Chapter 3 The Vice Principal's Callousness

I couldn't believe Brian, a vice principal, treated human life like it meant nothing. How could he say the boy was born sick?! Ethan's mother had reminded us repeatedly to take good care of him and had even organized his medications carefully. If I hadn't given Ethan that emergency dose in time, the thought of what would happen made my scalp crawl.

In my previous life, I had left Yvonne behind to fetch the parents; when I came back, I found Ethan lifeless, with pills scattered all over the floor. At the hospital, they discovered several drugs had interacted badly and accelerated Ethan's death.

Brian said nearly the same indifferent thing. "It's his fault he was born sick."

When I didn't move, he forced my hand and dragged me in front of Yvonne. "Apologize. My patience has limits. You're a senior teacher and you can't even handle a little situation like this—maybe you've been sitting in that high seat for too long."

Seeing Brian defend her, Yvonne flung herself into his arms, all hurt and trembling. His heart ached for her, and he turned to me with a venomous glare, slapping my right shoulder. The crisp crack of bone made him freeze for a beat.

I had gone numb. He knew my right shoulder was injured—he knew it had been hurt saving him five years ago—and yet now he'd laid into a newly arrived teacher in defense of his fiancee.

I clutched my shoulder, grabbed the thermos from the next table, and smashed it down on his head. Blood spurted instantly; he went limp to the floor. Yvonne screamed and clamped her hands over his head. "Doctor! Doctor!"

I hauled Brian up by his collar. "Am I Yvonne's mother? Look out for her? Do you know she's older than me? Those fine lines on her face aren't something a thick layer of foundation can hide. So be it that she acts like a young adult—she plays dumb! Please. She's an adult, not a kid.

"How is someone like that qualified to be a teacher?! Can't do this, can't do that—you might as well quit and go farm already! You'd better pray Ethan's going to be okay, because if he's not, you'll be the one doing time, you pretentious bitch."

A crowd had gathered, and many mistook the scene for a jealous wife tearing into a mistress; they pointed and whispered at Yvonne. She looked ghastly, swaying as if she might break at any second.

Just then, a voice rang out.

"Make way! Everyone, make way!"

Even just hearing her made my whole body tremble.

It was Ethan's mother. In my last life, she had, in her grief, killed me with a kitchen knife—dismembering my body afterward. I had expected my fiance to defend me, but instead, he comforted Ethan's mother and said I had it coming.

Seeing her again, my blood boiled with rage and a single, loud hunger for revenge.

Ethan's mother, panting, stepped up to Brian with worry in her voice. "Mr. Chapman, what's going on? I remind my son to take his medicine every day—how could he have an episode out of nowhere?"

Brian cleared his throat, glanced at me as if begging me to stay quiet, and spoke seriously to Ethan's mother. "This was Miss Solano's fault. Ethan had a sudden heart attack; he could have received treatment faster if not for Miss Solano wasting time. He's still not out of the operating room."

I slammed my fist into the wall. The thud made people stop and stare. "Are you saying my crime was giving Ethan emergency medicine to save his life? Or that I should have followed Yvonne and shoved all the pills into him like some fool trying anything? People only get one life—I won't treat it like play pretend. Not like you do."

Ethan's mother snapped from hysteria to cold clarity. "You're saying a teacher gave my child medicine without knowing? My child is allergic to many drugs—he can't take them. Who would be so clueless? Whoever did this will pay."

Yvonne cowered behind Brian, but I dragged her out by the arm, my face hard. "You nearly killed that child—shouldn't you offer the parents an explanation? Hiding behind someone like a coward won't do. Are you even fit to be a teacher? If I were Brian, I'd have fired you a long time ago."

Ethan's mother flung her bag at Yvonne and began hitting and kicking her. Brian hurriedly pulled Yvonne into his arms, his face ashen. "The school isn't yours. Don't tell me how to do my job—do your duty."