Chapter 2

Her blatant lies left me completely stunned.

I was stunned for a while, trying to pull myself together before I could explain.

"Mrs. Olsen, I think you're misunderstanding. When Zaylee got a cramp and started drowning, you can't just jump in right away. You have to wait until they're exhausted and can't struggle anymore."

"If you rush in, they'll panic and drag you under with them. Both of you could end up drowning. That's just common sense when it comes to rescuing someone."

"And honestly, he was the one who insisted on going into the water. I warned him over and over not to!"

But Zaylee's mother got even more furious. She stormed right up to me, jabbing her finger into my forehead.

"Don't give me that crap! You did this on purpose. You wanted my kid to choke and suffer, didn't you?"

"You won’t even let them go in the river, always so many rules. You’re way too strict!"

"If you hadn't chased after him, he wouldn't have gotten so scared his leg cramped up! You're the reason my son got hurt! You better pay for his medical bills!"

Unbelievable. How could anyone be this shameless?

She jabbed me so hard I nearly toppled over.

The principal was just trying to keep the peace. He didn't even care if I was okay, didn't give me a chance to say a word, and just went along with it without even letting me speak.

"Don't worry. Since it happened on Ms. Hinton's watch, she's the one who has to take the blame!"

Zaylee's mother looked pleased and let out a cold snort. "See? That's why he's in charge! Ms. Hinton, you've still got a lot to learn!"

"You're responsible for any little thing that happens to my son from now on!"

Responsible?

I shot back, "So this is your plan to keep holding me accountable for anything, right?"

Zaylee's mother gave me a sly, mocking grin. "Yeah, I’m going to squeeze you for money, so what? You’re my son’s teacher. If you don’t take care of it, who will?"

Seeing that brazen, shameless expression on her face, I realized Zaylee's rebellious attitude was definitely inherited from his mother.

There were always parents like her who had kids but never bother to raise them, just toss all the responsibility onto the teachers.

But the principal just wanted to make the problem go away, agreeing to everything she demanded without any backbone or principles.

In the end, the school gave me a disciplinary warning, cut my pay, and made me cover all of Zaylee’s medical and nutrition expenses.

On top of that, I had to use my own meal card to cover every single one of Zaylee's lunches and dinners.

If Zaylee ever felt sick in class and needed to leave early, I was expected to escort him home and tutor him there.

Looking at these so-called "terms," which read like a straight-up slave contract, I let out a bitter laugh.

"Why should I? I refuse to go along with this!"

The teachers on the sidelines shook their heads. "This is just bullying Ms. Hinton, way too much."

The principal exploded on the spot. "You brought this mess on yourself! Can't you just focus on teaching? Why did you have to go to the river and rescue kids? Are you bored or something?"

"Now the parents are upset, so as a teacher, you just have to cooperate and apologize! That's your duty!"

"Either do as you're told, or get out!"

Zaylee's mother strutted out of the office, looking as smug as a rooster that just won a fight.

I took a few deep breaths, trying to steady myself, then headed to the classroom to check on my students.

Morning reading wasn't even over yet, but the students had already lost interest in their books. They were all chattering away, talking over each other.

"Zaylee, did Ms. Hinton get chewed out?"

“Of course it’s true. My mom texted me. She said she got a lot of money out of Ms. Hinton!” Zaylee sat in the back row, surrounded by others like a king. “Damn it, she shouldn’t have come to the river yesterday and yelled at me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gotten a cramp. I got scared, that’s why it happened. And then she even called an ambulance… I totally lost face!”

"Now let's see if she even has the nerve to boss us around again!"

Right away, a bunch of students started cheering and chiming in.

"Your mom's awesome. She really put her in her place! I've been sick of that teacher forever. She's always got something to nag about!"

"Yeah! I haven't even written my apology essay yet. Now that Ms. Hinton got chewed out by your mom, she probably won't even care about my apology essay now!"

"Can your mom come yell at her more often? I just started dating this older guy from outside school, and Ms. Hinton keeps an eye on me all the time. I barely get to see him these days!"

Zaylee kicked back with his legs crossed. "Just my mom isn't enough. If all your parents complain too, Ms. Hinton will definitely get fired. Then we'll get a teacher who doesn't care what we do, and we can finally relax!"

The whole class was getting more excited. Some kids even whipped out their phones from their desks and started texting on the spot.

I listened quietly to their conversation, then left without showing any emotion.

Our county middle school didn't have strong resources, but when I joined, I truly wanted to help my students study hard and get as many of them into the city's top high school as possible.