The Halloween Fee

The woman on the other end clicked her tongue again, even more impatient this time. She muttered under her breath, wondering why the door had malfunctioned again.I repeated myself urgently, telling her we had young children with us and asking her to send someone as soon as possible.“What’s the rush?” she replied in a slow, unbothered tone. “If you were so anxious, you should’ve called earlier. At this hour, the repair workers have already gone home.“If you want them to come back, you’ll have to pay for their overtime. “Three repairmen—a thousand five hundred each. Transfer four thousand five hundred to my account, and I’ll call them right away.”Her indifference and outrageous greed stunned me. “Nearly five thousand dollars? What kind of overtime repair fee costs that much?” I blurted out in disbelief.The woman let out a cold laugh.“If you don’t want to pay, then you’ll just have to spend the night with the ghosts.”She set the phone down on the table, and soon the so

After offering what comfort I could, I finally managed to steady the situation. I didn’t dare delay any longer and immediately called the police.Then I phoned Levi’s father and asked him to inform everyone in the parents’ group to rush to the amusement park as soon as possible. His voice trembled with fear as he listened to what had happened. Only after confirming the children were still safe did he finally breathe again, then burst into furious curses at Holly.Moments later, he transferred four thousand five hundred dollars to Levi’s smart watch and told me to use it to deal with Holly for now.I hesitated for a moment. The police and the parents would need time to arrive. The fastest solution was to make Holly send someone to unlock the door.Afraid any delay might worsen Tommy’s condition, I recorded my conversation with Levi’s father.As soon as we hung up, I typed Holly’s bank account number into the smart watch and transferred the money before I called her.“I’v

Holly’s sobs suddenly stopped. She lifted her eyes toward Kent, her expression unreadable, and slowly pushed herself up from the floor. Pointing a trembling finger at his nose, she rasped, “Then what about you? You were supposed to take Tommy to that party today. So why did he end up in the amusement park?”Kent stiffened, guilt flickering across his face.A police officer stepped forward and said he needed to ask me some questions.I glanced at both of them — Kent tense and evasive, Holly hollowed out and dazed — then began explaining calmly.“Today was Halloween. The kindergarten planned a trip to the amusement park. Our class unanimously chose to visit the haunted house, and all the parents agreed beforehand.“This morning, Tommy did request leave, saying he couldn’t come. But in the afternoon, Mr. Spark brought him to the kindergarten, saying he had a date and it wasn’t convenient to bring Tommy along.”The moment I said that, Kent’s shoulders jerked and he lowered his he

I felt more than saw as Holly rose to her feet, teeth clenched, swinging at me with fury.I reacted quickly, blocking her hand before it could strike.Seeing that she missed, Holly glared at me with pure venom, then twisted her arm to point at me accusingly.“How can you not be blamed? This accident with Tommy is entirely your responsibility as his teacher, and your kindergarten isn’t innocent either!“Who allowed you to take little children into a haunted house? And knowing Tommy has claustrophobia, you still brought him in?”Anger flared through me, and I no longer restrained myself. With one swift motion, I slapped Holly, who was still struggling under my hold.She froze, eyes wide in shock and outrage.“You dare hit me?”Kent stepped forward, placing himself between us.I shook my stinging hand, a sense of reckless defiance taking over.“Yes, I dare!” I snapped.“That haunted house was just a Halloween-themed attraction. It clearly stated at the entrance that children