As the students receive their diplomas, Joe cringes when he recognizes that one student is noticeably absent: Reginald Ashford. An audio recording of Reg making racist, anti-gay, antisemitic remarks was turned in to Principal McNeil, providing evidence that eventually led Reg to confess to vandalizing Cade’s and Logan’s lockers. With two months left of high school, he was expelled. Fearing retaliation for the student who came forward with the recording, Principal McNeil never named the individual. Reg’s college hockey scholarship was revoked. Thanks to Mason’s outstanding save, the Riviere Rockets hockey team went on to win the state semifinals, but lost in the finals. Joe had been there to cheer on the team.

Sadness coats him like a layer of ice on the rink. This graduation might be the last time he’ll cheer for a Riviere High School student.

The moment the ceremony ends, Mr. Bartley leaves.

He applies for every teaching position within a sixty-mile radius. He doesn’t get one callback. He searches the internet for new job ideas, takes a personality test, and looks at various PhD programs in the SUNY network. Everything points him to teaching, and it plummets him into despair.

Mary wraps him in her arms. She doesn’t know what to do or how to help him. He doesn’t know, either. One trip to the liquor store for a bottle of scotch led to a rumor that he’s turning into an alcoholic. He drops his club baseball team, stops going to his favorite coffee shop, refuses to go out to eat, He wears the same sweats for days as he binge-watches shows on TV.

Then one day, Joe receives a letter in the mail. It’s addressed to Mr. Bartley. No return address. No signature. Just a typed note:

Dear Mr. Bartley,

I’ve done a lot of things I’m ashamed of, things that hurt others, and I got away with them. The truth is, I was real proud of that.

It’s been nearly five months since the assignment and I think about what happened every day. Your courage to say you made a mistake made a difference for me.

I feel pretty crappy about how my actions back then impacted innocent people.

I’m not ready to come forward and admit what I did. I don’t know if I ever will. But I’ve changed. I wanted you to know that.

There’s been a lot of talk. Were you forced to quit? Did you quit to write a novel? Most people believe you were fired. Whatever happened, I hope you’ll teach again.

Sincerely,

A former student

The letter gets Joe thinking.