Chapter 3

Since Chloe still had school, they were heading back to Riverside City.

I went back with them, not even knowing why I'd come in the first place, and left as clueless as I'd arrived.

I didn't go back to David's place.

After saying goodbye to Chloe and the others at the airport, I wandered around aimlessly.

After wandering for over half an hour, I ran into Samuel, who was drenched in sweat.

He looked like he'd sprinted over. His hair was plastered to his face with sweat, and he was still catching his breath.

He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you have anywhere to go?"

I shook my head, not hiding it.

When Samuel realized I had nowhere to go, he broke into a grin, his teeth gleaming, making him look almost like a kid again.

"I've got an extra room, you can crash at my place. Only one thing: when I'm tied up, could you help out with Chloe? Sound good?" he asked.

I didn't even hesitate. "Sure."

Chloe went back to school, and I landed a job as an art teacher.

Right after I started my new job, Samuel gave me a call.

"Hey, do you have a minute? There's an issue at Chloe's school, and I'm tied up, I can't make it over right now," he said.

I hurried over to Chloe's school and, after some asking around and a bit of guesswork, finally managed to find the school office.

Inside, Ryan Wright's shrill, tearful voice cried out, "Chloe hit me first. She started it."

The teacher kept her cool. "Chloe, did you hit first?"

Chloe kept her head down, saying nothing.

"Chloe," the teacher called out.

"Chloe, speak up," she urged.

The teacher was starting to lose her patience.

The chubby kid across from her stopped crying and smirked. "Figures, no parents, can't even speak up when the teacher asks."

I took a deep breath and walked into the office. "Ma'am, if he dares to say Chloe has no parents right in front of you, imagine what kind of nasty things he says when you're not around."

The teacher frowned.

The chubby kid huffed, "Who are you? Why do you get to say that? What's it to you?"

"I'm Chloe's mom, so of course it's my business," I snapped.

I squatted down so I was eye-to-eye with Chloe. "Hey, I know you're a good kid, you wouldn't hit someone out of the blue. The teacher's right here, so why don't we tell her what really happened, alright?"

Chloe finally spoke up, saying that since she returned from Green Valley, word got around at school that she and Ella had been swapped as babies.

People said her real family lived way out in the mountains, and that she wanted the easy life and refused to go back to her real home.

Chloe never tried to defend herself.

Today, Ryan showed up with a bunch of boys and tried to snatch Chloe's art homework.

Yesterday, Chloe and I spent forever working on it, a chibi drawing of Samuel. We'd promised to frame it and give it to him after finals.

But Ryan barged in, yanking and pulling at her art book, and ended up ripping it right in half.

Chloe couldn't hold back, so she gave him a shove, and he stumbled straight into the wall.

Now everything made sense.

The teacher turned to Ryan. "Is that what happened, Ryan?"

Ryan's eyes darted around, his hands behind his back. "I didn't take it, I was checking it out."

Ryan added, "And I didn't rip it either..."

He'd already made up his mind to stick to his story.

Elementary school kids always think they're the only smart ones and everyone else is clueless.

I asked the teacher, "Shouldn't there be cameras in the classroom? Check the footage and you'll see what really happened."

The teacher glanced at me. "I'll have the staff pull up the footage right now."

Ryan's expression shifted in a flash.

Everything was clear now, so I told Ryan he had to apologize to Chloe in front of the whole class.

Then I walked Chloe back to her classroom.

At the door, I said, "Go on, get back to class. I need to head back to my own students too, they'll be waiting for me."

After school, I went to pick up Chloe. She was being all secretive and told me to wait for a bit.

There was a steady stream of people coming and going at the school gate.

I was a little confused, but I still waited by the side of the road.

After about ten minutes, most of the students had already left. Only a few stragglers were still coming out, in twos and threes.

A black car pulled up quietly.

Chloe spotted it and dashed over, pulling open the passenger door.

I was still trying to figure out what was going on and hurried after her.

Suddenly, a huge bouquet of flowers appeared before my eyes.

Samuel was standing nearby, grinning slyly like a fox.

Looking down, I saw Chloe standing on her tiptoes, holding the bouquet up for me to see.

Her voice was bright and clear. "Helen, congratulations on getting your dream job."

In the blink of an eye, I'd already been working for a month.

After work, I'd grab something tasty with Chloe or Samuel. On weekends, we'd either head out for a day trip or chill at home making crafts with Chloe.

I was almost able to put David out of my mind, but every now and then, I'd think about Sophie and wonder what she was up to.

It was another weekend, and fuse beads were all the rage lately.

Chloe and I searched online for a bunch of cute designs, planning to go to the fuse bead shop.

Chloe was, as always, totally impressed.

"How come you know how to do everything, Helen?" she asked.

She started ticking things off on her fingers. "You can draw, make those pretty fans, sew clothes and bags, make silk flowers, and even make dolls."

"Is there anything you can't do, Helen?" Chloe asked.

I couldn't help but laugh. "If you like it, I'll teach you everything."

Chloe jumped up, grinning. "That's awesome."

She beamed, "I'm really lucky to have you in my life."

We walked into the fuse bead shop, chatting and laughing together.