Spine

It's the start of another school year and teachers Grayson Lord and George Nesbitt know what awaits them. Administrative "management" in place of leadership. Disingenuous professionalism. Community contempt. Parental mistrust. Widespread student disrespect. And worst of all, further compromise of their control in the classroom. They understand what everyone knows but doesn't say. Without authority, teaching is impossible. "No one ever respected a weakling. No one cared about anything he had to say."Enter senior Asa Aftanas who doesn't give a damn about anyone. When the confrontation with the new student arrives, the teachers step over the line, prompting calls for their dismissal. But before the school board can present Nesbitt with his walking papers, the outspoken teacher leaves without warning. Or so his colleagues believe... until the end of the term when, inside a student's desk, Lord makes a casual, but horrifying, discovery.