Skookum (adjective): strong, brave, or impressive

“I’m sorry.”

The teacher’s apology was accompanied by a deep, respectful bow.

Standing before her was one of her troubling students, a brash boy who always turned in assignments late, who always stole from the cafeteria… who was now on the verge of tears as he desperately clutched the bottom rims of his shirt.

She slowly raised her eyes to meet his. “I understand. I didn’t before, and I’m very sorry for that. I… will try to fix my mistakes.”

Before that day, she had stormed up to the dean of the school and demanded that the student be expelled: he was single-handedly lowering the class average, and the cost of his thievery was racking up to be quite the sum. When she sentenced him to detention, he fled and never turned up. The dean was furious, and agreed within a heartbeat to banish the “coward.”

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Only this morning did they find out the student’s untold story. With a sick father and an alcoholic mother, he was shouldering the burden of finding food and shelter for his two younger brothers on his own.

The dean froze for a second at the time. Then, with a hardened gaze and a face carved in stone, he informed the student that his behavior was still unacceptable, that he wasn’t on a responsible path to adulthood, and that his fate was still sealed.

On the other hand, the teacher was feeling red hot shame.

Yet the student before her now wasn’t upset. Covered with the trails of teardrops was a big smile, albeit a sad one.

“It’s alright,” he told her. “I know there isn’t much you can do.”

She didn’t have the heart to offer any comfort.

“You acknowledged that you were wrong. You understood me.” His voice barely held back a croak. “That’s enough to let me know that there are still strong adults in this world.”