Abuse in High School and the return of the Professional Athlete…..

Mrs. Harnon was focusing on Aaron Moses again. She seemed to forget all the other students in the class and spent her time looking for ways to humiliate and cause as much trouble as she could. She seemed to enjoy giving him a very hard time. When he once stayed after class to ask her what he could do to make her leave him alone she laughed. ‘’You Jews think you’re special and entitled. There’s nothing you can do except think about going to a different school. I’m not into giving in to you people’’

Grade Nine was a tough year and Aaron Moses was finding it tougher than most people. His Mom had passed just before the school year started. His family now consisted of his younger sister and his Dad. Since his father worked at the family Car Wash it was up to Aaron to make sure that his Sister was looked after every day. There was a two-year difference, but as the older brother, he took his responsibilities seriously.

Mrs. Harnon never got it. She didn’t cut Aaron any slack and as his homeroom teacher, she stayed with him during his entire High School career. The best way to describe her was mean and vicious. A couple of times she suggested that Aaron would be better off looking at Colleges instead of Universities because ‘’you needed brains to graduate University.’’ She made sure to say it in front of the class and then laughed hysterically at her own mean comment.

When Aaron finally left the clutches of Mrs. Harnon and accepted a scholarship with a Big 12 school for basketball, she never congratulated or gave a word of encouragement. Instead in front of the class, she said she was surprised that Aaron had fooled so many people. Her parting words to Aaron were ‘’There’s no way you’ll make it through four years of university.’’

Mrs. Harnon was right. Aaron left after helping his UCLA team win the NCAA Championship. He scored the most points in the championship game and hit the winning three-point shot. He opted out of University early and was selected by the Miami Heat who signed him to a lucrative contract. That was followed by a huge shoe contract and endorsements.

Aaron was extremely proud of his accomplishments as he could make sure his Dad was set for life. His Sister, Sarah would never lack for anything…