Chapter 4

At 5:00 am, I returned to Mom's ward.

She had come to. When she heard footsteps, she turned her head. "Nat."

"Mom." I sat down on the edge of her bed.

"What did the school say?"

"I haven't gone yet."

Mom nodded. "Nat, did I get you in trouble?"

A lump formed in my throat. "No."

"Don't lie to me," she said softly. "I just wanted to earn a little more money. I didn't mean to stir up trouble."

"Mom, you really didn't."

Holding my gaze, she said, "Go. I'll wait for you to come back."

I rose to my feet and walked to the door.

"Nat."

I spun around.

Her lips trembled, as if she wanted to tell me so many things. In the end, she only forced out, "Be careful out there."

I walked out of her hospital room and stood in the corridor for a long time. Then, I headed to the school.

…

At 8:00 am the next morning, I stood before the desk in the principal's office.

Mr. Fletcher sat behind it, with Leon seated next to him.

There was a cup of Black Ivory coffee on the table. Its aroma drifted into the air.

"Nathan, after careful consideration by the school administration…" Mr. Fletcher slid a document toward me. "Ms. Dunn's been dismissed from her teaching position effective today, as she violated regulations by operating an unauthorized business on campus, which triggered a brawl and severely tarnished the school's reputation."

I didn't move a muscle.

"Considering your family's financial situation, the school's granting you 500 dollars as a humanitarian stipend," he added.

Leon slapped five bills onto the desk. The 500 dollars almost felt weightless. I stared at them.

"You're one of our top students, Nathan. We've always held you in high regard." Mr. Fletcher lifted his coffee mug. "This matter ends here. If you make a scene, it won't do you any favors."

"My dad's in the ICU."

His hand stiffened.

"My mom miscarried."

Leon chuckled. "The miscarriage was an accident. What does that have to do with us?"

"It has everything to do with you." I looked up and trained my eyes on him. "You called those guys."

Leon's smile faded slightly. "Don't make baseless accusations."

"That bald man has a tattoo on his neck and a mole under his right eye. I've seen him before."

His expression shifted.

Mr. Fletcher cleared his throat. "Nathan, you need evidence to back up your claims."

"I'm the evidence." I fished out my phone.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Ignoring him, I booted up WhatsApp. There were 47 students from Class 3 of the 12th Grade, 36 fifth-year seniors, and 390 students from the other classes in Grade 12. The group was named "College Entrance Exam Countdown."

I sent a message to the group. "My mom's stall was trashed, and she had a miscarriage. My dad's in the ICU. The school fired my mom and offered me 500 dollars in compensation.

"I'm going to tear the cafeteria apart at 12:00 pm today. Are you guys in or not?"

The group chat immediately became inundated with messages.

"I'm in."

"I'm in."

"Hell yeah, I'm in!"

473 students replied with, "I'm in."

I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and glanced at the five bills on the desk. "Mr. Fletcher, you can keep the money. Buy yourself some coffee beans with it."

I turned around and left. The door closed behind me.

Leon's voice leaked out from inside. "What can you possibly do, you little brat? I have connections in the Department of Education!"

I didn't look back. I went downstairs, crossed the sports field, and walked into the cafeteria.

The corner that had been trashed was still a mess. Fragments of the insulated food container littered the ground, and the red cloth was covered in muddy footprints.

I crouched down and picked up a single whole egg from the floor. Clutching it in my hand, I walked out.

Terence was waiting for me on the steps leading into the cafeteria. Scarlett and the rest of my classmates were here as well. I stood at the top of the steps and raised the egg in my hand.

The sunlight was blinding. "We'll tear the cafeteria down at 12:00 pm!" I declared.