Chapter 4: Miracle Scores and New Threats

During the three-day midterms, the whole school was off so seniors could take their mock exams. I drove the girl to and from school every day, sometimes asking the boy to help. In the script, this was about when the attempted assault would happen. Last time, my carelessness nearly got her hurt again. This time, I prepped in advance. I even set up a buddy system.

No one’s hurting my girl on my watch! I was ready to go full mama bear if I had to.

The results came out—shocking! The boys were stunned, the girls in tears! The slacker class had pulled off a miracle! I could hardly believe it myself.

What happened behind the scenes?!

The principal grabbed my hand, tears streaming down his face. "Ms. Carter! You’re a hero!"

I knew the girl was holding back, but I didn’t expect this much. She placed third in the whole county on the standardized test. Maple Heights High only occasionally managed to get a student in the top ten, and she had transferred from there.

I laughed to myself—couldn’t help it. I did a little victory dance in the teacher’s lounge.

And that’s not all. Because of our class, our school had always lagged far behind Maple Heights. But now, with our rise and the ripple effect on other classes, the gap shrank dramatically. No one in our class turned in a blank test. The average score was close to passing. The boy made some progress, too—at least he was on track for a state college.

Awesome!

Isn’t this just like a feel-good novel? Sometimes, life really does imitate art.

I happily put my arm around the girl, the boy trailing behind. I planned to treat them to a nice meal. We deserved to celebrate.

Passing an alley, I spotted a bunch of sketchy blond punks, with a girl in a school hoodie in the middle. They were whispering and eyeing us. My teacher senses tingled.

…

Still up to no good, huh? I narrowed my eyes, already planning my next move.

At the burger place, I told the leads to start eating, faked a stomach ache, and slipped out.

"Callie, can I borrow your jacket?"

Before she could answer, I grabbed her hoodie from the chair. I needed to blend in, just in case.

Outside, I dialed 911, eyes narrowed as I watched the gang nearby. I draped the jacket over my shoulders and walked past on purpose. I kept my phone recording in my pocket.

"She’s coming out alone."

"Perfect."

I smirked. Idiots. They had no idea who they were messing with.

I headed into a pre-selected alley, stopped at the blocked end, and turned my back to them without a word. I started recording.

"Hey, Callie. Living it up over there, huh? Forgot what it felt like when I had you pinned down? Didn’t I tell you not to show off? You’re just a whore’s daughter—so what if your grades are good?"

It was the girl gang leader, arms crossed, nose in the air, acting like she owned the world. Her voice dripped with malice.

I pinched my throat to mimic Callie’s voice. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? Heh, strip and let the boys have some fun. If Brittany and the others weren’t busy, they’d be here too. Don’t think transferring got you off the hook."

The girl kept strutting, the blond punks leering. I could feel my blood boiling.

?

My fists clenched. Damn it, I can’t take this. I was done playing nice.

I stopped recording, tossed my phone in the jacket, and turned around.

"Hey, kid—bullying isn’t cool."

I walked over, meeting their wary eyes with a cold smile. I was done with the teacher act.

"Who are you?" the girl stammered.

I grabbed her by the collar and slammed her to the ground. She snarled at the others, "What are you waiting for? Get her!"

Seeing the hesitant punks, I bent my knees and struck a pose.

"Come on, don’t be cowards."

Ha, little do they know I’m a black belt. I cracked my knuckles for effect.

A particularly sleazy punk shouted, "She’s bluffing! She can’t take all of us!"

He lunged at me, arms wide. I wrinkled my nose in disgust, kicked him in the chest, then spun and smacked him in the face. He went down. The rest froze, swallowing hard.

I flexed my leg, smirked, and taunted, "Is that it? Weak."

The other punks got mad and closed in. "All together!" someone yelled. They charged. I grabbed a stick, clubbed the first one, then kicked another down. When one tried to sneak up from behind, I knocked him out with a sideways chop.

"Ganging up and still sneaking around, huh?"

I snorted, then stomped on him for good measure. Didn’t want to dirty my hands, so I mostly used my legs and the stick. These punks didn’t know a thing about fighting—soon, they were all on the ground, howling.

I grabbed the girl gang leader as she tried to run.

"Got any pictures of Callie on your phone?"

She screamed in pain, handed me her phone. I checked her album—turns out she had photos and videos of lots of bullied girls, some even nudes.

My anger boiled over. I yanked her hair and growled, "Who the hell do you think you are, bullying people and taking nudes? Got the guts to pick on girls, but never stand up to these punks? Only pick on the weak, huh?"

She was sobbing, her cheap makeup running down her face like a ghost. I snapped a few photos for evidence.

"Warning you—stay away from Callie. I’m reporting this to Maple Heights right now. If I catch you bullying anyone again, whatever happened to those punks will happen to you. Got it?"

"Yes, yes!" she bawled, hugging her head.

The police arrived. I explained, and they took the punks away. The girl hid behind me, silent. I kept a hand on her shoulder, letting her know she was safe.

"Ma’am, please come to the station to give a statement," an officer said.

I glanced at the burger place—our table was right by the window. The warm lights made everything look cozy. The leads were happily eating and chatting, smiling. For a moment, I felt like a real teacher, not just a stand-in.

I couldn’t help but smile, too.

"Hang on, let me call my friends so they don’t wait for me."

I apologized to the officer, stepped aside, and called the boy.

"Mason, something came up at school. Callie’s your responsibility—make sure she gets home. I’ve already paid, just leave when you’re done."

I hung up, grabbed the gang leader, and went to the station. She cried again on the way. I sneered, "So tough, but can’t handle the consequences?"

The officers glanced at us curiously. I just rolled my eyes.

Afterwards, the punks were locked up for a few days. The girl, scared of getting arrested, swore to me she’d never do it again. I called Maple Heights’ principal to report the bullying, with the girl identifying others involved. But to my shock, the principal covered it up—no real punishment for anyone.

I tsked, disgusted by that kind of leadership. Maple Heights, huh? Please. I made a note to keep an eye on them.

It was late by the time I got home. To my surprise, the girl was still up, waiting for me.

"Why are you still up?"

Taking off my jacket, I asked her. She looked worried, but tried to hide it.

"Ms. Carter, you were out so late, I was worried you’d forget to eat. I made you some mac and cheese."

She smiled, bringing over a steaming bowl. I was touched—and hungry. The smell was heavenly.

"Thanks."

I ate, then told her, "Get some sleep. We have class tomorrow."

"Mm, good night, Ms. Carter."

She waved sweetly, her voice like honey. I ruffled her hair before heading to bed myself.

Class morale was through the roof! I was thrilled, and the students’ spirits soared. They greeted me in the halls, even the quiet ones.

"Class, our time is coming!"

I cheered, fist in the air. I could almost hear the Rocky theme playing in the background.

"Catch up, catch up, catch up!"

The whole class echoed. The energy was electric.

The leads sat on either side of the front row, watching me. They looked hopeful, ready for anything.

I was happy! For once, everything felt possible.

At that moment, I was a legend! I let myself bask in it. These were my kids, and I was proud.

At the end of the semester, our class improved even more. Eighty percent made the college cut-off. The average scores in every subject were above passing. The girl ranked first in the county. The boy held steady at state college level. Everything was heading in the right direction. I threw a pizza party to celebrate.