Mr. Owens confronted Aunty Bae at his home after discovering his foster daughter, Matou, with a swollen and scratched face. The incident led to a heated exchange regarding Matou's treatment and the role of discipline. Mr. Owens questioned Aunty Bae, asking, "What correction peels a child’s face?" Aunty Bae responded by asserting her authority, stating, "I am elder in this house." Mr. Owens acknowledged her eldership but immediately countered, "You are elder, yes. But not cruel," and pressed further, "And did you raise them by drawing blood?" He emphasized Matou's right to dignity, declaring, "That child is under this roof. Foster child or not, she is still a child. A human being. What has she done to you that you look at her as if she is a burden sent to punish you?" Aunty Bae dismissed his concerns, remarking, "You all have become soft. She is too full of herself. Foster children should know how to remain humble." Mr. Owens cut her off with a firm, "Enough," and reiterated, "Do not ever make her feel smaller because she was given into foster care. Poverty is not shame. A child is not shame. If she is under my roof, she will be treated with dignity."
A Home's Cruelty
Aunty Bae, Mr. Owens' mother-in-law, later admitted to 'correcting' Matou, stating the action was taken because Matou had been rude to Jane. The following morning, Matou went to school with a plaster visible on her cheek.
At school, Matou met her friends Haddy and Yassin. Yassin greeted Matou, saying, "Yassin, they didn’t suspend you!" Yassin clarified, "Me? Expelled? Mrs Owens only sent me home for just that day." Yassin recounted the experience, stating, "When Mr Samusa dragged me to the office, I thought I had finished." Haddy then interjected, "You slapped him." Yassin acknowledged, "I know," but explained the provocation, "He struck me first with the chalk duster." Yassin expressed the emotional impact of the incident, "I was already ashamed." Haddy reacted with an exclamation, "Allah…" Matou commented, "You were lucky." Yassin, however, reflected on his own actions, "No. I was foolish too," adding, "I should not have slapped him." Yassin described the fleeting nature of his anger versus lasting shame: "I was angry. But anger is fast. Shame is longer."
The conversation then turned to Matou's injury. Haddy noticed the plaster, asking, "Now you." Haddy questioned the nature of the injury, "What? She scratched you? Like animal?" Yassin reacted strongly to the revelation, asking, "Old woman or not, what kind of wickedness is that?" Matou urged, "Keep your voice down." Haddy commented on Aunty Bae's past behavior, "She always hated you." Yassin offered a perspective, suggesting, "Because she knows you endure." Matou confirmed the pain, "It still hurts." Yassin observed, "She marked you." Haddy expressed hypothetical outrage, "If she touched me—" to which Yassin responded, "You would cry before fighting." Matou affirmed that Mr. Owens had intervened, stating, "Yes. He defended me." Yassin concluded, "Then not all adults are blind." Yassin then posed a broader question, "You know something?" Matou asked, "What?" Yassin responded, "We all survived yesterday."
Echoes of Injustice
Matou informed her friends Haddy and Yassin that Aunty Bae had scratched her face with nails. Yassin reacted to the revelation, asking, "Old woman or not, what kind of wickedness is that?" Matou urged her to "Keep your voice down." Haddy commented that Aunty Bae "always hated you," to which Yassin responded, "Because she knows you endure." Matou confirmed the pain, stating, "It still hurts," and Yassin observed, "She marked you." Matou affirmed that Mr. Owens had intervened, stating, "Yes. He defended me." Following Matou's account, Yassin concluded, "Then not all adults are blind."
Yassin recounted her own experience from the previous day, explaining that she was sent home for only one day after slapping Mr. Samusa. She clarified, "Me? Expelled? Mrs Owens only sent me home for just that day." Yassin stated that Mr. Samusa had struck her first with a chalk duster. She described her initial fear when "Mr Samusa dragged me to the office," thinking that "I had finished." Haddy interjected, stating, "You slapped him." Yassin acknowledged, "I know," but explained the provocation, stating, "He struck me first with the chalk duster." Yassin expressed the emotional impact, stating, "I was already ashamed." She reflected on her actions, stating, "No. I was foolish too," and added, "I should not have slapped him." Yassin contrasted the transient nature of anger with the lasting impact of shame, stating, "I was angry. But anger is fast. Shame is longer."
Matou believed that survival could sometimes begin with simply being believed. This belief resonated with the shared experiences of the children. Yassin reiterated this sentiment, stating, "We all survived yesterday."
Defending Dignity
Mr. Owens confronted Aunty Bae at his home after discovering Matou with a swollen and scratched face, questioning the methods used to discipline the foster child. He reportedly asked, "What correction peels a child’s face?" Aunty Bae responded by asserting her position, stating, "I am elder in this house." Mr. Owens conceded her eldership but immediately countered, "You are elder, yes. But not cruel," and pressed further, "And did you raise them by drawing blood?" He emphasized Matou's inherent worth, declaring, "That child is under this roof. Foster child or not, she is still a child. A human being. What has she done to you that you look at her as if she is a burden sent to punish you?" Aunty Bae dismissed his concerns, remarking, "You all have become soft. She is too full of herself. Foster children should know how to remain humble." Mr. Owens reportedly cut her off with a firm, "Enough," and reiterated his stance on Matou's treatment, stating, "Do not ever make her feel smaller because she was given into foster care. Poverty is not shame. A child is not shame. If she is under my roof, she will be treated with dignity."
In the schoolyard, Matou's friends, Haddy and Yassin, took steps to protect her from the scrutiny of other students regarding the plaster visible on her cheek. The two friends reportedly positioned themselves to shield Matou, deflecting inquiries and managing perceptions among their peers about the injury. This protective action occurred as the three children discussed the previous day's events, including Yassin's own run-in with Mr. Samusa. Matou had initially greeted Yassin, saying, "Yassin, they didn’t suspend you!" Yassin clarified her situation, stating, "Me? Expelled? Mrs Owens only sent me home for just that day." She confessed her fear when "Mr Samusa dragged me to the office, I thought I had finished." Haddy interjected, noting, "You slapped him." Yassin acknowledged, "I know," but explained the provocation, stating, "He struck me first with the chalk duster." Yassin expressed the emotional toll, stating, "I was already ashamed." Matou commented, "You were lucky." However, Yassin reflected, "No. I was foolish too," adding, "I should not have slapped him." She contrasted anger's transience with shame's persistence, stating, "I was angry. But anger is fast. Shame is longer."
Haddy and Yassin expressed outrage upon learning the details of Matou's injury from Aunty Bae. Haddy noticed the plaster, asking, "Now you." Haddy questioned the nature of the injury, "What? She scratched you? Like animal?" Yassin reacted strongly to the revelation, asking, "Old woman or not, what kind of wickedness is that?" Matou urged, "Keep your voice down." Haddy commented on Aunty Bae's past behavior towards Matou, stating, "She always hated you." Yassin offered a perspective, suggesting, "Because she knows you endure." Matou confirmed the pain, stating, "It still hurts." Yassin observed, "She marked you." Haddy expressed hypothetical outrage, stating, "If she touched me—" to which Yassin responded, "You would cry before fighting." Matou affirmed that Mr. Owens had intervened on her behalf, stating, "Yes. He defended me." Yassin concluded, "Then not all adults are blind."
