Page 83 of The Teacher

Why is she here?

Her face is also red, and her cheeks are wet. I realize she’s also been crying. She glances at me, horrified at the sight of me. Me being here scares her somehow. I don’t know what Skipper’s said to her, but she’s upset and terrified.

Skipper turns to her, disgust in his eyes.

“Tell them what you told me, Becky,” he says with a threatening voice.

She blubbers and lets out an indecipherable whimper.

“Tell them what you told me,” Skipper repeats, eyes on the parent. She’s frightened of him.

Becky sobs. “Miss Tweed bribed me with better marks for my son if I’d, in her own words, ‘ambushed’ Mr. Deep upstairs at the party. I didn’t want to do it, but I was drunk, and she said my son would pass Math if I did it.”

The room is stunned by this revelation. Mr. Brown slowly shakes his head, not believing what’s happening.

And I don’t believe it too.

It was all a lie? A set up by Miss Tweed?

Becky had cornered Skipper?

Had I got everything wrong last night?

Was I blind to the truth?

This is all happening too fast for me to digest.

Miss Tweed is freaking out. Her puff of brown hair really starts to wobble as she twists her head from person to person. She’s realizing she’s losing her grip on power by the second. Skipper is out to get her.

She’s scared. Miss Tweed is actually scared.

I’ve never seen this before.

“I did that for the good of the school,” she tries to explain to Mr. Brown. “Sandy is a terrible teacher who deserves to be…”

“SHUT UP.”

The room falls silent.

Skipper has shouted. He’s lost his calm composure. He’s screamed at Miss Tweed and everyone looks at him, petrified. Stunned.

The tall muscular billionaire holds all the power in the room.

He’s a real man.

My man.

Skipper exhales and then speaks very quietly, clearly trying to hold back his anger. “You have been trying to get me to invest in this school, Miss Tweed, and therefore you’ve tried to steal my own money. But, worse of all, you’re trying to insult the love of my life. You’re calling her a terrible teacher? I can never let that slide. I have been working with Sandy for the last few weeks coaching her troublemaking students and let me say on the record that I think she’s a wonderful teacher. You, though, Miss Tweed, are not a teacher. You are a criminal.” Skipper turns to Mr. Brown. “Maybe now’s the time to get the police involved, sir. Miss Tweed’s stolen a lot of money and I have the photocopied documents to prove it. I’ll send the evidence to you via email once I leave. Then I suggest you call the police. I’m sure you don’t need my help to find their number.”

And that’s it. Skipper turns around and heads out of the office.

But, before he does, he spins back around. “Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. I’m not going to invest in the school,” he says to the principal. “I’m actually going to buy it. And my first act as owner is to have Sandy reinstated. Does that sound fair?”

He waits for Mr. Brown to answer. The principle doesn’t speak for a few moments, digesting what’s been said.

“Uh, yes. That’s fair.”

“Good.”