Billy would probably like to do more than have quite words with someone like the teacher Neil had been dealing with over this term, but he didn't say this out loud. He and Goodnight had talked at length about the situation, and if it would be appropriate to just go over Neil's head when he wasn't, technically, under their care and was, technically, a legal adult in Darrow.

Now, Billy sort of wished they'd gone over his head. Maybe Billy would file an anonymous complaint with the school board. A bigot didn't need to be molding the minds of children. Neil might just be the tip of the iceberg.

"It's important," Billy said gently, "to be outspoken about these things. You had people to back you up. Now you've learned a hard line to not let yourself cross, something you can't let people treat you like again."