Chapter 1

"Teaching without a license puts kids at risk. If my son doesn't get into college, I'll make sure you pay for it!"

Three days before the SATs, Kendra Hodge took a screenshot of the parents pooling money to buy me fruit and used it as evidence.

Then she brought more than a dozen families with her to formally report me for running an illegal tutoring business.

...

"Alynna Dawson, quit hiding in there! You're giving us an answer today!"

With that shout, the front door to my apartment flew open.

Thirty-three high school seniors who had been hunched over practice tests looked up in alarm. Pens clattered to the floor.

Kendra stood in the doorway with her hands planted on her hips. Behind her were several uniformed city officials.

"That's her!" Kendra pointed straight at me. "She's running an illegal tutoring program out of her apartment and brainwashing our kids!"

The official in charge, Damon Pierce, stepped forward, his expression stern. He pulled out a formal complaint and slapped it onto the desk I'd been using to teach.

"We received a complaint alleging that you're operating an unlicensed, for-profit tutoring program in a residential property. Please provide your teaching credentials and business license."

I remained seated behind the desk, calmly studying the complaint.

Then I looked past his shoulder toward the hallway. Parents crowded outside, craning their necks to see what was happening.

Kendra stood at the front of them, looking smug.

"I don't have a license." I leaned back in my chair. "And I haven't charged anyone a dime. I'm just a neighbor who left her job. I saw a bunch of seniors who needed help preparing for college, so I've been tutoring them for free."

Kendra let out a derisive laugh. "Free? Give me a break!"

She pulled out her phone and held it high. An enlarged screenshot of a payment transfer filled the screen.

"Look! Here's the proof! Two weeks ago, she forced every one of us to pay her $50! Thirty-three students. That's $1,650! If that isn't illegally profiting off our kids, what is?"

Two weeks earlier, I'd stayed up three nights in a row putting together study packets for the students.

The parents in our group chat had insisted on pooling money to buy me two boxes of cherries.

I'd tried to refuse, but they wouldn't take no for an answer. So I'd accepted the fruit, washed it, and handed it out to the kids while they studied late into the night.

Now, they were using that money as proof that I'd demanded payment for tutoring.

"You voluntarily pooled that money to buy fruit," I said evenly.

"That's a lie!" Whitney Carroll shouted, pointing at me. "You made it perfectly clear that if we didn't pay, you wouldn't tell Hayden which material he needed to focus on! My family doesn't have much money. I had to take that $50 out of our grocery budget. You manipulative witch!"

Hayden, who was sitting in the front row, shot to his feet. "Mom! Stop lying! Ms. Dawson even pays for my late-night snacks out of her own pocket!"

Whitney rushed over and smacked him hard on the back. "What do you know? She's brainwashed you!"

She clamped a hand over Hayden's mouth and dragged him out of the living room.

Kendra grabbed her son, Zeke Hodge, whose hair was dyed blond, and hauled him in front of the officials.

"Look at my son. A few days ago, he didn't pay her fee for private one-on-one tutoring, so this woman started singling him out and excluding him!"

Zeke immediately understood what she wanted. He clutched his head and collapsed onto the couch with a groan.

"Oh God, my head hurts. I feel like I'm going to throw up. She makes me solve ridiculously hard problems every day, and she humiliates me. She's making my depression come back."

"Teaching without a license puts kids at risk," Kendra declared.

She pulled a cheap, unofficial copy of an education law handbook from her bag. "Once an illegal tutoring operation like this is confirmed, she won't just have to refund us and pay triple damages.

"She'll also have to compensate the students for the emotional trauma if her tutoring causes them to perform badly on the SATs."

She turned toward the parents gathered outside. "The SATs are right around the corner. If my son doesn't score high enough to get into college because of her, is she prepared to take full responsibility?"

At the mention of compensation, several parents who had been hanging back suddenly perked up.

"That's right! She has to pay!"

"If you've ruined our kids' futures, how are you going to make up for that?"

"What a hypocrite! Pretending it's free while secretly taking our money!"

From the hallway, Whitney muttered under her breath, "If we can get a few thousand dollars out of her, that'll be enough to buy Hayden a tablet."

Damon frowned and cut through the commotion. He motioned for the other officers to photograph the study setup as evidence.

The students' notebooks and the study packets I'd personally prepared were gathered together.

Several of the top-performing girls tried to defend me, their eyes teary.

"Ms. Dawson really is a good person. Her study packets are a hundred times more useful than the ones we get at school."

Before they could finish, their parents covered their mouths and dragged them out the door.

Kendra reached into her bag and pulled out a document she'd prepared in advance.

"Joint Parent Compensation Petition."

It demanded that I shut down the tutoring sessions, refund all miscellaneous fees, and pay each family $50,000 in compensation for jeopardizing their children's futures and causing them emotional distress.

She slapped the petition against my chest.

"Alynna, we're neighbors, after all. If you cooperate, sign this, and pay us, we'll withdraw the complaint. Then you won't have anything on your record."

Her expression hardened. "But if you refuse, we'll put this whole thing online and make sure everyone in the city sees it.

"Let's see how you like watching your reputation go up in flames after being the top science student in your graduating class. You won't be able to show your face anywhere in this city."

The parents closed in around me.

"Just sign it already. Don't make this harder than it has to be."

"We're doing this for our children. We're standing up for what's right."

I stared coldly at their twisted faces, then at the students whose parents were physically holding them back, too afraid to speak.

My fingers tapped slowly against the desk.

"And if I don't sign?" I looked Kendra straight in the eye.