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“That girl has challenged me since September!” she burst out, the mask finally slipping completely. “She undermines my authority! She thinks because she has no mother she deserves special treatment!”
The cruelty of the words hung in the air.
I stepped forward, placing myself between her and Lily.
“She refused to tell you who posted comments in the class chat,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “That’s not a crime, Mrs. Sharp. That’s loyalty to her peers. Something you clearly don’t understand.”
The statement echoed through the room. Several students sat up straighter. Lily looked up at me, her eyes wide.
The Colonel turned to Lily. He softened his posture, bending down to eye level.
“Sweetheart,” he asked gently. “Did you touch the bag?”
“No, sir,” Lily replied steadily. “I just put the attendance book on the desk.”
“Have you had prior issues with the teacher?”
Lily hesitated. She looked at the floor, then at me. I nodded.
“She… she makes fun of my shoes,” she whispered. “And she told the class that if we don’t study, we’ll end up ‘dirty laborers’ like my dad.”
A heavy sigh rippled across the classroom. The cruelty wasn’t an isolated incident; it was a curriculum.
Rob straightened up slowly. He looked at Mrs. Sharp with eyes that had seen war zones and warlords, and found her wanting.
“Did you suggest to the father that bringing cash would avoid involving the police?” Rob asked.
She faltered, realizing the trap she had walked into. “I… I only wanted to avoid a scene…”
“The scene was created by accusing a child without evidence,” he said. “And demanding money from a parent to ‘make it go away’ has a name, Mrs. Sharp. It’s called extortion.”
One of the officers closed his notebook with a snap.
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