Kelsie spent an hour chiding Dustin rcer before the man accepted he was in the wrong and stomped out of the hospital.
A while later, a knock sounded on her door and a nurse ca in shortly after.
"Dr. Sutton, Karen Kunstler has requested to be taken ho today. She says she’d recuperate better there. What do I tell her? Will that be possible?"
Kelsie had her eyes lowered to her phone as she nodded without looking up.
"Of course. I’ll sign off on it once I’ve confird she’s recuperated from enough to leave her ward."
"Okay, doctor."
As the nurse left her office, she dialed Jett’s number a third ti. But like the first two tis, it went unanswered.
Just when she was growing worried, he called back.
"I’m sorry, I took them to this amusent park after school. Zade said he had to et soone."
"I see. I just wanted to be sure you were all fine."
"We were... and are still fine. It would’ve been nice if you were here too, though."
"Really? Next ti, then?"
"Next ti, then."
Out of nowhere, an awkward silence suddenly ensued, both listening to the other’s heavy breathing with nothing to say before a phone rang on Jett’s end.
"I have to take this call and work at ho tomorrow." It was an information he didn’t think Kelsie needed to know, but he shared it anyway.
"I will leave you to it, then." Kelsie was slightly taken aback and realizing she was about to get flustered, quickly ended the call.
The next day, she drove the triplets to school, then went to the hospital.
She had no surgery scheduled for the day and just checked-in on her patients until it was ti to pick her children from school.
When she drove into the parking lot at Aventis Academy, she sighted a parent waving what seed to be test papers in Charlotte Hastings face as she yelled irritatedly.
"Ms. Hastings, my son keeps failing every subject. If you’re doing this just so you can ask for a higher fee, you don’t have to."
"My son’s education is more important to than anything as it’s the only way I defend myself against my vicious mother-in-law."
"So I’ll pay whatever you ask to as long as I can prove to that judgental woman that he does well in school."
"So how much do you want? I’ll write you a cheque right now or if you’re not comfortable with that, I will go to the bank first thing tomorrow to wire you the money."
Charlotte Hastings smiled helplessly, eyes sparkling greedily hearing the woman.
This was the fifth parent making such an offer in just one day. All she had to do was sneak them a few exam materials for a few terms and she’d be able to buy herself that month.
The only problem was that wench...
If only she hadn’t t that wench she’d be soaring high in the sky right now.
"What? You can’t do it?" The parent snapped impatiently when several seconds went by without Charlotte saying anything.
Charlotte thought fast.
That wench had both hands wrapped around her throat right now, but it wouldn’t be like this forever.
Until she found a way to get rid of her, she had to retain her clientele.
"No, it’s not that. I’m facing a few setbacks on my end. But just give a few months to..."
At the ntion of ’months’, the parent interrupted her with a snort, "Months? The school’s exams is coming up in a few weeks."
"My mother-in-law is going to have a field day calling a failure when she sees my son’s test papers. Do you think I want that to happen again with his exam results?"
"Ma’am, you’ve got wrong. I..." Charlotte was about to makeup a reason for her inability to help, but the woman rudely interrupted her again.
"I felt the other parents were lying when they said you suddenly turned over a new leaf, but turns out they were right."
"If you won’t do it anymore, I hope you continue having such a prosperous career as a teacher here."
Then she walked past Charlotte, almost brushing shoulders with her.
Though her last sentence sounded like well-wishing words, Charlotte grimaced, knowing it was a threat.
Darn you, Kelsie Sutton!
Just you wait, I’ll be sure to teach you a...
"Wow, you’re glowing, Ms. Hastings! I doubt sothing good happened to you, so did you change your skincare routine?"
Kelsie’s inquisitive voice suddenly echoed, cutting into her thoughts.
Charlotte jerked upright, lifting her eyes to see the bane of her existence at the other end of the parking lot.
Kelsie noticed the angry look on her face and spat out the ntos in her mouth to warn effectively, "Ms. Hastings, whatever you have to say, I suggest you don’t say it. Why? I do not care about your predicant."
Charlotte stopped inches away from her, swallowing rhe rude words at the tip of her tongue as she said through clenched teeth, "I’m losing my source of livelihood."
Kelsie slightly tilted her head to the side, feigning confusion as she popped ntos into her mouth again.
"You are? Don’t they usually inform parents when they’re about to fire a teacher or sothing?"
"And didn’t I tell you to be careful when you return those things you stole? How is it my fault you were careless and got caught?"
"No, I’m not being fired. Nor was I caught." Charlotte quickly refuted.
"Oh? Then, what is this fuse about?"
"Ms. Sutton, I get that I was wrong to have blad your daughter for sothing she didn’t do, but don’t you think making return everything I’ve ever taken from these children is a bit too much?"
"How is it a bit too much? You didn’t buy them."
"Then don’t you think it’s even more extre asking to stop by side job?"
"You an giving the children the exam materials which you’ve broken down extensively, then making them practice it at ho for hours until it becos like a normal ho work?"
"That was my source of inco!"
"Don’t raise your voice at ."
"Forgive ."
"Of course. Now if you rember correctly, I said I don’t care about your predicant. If the children you teach are your livelihood, then you should’ve treated them all better."
"You do know I could always go into the principal’s office and confess all my sins to him right now, don’t you?
Kelsie’s lips twitched involuntarily in amusent.
"I rember giving you two choices; confess your sins to the school and bear the consequences of your actions or return everything you stole to the kids and stop dealing the exam materials."
"You chose the latter in a heartbeat. But if you suddenly changed your mind after doing it and now want the forr, then please go ahead."
Charlotte knew she had misspoken and went silent for close to a minute, then she sighed desperately.
"If this goes on, I can’t pay rent and I’ll have to move to a smaller place. Let continue dealing the exam materials and I will do whatever you say. I will never take from the children again, just their parents."
"Mommy?"
Kelsie had just parted her lips to say sothing when she heard her daughter’s shaky voice.
Keira was a little cautious seeing Charlotte standing with her mother and had to be sure she hadn’t mistaken soone else for Kelsie.
Zade and Jesse, who were right behind her also did the sa. But unlike her, they didn’t bother hiding their disdain toward her.
Kelsie straightened up and leaned away from the car, the hard frown on her face imdiately getting replaced by a tender smile as she stared at Keira.
"Keira, Ms. Hastings tells she apologized to you in front of the whole school today, is that true?"
Keira looked away and said nothing.
Zade and Jesse were the only ones who huffed one after the other.
"You didn’t see her eyes that day, mommy. I don’t buy her apology for one bit."
" neither."
Hearing them, Kelsie held in her smile and shifted her gaze to Charlotte, who hurriedly lowered her head to them in apology.
"Keira, Zade and Jesse, forgive this bad-behaved teacher for what happened that day. I vow never to act that way ever again."
Even after doing this, Keira strutted past her without a word and got into the car.
Zade and Jesse followed suit shortly after.
Once they were inside, Kelsie delved straight to her second reason for coming.
"I hear there’s a school which burnt to the ground recently."
"Yes, there is."
"What do you know?"
"They’re many versions of it. But the one I heard, they said a security smoked in the school’s science lab and ended up setting it on fire. But no one believes that."
Kelsie raised a question, "What do you an?"
Charlotte pursed her lips.
"Every infrastructure within sight burnt to crisp. This happening to the science lab building would’ve been understandable, but clearing out everything points to the fire being kindled to do so."
"The vice-counselor and his brother disappeared the following day and the principal suddenly moved out of Silicone Valley with her family."
"It’s so neat and taken care of everyone knows they must’ve pissed off soone they shouldn’t have."
"There’s even a rumor going around that Mark Davidson beat up the son of Jett Adler, thus invoking what happened."
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