Reminder of my old biases

I read an article about an artist and his last name reminded me of a teacher I adored 12
years ago. She was a Science teacher in the convent I studied for the last two dreary
years of school.A simple lady, she wore 3/4th sleeved high-collared blouses with her saris. She was thin and short (shorter than me, so I guess that counts as 'short'). She was strict, and
taught us sincerely, although I got thrown out of her class ever so often.And then one day things took an ugly turn. A rumour starting doing rounds in the class that the teacher was a homosexual. Some of the girls had started it to hurl muck at the quiet lady, and get her agitated. She continued teaching us for the rest of the year.
During the school trip to Bangalore, the gossip-factory went full throttle, generating more and more wild stories. I felt sorry for her being pulled into this drama. During PTA meetings, she would tell my mother that I was naughty and could do much better; I would grin, and pull my mom away from her. Somewhere in my idiotic head, I didn't want my mom to be seen in her company. Wild imagination, fuelled with narrow-minded ideas, but I do sincerely regret it now.