At the End of the Day

[373 words] For about a month or so, recently, news reports were marked with frequent mentions about an ongoing kidnapping case. It involved a fifty-year-old-man (who was a public school teacher) and a fifteen-year-old girl (a student at the school) from Tennessee. The media reported how the teacher persuaded the young girl to go with him, apparently because of his physical attraction to her. They were finally found in California last week and were taken back to Tennessee—she, to be reunited with her family and he, to face charges. Amidst all the things be said about the case and the sensational details of it, the man who would prosecute the charges against the former teacher said, “…at the end of the day, she is still a fifteen-year-old girl.” Those remarks reminded everyone of the seriousness of the charges, and the consequences that face the man if he is found guilty…