Leigh sat in the mall and read. She'd been reading steady for the last two days. Coming to the mall had been scary, but nobody made a fuss over her. She was welcomed, then ignored. The protest had gone beyond how one teacher had been treated badly. Leigh listened while she took breaks and she heard stories of how other teachers felt abused by the School Board. Ms. Taladut was the latest symptom, but she wasn't the problem

The children who laid or sat around Leigh ranged from ...