“I know.”
“Can someone be a nice person and still make you feel bad about yourself?”
“Absolutely. What matters is whether they recognize their mistakes and respect your feelings when you explain them.”
The next day, Emma spoke with Tyler after school.
When she returned home, she had more questions than answers.
“He told me some boys on the basketball team were making jokes about my arms.”
I felt my frustration rise.
“What happened?”
“One of them noticed when Tyler was holding my hand. Then the others started teasing him.”
“Did Tyler tell them to stop?”
She shook her head.
“He laughed along with them.”
I closed my eyes briefly.
“He said he didn’t think much of it until they kept mentioning it. That’s when he asked me to shave.”
“What did you tell him?”
“That I wasn’t the one making the jokes.”
I nodded.
“Good.”
Emma hesitated.
