others? If that’s the case, there is no concern for the safety of all of them.”

She gets a standing ovation from half the people in here. I clap harder than anyone.

Superintendent Cook has the most uncomfortable smile as he waits for the applause to die down. “Mrs. Jackson, I’m sorry that you feel that the school district has not been proactive regarding the incident with your daughter; however, an investigation is ongoing.”

“You’re sorry I feel—” She catches herself, like she’s one second from going off. “That’s not an apology, Superintendent. As far as this investigation goes, nobody’s spoken to me or my child. That’s not much of an investigation.”

“It is ongoing. Again, I am sorry you feel we have not been proactive. However, at the moment, I am unable to . . .”

That’s basically all he said the entire meeting. When it’s over, so many parents and students swarm Dr. Cook that a police officer has to guide him through.

Malik’s over to the side. Maybe now I can try to—

Jay grabs my hand. “C’mon.”

She pushes through the crowd and gets us right on Dr. Cook’s heels just as he reaches the hall.

“Dr. Cook!” she calls.

He looks back. The officer beckons him to come on, but Dr. Cook puts a hand up and comes over to us. “Mrs. Jackson, right?”

“Yes,” Jay says. “This is my daughter, Brianna, the student who was assaulted. May we have a moment of your time now since you won’t return my phone calls?”

Dr. Cook turns to the police officer. “Give us a few minutes.”

The officer nods back, and Dr. Cook leads us into a room full of large, shadowed objects. He flicks a light switch, revealing drum sets and horns.

Dr. Cook closes the door behind us. “Mrs. Jackson, again, my sincerest apologies that we haven’t spoken before today.”

“It’s a shame,” Jay says. She’s not the type to lie, even to be polite.

“It is. I take full responsibility for that.” He holds his hand out to me. “Nice to meet you, Brianna.”

I don’t shake it at first. Jay nods at me and I do.

“I want you to look at her for a second, Dr. Cook,” Jay says. “Really look at her.”

She sets her hand on my back so I have no choice but to stand straight and look him in the eye, too.

“She’s sixteen, Dr. Cook,” Jay says. “Not a grown woman, not a threat. A child. Do you know how I felt when I was told that two grown men manhandled my child?”

Dr. Cook’s eyes are full of pity. “I can only imagine.”

“No, you can’t,” Jay says. “But this was not the first call I’ve received about my child, Dr. Cook. Now, Brianna can be argumentative, I’ll be the first to admit that. She unfortunately got it from me.”

Look at her, not putting something off on Dad for once.

“But she has been sent to the office for ‘aggressive behavior’ simply for rolling her eyes. You are more than welcome to pull her records. In fact, please do. Read the reports from when she was sent to the office or suspended, then tell me if any of those situations truly called for those consequences.

“I only have two options for my daughter, Dr. Cook,” Jay says. “Two. It’s either the school in our neighborhood or this school. At that school, they don’t set students up to succeed, but here? It’s starting to feel like they’re setting my child up to fail. As a mother, what am I supposed to do? As the superintendent, what are you going to do?”