“What are you doing with that ponytail? Are you a little girl?” Mr. Cooper sneered when Joe walked into his classroom on the first day of school. The rest of his classmates laughed, and Joe looked down in shame. But he knew he had to keep growing it. He had his reasons. No one would dissuade him, not even the worst teacher in the school.

Joe had started growing his hair the previous school year. No one paid too much attention to it then because the summer holidays had begun. But now that he was back, everyone saw how overgrown his hair was because he kept it in a ponytail.

Unfortunately, the comments didn’t stop, and the other boys in class started teasing him every day. The poor eight-year-old returned home every day in tears, but he never told his parents what was happening. They tried to let it go, and Joe started hiding his tears in the bathroom at some point.

Joe’s father got out his phone. He loaded the video they shot the night before and showed it to Mr. Cooper.

Their art teacher, Mrs. Burns, was somewhat new at the school, and she found Joe crying one day after everyone left for recess. “Joe, what’s going on? Why are you growing your hair so long?” she asked kindly.

He finally felt compelled to tell someone about it, and when he finished, the gentle teacher gave him a huge hug. “You have a beautiful heart. Don’t ever let anyone else change that, okay?” she told him encouragingly.

“But even Mr. Cooper makes fun of me. It’s not fair,” Joe mumbled. His tears had finally stopped, thanks to her kindness.

“Some people will always be bullies even when they grow up. I’ll try to talk to him,” Mrs. Burns replied, patting his shoulder.

“Don’t tell him why. He doesn’t deserve to know anything. This is my thing,” Joe requested, looking at the teacher with his earnest eyes.

“Of course. This will be between you and me. But what you are doing is nothing to be ashamed of,” the teacher assured him.

“Still. I don’t want them to know,” the little boy insisted, and Mrs. Burns nodded with a slight grin.

***

Over the next few days, Mrs. Burns talked to teachers about the situation, but the truth is that all of them didn’t approve of the hairstyle. They thought Joe’s parents were wrong for not getting it cut.

The math teacher, Mrs. Figgins, complained, “If he’s allowed to grow his hair out at eight years old, he’s going to become a hoodlum in high school. Kids, especially boys, need discipline at this age.”

Mrs. Burns had no idea what to do. She didn’t have seniority at this school and Mr. Cooper was the most respected teacher there. Furthermore, she couldn’t tell them the real reason because of Joe’s request. Maybe calling his parents would be a better option, she thought. If things didn’t get better soon, she might have no choice.

***

“Joe, come down here!” Joe’s dad, Patrick Perkins, called out one night.

“What dad?” Joe said when he reached the kitchen. He had been doing his homework.

“Your teacher, Mrs. Burns, just called. She told me everything. Are the kids making fun of you? Is that why you’ve been crying every day after school?” Patrick inquired, kneeling before his son and looking at him.

The boy pouted his lips, and his eyes watered too. “It’s not just my friends. Mr. Cooper is the worst,” Joe revealed, shocking his father.