Break The Chains

A car pulls up to the curve and a man gets out. Briefcase in hand, he walks toward the double doors where he reads a sign above him that says, “Break the Chains”. Upon entering, he is greeted by a receptionist. He introduces himself as Bill Cole, a stress and mental health counselor. The receptionist escorts him to Mrs. Booker’s office, the supervisor of the school. Mrs. Booker rises to shake his hand. “It’s been a while Mr. Cole.” “Yes, it has, Mrs. Booker.” “I see you’re still dedicating yourself to these kids.” “Crazy, right?” “No, Mr. Cole, I wouldn't say that. I say it’s love, a genuine love.” “And that it is.” He gives Mrs. Booker a hug. “Bill, this may be your toughest challenge. You are dealing with five kids that have nothing in common. Bill, I mean nothing.” After they go over a few procedures, she takes him to his room.

Heading down the hall, they stop at a classroom door. Mr. Cole looks through the glass then at Mrs. Booker. She smiles. “Well, let’s get this show on the road,” he replies. “Nervous are we?” she asks. “A little.” Mrs. Booker opens the door and walks in greeting the group with a smile. “This is Mr. Cole, your new teacher,” she announces. “I trust you will show him the same respect and love you show me.” Five students are seated in the room. Mrs. Booker leaves the class after her introduction winking at Mr. Cole just before closing the door.

Mr. Cole takes a seat behind his desk. He looks through his files. He finds a folder labeled Rafael and it reads: 5’5”, 120 pounds, Spanish, age 12. Problems: Witness to parents’ murder. Mom raped by burglars. Will not talk. Mr. Cole then takes out another folder, this one-labeled Tony. It reads: 6’7”, 240 pounds, black. Problems: Angry, hates father. Feels unloved. The next one was Olivia, and it read: 5’4”, 109 pounds, bi-racial (Spanish/Black). Problems: Raped by uncle. Problems with promiscuity and low self-esteem. Mr. Cole continued on with Sandy. It read, 6’0”, 180 pounds, and white. Problems: Refuses to leave the building. Mr. Cole pulled out the last folder and it had Bryan on it. This folder read: 6’2”, 200 pounds, black. Problems: Gang member, very smart.

He finishes reading all of the folders. Feeling them staring at him he gets up walks to the front of his desk and sits on it. “I will be here for an undetermined amount of time. I hope by the time I leave we will have made great strides in our effort to be able to live a normal life.”

Bryan looks at Sandy. “Yo, white boy! You hear that? One day you won’t be afraid to go outside.” Bryan and Tony start to laugh. Sandy looked at him with a hurt look on his face. Mr. Cole walks over to Rafael and asks, “What is your name again?” He takes out a piece of paper and writes “Rafael”. Mr. Cole spends the rest of the day talking and trying to get acquainted with each of them. At the end of the day, he goes to Mrs. Booker’s office. “What do you think of your class?” “They are a tough bunch of students with a lot of hatred inside of them. I think the only way I can get them to accept me is to get them to accept one another.” “How will you get them to do that?” asked Mrs. Booker. “You got me. I usually deal with adults. It’s tough to deal with young people. Most of their hurt and anger is directed toward family members and parents. I think what I will have to do is turn them into a family by getting them into a family setting. I plan to give each of them a responsibility, something that will teach them the value of love and respect. Olivia will be the toughest because of her lack of self respect.”

When he arrives home, his wife, Brenda, greets him at the door. “How was your first day on the job?” “This time I think I’ve just stepped into quicksand,” he said. “Well, you said you wanted a challenge.” “Trust me, honey. It will be. I’m dealing with five kids who have nothing in common, just like Mrs. Booker said. I’ll make a promise to you. If I pull this off, prepare yourself for our first child.” Brenda looked up and said “Please, God.” They both begin laughing.

The next day Mr. Cole is sitting behind his desk reading a book. His students are working on some math problems. Mr. Cole tells the students, “We are going to play a little game called “House”. They all look around and start to mumble. Olivia is the exception. She says seductively, “Mr. Cole, I would love to play if I can be the mom and you’re the dad.” Tony looks at Olivia real hard with a disgusted look on his face shaking his head. “Ms. Hot Pants,” he sneered. Bryan said, “I’m not looking out for anybody, especially no one in here. My family lives in Pennsgrove, NJ, on the south side.” “Man, you must be crazy! I don’t have any family out there, and I definitely don’t have a family in here,” snapped Tony. Olivia became very upset at Tony’s comment. “Tony, you have a family, and you’re sitting right in this room with them. Believe that, a family of losers. We’re losers, a bunch of losers, and we have nothing to live for!” Looking up at Olivia, Mr. Cole stands up and walks up to her. She has a scared look on her face. Mr. Cole is very displeased with Olivia. “Olivia, you are not a loser. None of you are. True, your situation is not a situation anyone wants to be in, but all that’s about to change because we, as a unit, are going to work and work and work on changing our lives for the better. So starting today, I never, I mean never, want to hear anyone in the room call themselves a loser.”

Olivia sits there with a tear running down her cheek. The boys have surprised looks on their faces. Mr. Cole walks back to his desk, sits in his chair, leans back and thinks back on the many times his father called him a loser. The next day, Mr. Cole approaches Olivia, grabbing her hand. Tony is sitting behind her giving him a hard look. “Olivia, I want to apologize for yesterday.” Olivia looks up at him and smiles. “Question. Who is the president of the NAACP?” He points at Rafael trying to catch him off guard. “Kwaze Mfume,” Bryan quickly responds saving Rafael. “Good answer,” Mr. Cole replies. He then walks to the chalk board and writes the words “joy” and “pain”. “Today we are going to talk about joy and pain,” he continues. As Mr. Cole leaves at the end of the day, he sees a house at the back of the grounds. He walked around the house to get a closer look. He tried the door in hopes that it was open. It was so he entered finding it full of dirty furniture. This gave him an idea. He went to the main building in search of Mrs. Booker. He found her in her office and inquired about the house. “The house was used for the parents of the kids who stayed here, but financial difficulties forced us to close it down,” she replied. “May I have use of the house? I have a family to move into it.”

Mrs. Booker looked at him. “I don’t know. If anything happened, I could get into a lot of trouble.” “You told me you would back me one hundred percent when I was hired. I need that house for my plan to work.” “On one condition, and that is you keep me posted at all times,” replied Mrs. Book “Now I know why I love you so much!” Mr. Cole kissed her on the cheek and rushed out of her office. The next day the students are working on an assignment. Mr. Cole announces to the class, “We’re moving. We, as a family, have just bought a house.” He told them to look out the window at their new home. Sandy says, “How will we get back there?” “We walk,” replies Mr. Cole. “I’m not going out there,” Sandy said. Mr. Cole replies, “We’re not flying or taking the bus.” Rafael writes on a piece of paper, “I will hold your hand.” “That’s a hell of a pair,” laughed Bryan. “One’s scared of the outside and the other is scared to talk.”

“Tonight I want all of you to pack your things and be ready to move in the morning. Now pull out your math books,” said Mr. Cole. They all start to mumble. “I love you too.” After class, Olivia walked up close to Mr. Cole. “Do you find me attractive?” “Yes, you are a very pretty girl,” he answered very carefully. “How pretty?” she asked very coyly. “Pretty enough to sleep with?” Mr. Cole grabs her arm, slams her into a chair and says, “Listen. You don’t have to throw yourself at just anybody to be accepted. Just be yourself and stop looking down on yourself. You are a very pretty girl but throwing yourself around makes you ugly.” Olivia begins to cry. “Nobody loves me, Mr. Cole.” “Olivia, before anybody can love you, you must first learn how to love yourself. That’s why I’m here, to help and teach you how to achieve it.” Looking back at the door, he sees Tony looking through the glass. Tony walks off.

Everyone is packed when Mr. Cole arrives the next day except for Sandy. “Mr. Cole, there is no way I’m going out there,” Sandy said. Tony turns to Sandy, “What’s up with you? Look, man, take those dark glasses off and let some light into your life.” “Look who’s talking,” says Olivia. “The very guy who punched out the ref for calling a foul on him for slamming somebody to the floor.” “He said something about my mom.” Mr. Cole gives Tony a startled look. “Tony, I thought you didn’t have parents.” “I don’t, but he talked about my mom.” Mr. Cole looked at Tony and just shook his head. He turned to Bryan. “What are those?” “Posters, man.” “May I have a look at them?” asked Mr. Cole. “They ain’t nothing but posters of me and my boys.” “Let me have a look,” persisted Mr. Cole. “Why?” “I just want to see them.” Bryan gives Mr. Cole the posters. Mr. Cole asked, “Is this what you are putting on your wall?” “Yes, sir.” Bryan stands there smiling at Mr. Cole. They all walk out of the door. They all loaded up their stuff and began moving to the new house. Everyone had his or her own bedroom. Rafael looks in his room and sees something that scares him. He runs up to Mr. Cole and pulls on his shirt and motions to follow him. They follow Rafael to his room but the only thing found was a doll. Everyone begins to laugh. Even Rafael cracks a smile. “This place is a dump,” Tony says to Mr. Cole. “Who’s going to clean it?” “Well, Tony,” replies Mr. Cole, “I’ve just designated you as the big brother so it’s up to you to hand out the chores.” “Nah. Nah, man. That’s not my job.” “Now it is,” replies Mr. Cole.

It was a slow process getting the house in order. After days of mumbling and grumbling, Mr. Cole called a meeting. “I’ve tried to let you do things your way but I see you need some motivation. I have set up a point system. It’s up to you to gain or loose points. Every week you get a list of chores. Do them right and you get points. Don’t do them right, you’ll lose them. A lost point turns out to be a loss of privileges, which also means a loss of all outside privileges.”

That evening while Mr. Cole and his wife were eating dinner the phone rang. Mr. Cole picked it up and answered. “It’s Bryan calling from the police station,” he said to his wife. “Mr. Cole, I need you to come and get me,” begged Bryan. “Why should I do that? You broke a rule and now you must be punished.” “Please, Mr. Cole. I don’t want to get sent away to reform school. That’s no place for me. Please, Mr. Cole,” he begged. “What’s up with this gang thing, Bryan? Don’t you see where it’s getting you?” “I will do anything, Mr. Cole. You name it and it’s done,” replied Bryan. Thinking for a moment Mr. Cole says, “Remember what you just said, Bryan. I have one condition. SATs are in two weeks, and I want you to take them.” “No, no, no!” “Well, call Mrs. Booker then. Good night. “Okay, Mr. Cole,” Bryan sighed. “I’ll take the test.” “Oh, and another thing. If you fail the test, I will tell her the truth.” The following day, Mr. Cole finds Bryan in Mrs. Booker’s office. “My sources tell me Bryan left the grounds last night. That results in an immediate dismissal,” stated Mrs. Booker. “No, I came by and signed him out, took him to the library to study for the SAT he’s taking in a couple of weeks.” Mrs. Booker gives Mr. Cole a strange look and asks Bryan to leave. “Mr. Cole, the library was open pretty late last night, wasn’t it?” “I guess so,” said Mr. Cole as he turned and left. Everybody was outside cleaning, doing yard work, talking and having fun, that is, everybody except Sandy, who was standing at the window. Mr. Cole glances and sees him but acts as if he didn’t see him.

Saturday is a free day for the residents. If their parents do not show up, they just lay around the house. It’s very unlikely for any of Mr. Cole’s students’ parents to show up. A car pulls up in front. Inside are Mr. Cole and his wife. Mr. Cole introduces her to a staff member and the students and asks them what they are doing just sitting in the house. Bryan says, “What’s up, Mr. Cole?” “We’re going to the recreation center.” The kids just stood there looking at Mr. Cole and his wife. “Come on, guys. I’m not going to wait all day,” he said. They almost broke their necks getting their stuff. “I don’t want to go to no rec,” said Olivia. Mrs. Cole turns to Olivia. “What about the mall?” Olivia flew up the stairs to get ready. “Thanks. They needed to get out of here,” the staff member told Mr. Cole. “How is Olivia doing around the boys?” Mr. Cole inquired. “Better than I thought. She’s been a real help around the house. You see how clean it is. It’s because she doesn’t let these boys get away with anything. And I think they like it, especially Tony.” “Tony?” “Tony. He really cares for Olivia and not in a sexual way. One night I heard all of them talking and he said to Olivia, ‘I have no sisters or brothers out there and the people in this house will probably be the closest I’ll ever come to having any, so don’t blow it by flaunting.’ She has been a different person since that day.” “What about Bryan?” Mr. Cole asked. “Bryan is the teacher,” the staff member informed Mr. Cole. Mr. Cole gives her a surprised look. “Teacher?” “He has been helping all of them with their school work, especially Tony. Rafael is starting to open up more. He’s not talking yet, but he is less withdrawn. He trusts them and that is a good thing.” Mr. Cole said, “That’s why I am here today. I only deal with them five days a week, and in order for this thing to work I have to be more involved in their lives right now.” Mr. Cole reflects back to when he was a kid seeing his father walking out the front door with a suitcase in his hand and his mother sitting on the sofa crying. Mrs. Cole grabs his hand. He looks at her cutting a smile. “Honey, it’s all good,” she assured him. All the students came down the stairs. “You know the rules right, or do I need to repeat them,” the staff member calls out to them. They all say ‘no’ then follow Mr. and Mrs. Coles out the door.

At the recreation center, Rafael goes swimming while Bryan and Tony play ball. After a while, Tony gets frustrated and throws the ball down. Bryan walks up to him and asks, “What’s up?” “The next time that punk fouls me, I’m going to knock him out.” “Let’s switch men then,” says Bryan. A couple of plays later, the same boy knocks Bryan down and says, “Go back to the nut house.” Mr. Cole was watching but continued to say nothing. Bryan then had two punks from the other team approach to him. Tony ran up from the end of the court and grabbed one guy by the throat. At this point, Mr. Cole spoke up, “Tony, let go.” Tony gives Mr. Cole a hard look but lets go. Tony and Bryan were sitting on a bench explaining what happened to Mr. Cole when Rafael came out of the pool area. “See, Tony, there is nothing wrong with being a man. Sometimes turning the other cheek works”. Mr. Cole continued telling them they were not the only ones with a problem. After their discussion, they wait for the girls to return. The boys started shooting some baskets. A little boy walked up to Tony. “Do you play pro basketball?” he asked. “No,” Tony replied. “You know, if you were not so mean you could.” Mr. Cole looks at Tony. “How old are you,” Tony inquired. “Ten.” Tony walks off and start shooting baskets. Turning around the boy is standing right behind him. “What?” “Can I shoot with you?” asked the little boy. “What’s your name, little man?” “Jonathan.” He hands the boy the ball. After a couple of shots, he began to give him pointers on how to shoot and dribble. Soon a group of kids had formed around him. This gave Mr. Cole an idea. He found the director of the recreation center, introduced himself and began to talk with him.

Meanwhile at the mall, while Mrs. Cole is trying on clothes, a few male friends of Olivia’s approach her. They start pulling on her hair trying to get her to go out to their car. When she says no, one of them grabs her arm but she snatches away. Luckily, Mrs. Cole was coming out of the dressing room. Olivia saw her ran up to her. The boys shouted names at Olivia and then walk off. She began to cry. “That was a brave thing you did, standing up for yourself. It feels good, right? You should be proud of yourself,” said Mrs. Cole. Olivia stopped crying, “I said no.” Mrs. Cole looked at her and smiled. Then she gave Olivia a big hug. “Now let’s go find you something nice to wear.” They walked out of the store. Mr. Cole returned from the director and approached Tony who was shooting hoops with Bryan and Rafael. “I just got you a small job,” he told Tony. “Doing what?” Tony said with an inquisitive look on his face. “Teaching kids how to play basketball, and I got you on one of the recreation league teams.” Tony shook his head and replied, “Ain’t no way I’m messing with any of these kids.” Mr. Cole continued as if he had not heard him. “You start next Saturday, 9:00 a.m. Don’t be late. Look at it this way. You’ll get out of doing your chores.” “Dang, Mr. Cole. Those people in there are buttholes.” “You are not dealing with those people, Tony. You are dealing with the kids. Besides, this might teach you a few things about discipline. You don’t have to play in the league, but you do have to teach those kids.” Mr. Cole, Bryan, Rafael walk to the exit leaving Tony standing there looking very upset.

Later that evening after dinner, Mr. Cole was lying on the sofa resting with his head on his wife’s lap falling asleep. “Olivia did a brave thing today,” Mrs. Cole spoke breaking his sleep. He sits up. “She grew up today. She acted like a young lady. I was so happy for her. We were in a store and I went to try on some clothes. When I came out, she ran up to me crying telling me some boys were trying to get her to go with them.” “I’m glad because she’s turning out to be a beautiful person.”

Saturday morning comes and it is time for Bryan to take the SAT test. In the parking lot, Mr. Cole and Bryan are sitting in the car. Bryan is reading a book. “Thanks for not giving up on me and for not letting me give up on myself,” Bryan begins talking to Mr. Cole. “You know, for two years I put my parents through hell, and you know what? I talked to my father on the phone and he told me he loves me. My father, the man that I actually thought hated me tells me he loves me and he wants me to come home. All he used to do was call me a loser and he was right because the guys I was hanging out with were losers, but that all changed now because I am a winner and I associate myself with winners, Tony, Olivia, Rafael and Sandy.” Bryan looks at his watch then at Mr. Cole who appears to be asleep. Bryan smiles then opens the car door. As he is getting out of the car, Mr. Cole grabs his arm. “Good luck, winner.” He gives Mr. Cole a big smile then a pound. Getting out of the car and closing the door behind him, Bryan runs up the steps.

A few weeks later, the school had Family Day. Entering the house Mr. Cole sees everyone watching TV. As usual, none of Mr. Cole’s students’ parents showed up. “What’s everyone doing sitting in here watching TV for?” he asked. “Well, Mr. Cole, this is what kids do when their parents are never home,” Olivia responded solemnly. They all have hurt looks on their faces. “Isn’t this Family Day?” They all shouted “yes!” “Well, aren’t we a family?” No one responds. “Well, aren't we? What do you want to do?” He looks at them with a big smile on his face. They all look at each other slowly beginning to smile themselves. Bryan said, “Let’s have a barbecue! ” You read my mind. Mrs. Cole is outside setting up the grill right now.” They all get up and look outside. “Besides, we have something to celebrate. Bryan took his SAT two weeks ago and had the second highest score in the county. Come on, boys. We’ve got work to do. Mrs. Cole and Olivia will prepare the food.” “I have the music,” said Tony. He goes into the other room and returns with his boom box. “I have the starter paper,” said Bryan as he ran u the stairs. He comes back with the poster rolled up, and hands it to Mr. Cole. He tells him, “Burn it.” “Burn it?” “Burn it.” “Give it here. I’ll burn it.” Olivia takes the posters from Bryan she heads out the door. Mr. Cole’s students are cooking, eating, and a dancing around outside having fun. Other residents from the school join the cookout. Suddenly a car pulls up. Everyone gets quiet as Mrs. Booker gets out and walks over to Mr. Cole. “You know it’s against school policy to have a barbecue,” she looks around cutting a smile, “if you do not invite the boss.” Mr. Cole smiles. The music comes back up as on everyone goes on with their business. Rafael sees Sandy watching from the window and waves. Sandy waves back. Mr. Cole walks up to Tony. Mr. Cole walks up to Tony. “You’re not eating” “Tonight’s the championship and I don’t want to overeat.” Mr. Cole yells out, “Family meeting. Let’s all go see Tony play ball tonight.” Olivia says, “I’m not going to see Tony get into a fight over a ball tonight.” “Stay home then,” replied Tony sarcastically. “We will go only if there is a unanimous vote,” said Mr. Cole. Mrs. Cole looks at Olivia. “I know you want to show off that new outfit we brought.” Olivia ponders the idea for a minute. Turning to Tony, Olivia inquires, “Tony, no fighting?” “No fighting." “Promise?” “Promise,” he assures her. “Let’s go then.”

At game time, the pace was fast and furious. Tony was putting on a show. The kids he taught at the recreation center had their own little section called “Tony’s Home”. The Coles, Bryan, Rafael, and Olivia were in the stands cheering and clapping. Two minutes before half time, one of the guys Tony had trouble with at the recreation center fouled him real hard knocking him to the floor. Tony gets up and pushes the guy. “Same old Tony, a dumb, stupid, hot head.” At half time, while Tony is sitting on the bench, Jonathan pulls on his arm and asks, “Didn’t you tell us discipline was the key to being successful? Didn’t you tell us fighting solves nothing?” “Yes,” said Tony. “Well!” scolded Jonathan and walked away. Tony watches as Jonathan joins his friends. Looking to his left, he sees Olivia. “Big brother, you did not forget your promise to me, did you?” “No.” “I was just checking.” She gets up and walks to the exit where Rafael is waiting for her. Olivia and Rafael were coming from the corner store when three guys surrounded Olivia and started touching her. She yelled, “Stop it.” One of them sneered, “When have you ever told anybody to stop, Olivia?” Rafael tries to step in, but they push him down. Each time he gets up, they push him down. Finally, he gets up and runs to the gym. He sees Bryan is sitting in the bleachers reading a book. Rafael runs up to him and begins giving Bryan hand signals and pulling him by the arm, but in his panic he yells, “They got Olivia! They got Olivia!” Rafael then runs out the gym door with Bryan following. Bryan sees his former gang members feeling and kissing on Olivia. They are trying to tear her clothes off, and she is crying. Bryan rushes up to them pushing them back and sliding Olivia behind him. “Stop!” he yells. “Yo, man! What are you doing?” “Man, you know what’s going on, like we use to do it. She ain't nothing but a whore,” one of the gang member informs Bryan. “Yo, bro. That's not who she is.” “What is she to you?” Bryan looks back at Olivia. “She's my sister. Now back up and let us go.” “If we don't, what you gonna do about it?” Another member insists. At this point, Tony appears around the corner. “Whatever you want us to do. You know I’m down.” The three guys give Tony a hard look, then walk off giving Bryan a hard cold look. Olivia runs to Tony hugging him then Bryan and Rafael. Mr. and Mrs. Cole, who were observing everything that happened from a distance, rush back to the gym and pretend that they did not see anything. It was gratifying to see all the young folks sitting at the game like one big happy family. They looked over at Mr. Cole and gave him a thumbs up.

When it was time for the game to resume the coach walked up to Tony and told him he was not going to play this half. He could not afford any trouble. Tony was left to sit and watch the game. Tony’s team was losing with three minutes left in the game. Tony sits on the bench with a hurt look on his face. With the other team slowly pulling away, the coach looks down the bench at Tony. Tony looks at the coach. He gets up and goes to sit down beside him. He leans over whispering, “Give me one more chance please.” The coach studied him for a minute then points to the scorers’ table. “Okay.” Tony looks over at Olivia and she gives him the thumbs up, then he enters the game. The kids in the corner are shouting, “Go Tony! Go Tony!” In a span of two minutes, Tony takes over the game. Tony goes up for a lay-up to tie the game. When he comes down, he is fouled very hard. A whistle blows for the foul. Tony jumps up. Everyone in the gym stands. It is very quiet. He looks at Mr. Cole. He looks at the kids. He then walks up to foul line, and the crowd goes wild. He makes the first shot, but misses the second. They are up by one. There are less than twenty seconds left in the game.

The guy that had fouled Tony manages to get away from the man who was guarding him and dribbles down the court toward the basket. Tony stops guarding his man and heads toward the basket. The crowd is quiet as Tony comes up with the biggest play of the night. He blocks the shot while one of his teammates gets the ball. They win the game. The fans go wild and storm the floor. Tony walks through the crowd up to Olivia. “Yo, little sister, no fighting.” “No fighting.” They hug. By then the Coles had made their way through the crowd and shook Tony’s hand. Bryan comes through with a pound as Rafael walks up to him. 17 “Good game,” Rafael tells Tony. Tony gives him a surprised look then shakes his hand. As they are leaving the gym, someone taps Tony on the shoulder. When he turns, he finds it is the guy who fouled him. He extended his hand to Tony and said, “Good game, man. I’ll see you next year.” Tony then said, “Nah, man. I’m going back to school.” It’s finally the last Family Day. This time it is in the park near the school. Everyone is there – Rafael with his new guardians, Olivia with her mom, and Bryan with his parents. Tony is sitting alone on a bench when Jonathan walks up to him. Tony says, “What’s up, little man?” “Where are your parents?” he asked. “I don’t have any,” Tony responded. “I don’t have any brothers,” Jonathan said sadly. He looked pensively at Tony then asked, “Will you be my brother?” Tony considers the idea. Just then, a man and a woman approach the boys“ You must be Tony?” the man concluded. “These are my parents,” Jonathan introduces them. “That’s me, sir,” Tony responded, also reaching to shake his hand. “Listen. We don’t know you from a can of paint, but all my son does is talk about Tony. He has changed for the better. All he says is my big brother will be mad at me if I get into any trouble.” “How would you like to move in with us?” Jonathan’s mother asks. “We already have your room fixed up,” Jonathan adds hoping to convince Tony. Mr. Cole walks up. “Mr. Cole, you remember Jonathan from the rec center? These are his parents.” Mr. Cole shakes their hands. “Mr. Cole, can I talk to you for a minute?” Tony asked. They walk off and sit on a bench. “What’s up, Tony?” “Mr. Cole, I would like to thank you for being the father I never had. You taught me a whole lot. I knew you were cool when I saw you put Olivia in her place. She got a lot of teachers fired.” “Well, that’s all behind us now.” “If you were put in a position to have what you never really had and someone offered you that opportunity, would you take it?” Mr. Cole looks at Jonathan and his parents. “Only if I was willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. Are you willing to do that? If so, your family is waiting for you.” They both stand up. Tony hugs Mr. Cole tightly. Jonathan and his parents walk over and join them. Jonathan grabs Tony’s hand. Mr. Cole looks at his watch. “It’s about time for things to get started.” They all go find a seat. Meanwhile, Rafael walks up to Sandy’s room in the building. “Sandy, what’s out here will not hurt you. It’s what you keep bottled up inside that hurts you. Please come with me. Let’s break the chains together.” Rafael holds out his hand. “No, I can’t. I’m afraid,” says Sandy. Rafael looks at him. “You don’t know what you’re missing. I finally let go of my demons, and you can too if you just trust and believe things will get better.” Rafael leaves.

Sandy starts looking out the window again. He walks down the hall and down the stairs to the double doors. He pauses, reads the sign, and then walks out. While Mrs. Booker was handing out certificates, Sandy comes around the corner. Mrs. Booker stops. Everyone looks at Sandy. Rafael walks over to him, grabs his hand, and together they find a seat. Toward the end of program, Mr. Cole’s students take the stage. Bryan takes the microphone. “They say a person is only lost if they stay in the dark. Once you find the switch you must turn it on, then the path will be clear. Mr. Cole, thanks for choosing to become our switch. You showed us not to be afraid of the dark and that the truth is the light. We want to present you with this plaque of gratitude.” Olivia stands up and says, “Mr. and Mrs. Cole, this is a small gift from us, but you must open it.” Olivia hands the box to Mr. Cole. He opens it and sees a teething ring. He looks at his wife and kisses her. Mr. Cole then takes the microphone. “When I first came here, I did not have a clue as to how I would get through to these kids. However, I took my wife’s advice. She said use the three basic ingredients of love, patience, and time. Now look what I have created, five monsters! When I first took this job, I told my kids I would be here for an undetermined amount of time, and I must say my time is up. This group has taught me a few things. It takes more than money to raise a family. They taught me love is the key and it is something we all need.” Mr. Cole receives a standing ovation.

Mrs. Booker walked in as Mr. Cole was cleaning out his desk. She reached out her hand and said, “I would like to personally thank you for a job well done. These doors will always be open to you.” “Thanks, Mrs. Booker, and I appreciate the offer, but I think it’s time for me to start worrying about my own family for a change.”

As he goes through the double doors, he turns and looks up at the sign, which read, “BREAK THE CHAINS”. He smiles and walks away.

THE END