Admirers and detractors of Steve Kite could not allow his removal to pass without comment.
"They're right to remove him. That kind of remark is unprofessional. You don't go around telling kids they smell, I don't care who you are. That kind of behavior is unacceptable," said Mrs. Haliburton, known for her heavenly high perfumes.
"He didn't say that. It never happened. These kids make things up about teachers all the time. This is ridiculous…you mean, what he's alleged to have said… really ridiculous, what's going on," said Peggy Marmalad (Special Education), known for her tight-fitting clothes.
"Well I don't know what all the fuss is about. Most of these kids get out of bed, jump into clothes and come to school. I mean, it's cold in the morning. Of course, they're going to smell a little…bedsweaty…I mean, what's the big deal about somebody's morning B.O.?" Tameka Brisbane (Student Council)
"Let me tell you, this whole thing is being orchestrated by certain individuals in this school who are always ready to play the race card, you know what I mean? It's always the white teachers who are insensitive and racist, always the black students who are the victims." Jim Lightbody, to the carpool, too tired to respond that day, and quite willing to let him speak his mind.
Brendan Bilicki made no comment. It was noticed that he kept himself apart from the gossip and speculation clusters. Like a cat curled up in a corner licking its fur, he was content to sit in the department lounge, his head buried in The Times. Approached one day in the library by the librarian and asked what he thought of the whole thing, he heaved a faintly triumphant sigh. "It's a case of the chickens come home to roost," he said, rustling his pages. He was prepared to leave it at that.
(from "Ah Mikhail, O Fidel!", a novel by N.D.Williams, 2001)
FARJOURNEY CARIBBEAN 