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494words
At first, I thought maybe she'd realized Bella was missing and was genuinely worried.
Perhaps she even felt some remorse about how she handled the Swiss roll incident.
But before I could respond, she sent another message came through, full of accusations,
"How could she just leave without telling anyone?"
"Do you have any idea how long we've been looking for her?"
"If her deskmate hadn't mentioned me she went home, I would've been furious!"
"She knew she had another event. This is completely irresponsible behavior!"
"I never expected her to have such poor character."
"First, she steals snacks meant for the entire class, then she can't take a little criticism and runs off?"
"She skipped her event just to spite me! She made me lose face and even cost me my bonus!"
"What kind of mother are you? Can't even teach your child basic manners?"
"She's an embarrassment to our private school!"
I was stunned by the barrage of blame and anger. Then I began trembling with rage.
She was the one who had overreacted.
She was the one who thought physical punishment was acceptable. And now she was playing the victim?
"The reason Bella came home without a word is because her arm was dislocated and she was in terrible pain—thanks to you, Ms. Miller!"
"She didn't participate because she physically couldn't!"
"And as for ‘stealing'? That's ridiculous. There were plenty of snacks. Even after everyone had some, there would've been leftovers."
"How is having one considered stealing? Especially when I'm the one who paid for them!"
"And what kind of teacher breaks a student's arm as punishment? What kind of values are you teaching?!"
There was a pause. Then, "Well, Mrs. Thorne, regardless of whether it's your money or your husband's—you donated those snacks to the class."
"That means I, as the teacher, have the right to decide when they're distributed!"
"She took it without permission—that's stealing! If I don't teach her now, who will?"
"Maybe jail will teach her later! Or would you prefer that?"
Was she really implying Bella would end up in jail?
What kind of teacher says that to a parent?
And what did she mean, "your money or your husband's"? Even if it was his money, it's still marital property. Do I not have a right to spend it?
I was livid. "From how you handled this, it's clear you don't respect the parental contributions or the students themselves. I will be reporting this to the school board."
Our family has investments in this private school. Removing an unethical teacher is well within my capabilities.
I ignored her after that. Let her panic or regret her actions. She brought this on herself.
I put my phone down just as Chloe, my cousin's daughter, spoke up,
"Hey, what's this? ‘Sat 5'? What does that mean?"
Bella looked confused. She had no idea where the note in her backpack had come from.
