Chapter 11 - MADELINE HAD TO SPEAK WITHOUT HER FATHERThe disciplinary hearing was closed.
No cameras.
No donor table.
No father answering first.
Madeline sat across from an independent panel.
She admitted taking the cane.
She called it teasing.
The panel asked:
“Did Grace ask you to stop?”
“Yes.”
“Did you stop?”
“No.”
“Why?”
Madeline started crying.
“Because everyone laughed.”
“Did Grace?”
“No.”
“Were you aware she had reported you before?”
“Yes.”
“Did that make you angry?”
“Yes.”
Then:
“Why?”
Madeline’s answer surprised me when I later read the summary.
“She made me feel like a bad person.”
That was it.
Grace’s complaint threatened Madeline’s self-image.
Instead of changing behavior, she punished the person holding up the mirror.
Madeline said:
“I thought she wanted everyone to hate me.”
The panel responded:
“She wanted you to stop hiding her cane.”
May you like
Simple.
Hard to argue with.
