Chapter One  (Cont'd)

   Michael was on the debating team and in the science club -- both of which had the dubious honour of having Mr. M. as their faculty advisor. Thanks to him, Glen Lake Public School's debating team was known throughout Southern Vancouver Island as the "Silent Majority". Mr. M. usually spent the first half of any meet arguing with the judges about the topic to be debated. If he didn't think it was worth their time, he would pack-up his team and drive them home. Mr. M. believed that debating was about thinking, not talking. He wouldn't let his team waste their time talking about nothing. They spent a lot of time driving back and forth, discussing the merit points of debates not taken. Michael smiled, those times were the best: everyone on the team was all wound up and talked all at once -- not like a debate at all.
   The science club was the messiest, most dangerous place to be after school. The members were on a first-name basis with the school nurse, the local fire department, and the school's long-suffering janitor.
   The thought of "long-suffering" made Michael turn back to look at the boy by the fence. He tried to shrug off the painful sight, "He'll be all right. Nobody's really hurting him."
   "No?"
   Michael wasn't sure if Mr. M. had spoken, or if he'd heard the reproach in his mind. "It's just words," Michael said, suddenly feeling defensive.
   "Words have power." Merlin gestured toward the boy, "He is being hurt. He's in trouble, and he's in pain."
   "How would you know?" Michael shot back, suddenly afraid he was being pushed into something.
   "Because I've been him."
   "Yeah, right." Michael looked from long and lean Mr. M. to the short, chubby and scared kid by the fence.
   "When I was seven, I had to walk to school" Merlin began. "It wasn't far, but when you're seven, everything is far . . ."