Mr Adelson drank more coffee. Mama smoothed her skirts. I kicked my feet against the rungs of my chair. Finally, it was too much for me. "What's the big idea, anyway?" I said, glaring daggers at him. "I don't deserve no F!"
"Any F," Mr Adelson corrected. "Why don't you think so?"
"Well, because I did all my homework. I gave the right answers in class. I passed all the tests. It ain't fair!"
"Not fair," my Mama corrected, gently. She was staring distractedly at Mr
Adelson.
"What you say is true enough, James. What grade do you suppose you should've gotten?"
"Why, an A! An A-plus! Perfect!" I said, glaring again at him, daring him to say otherwise.
"Is that what an A-plus is for, James? Perfection?"
"Sure," I said, opening my mouth without thinking.
Mama shifted her stare to me. She was looking even more thoughtful.
"Why do you suppose you go to school?"