Chapter 2When a Mother Loves Her Reputation More

All of a sudden, a sense of weightlessness came over me. I found myself drifting up to the third-floor hallway of the classroom building.

The faculty office, which Mom shared with the other teachers, was at the end of the corridor. Its door was ajar, and I saw her hurrying into the office, a plastic shopping bag swinging from her hand. It bore the logo of the convenience store right outside the school.

Mom sat at her desk and took a strawberry ice cream out of the bag. That was my favorite flavor. Her lips lifted ever so slightly as she looked at it.

After storing it away in the mini fridge, she muttered to herself, "She's been standing outside for almost an hour now. That's enough to prove my principles and professionalism as a teacher. It's almost time for me to bring that stubborn girl back inside."

She opened a drawer at her desk, took out a sports drink, and set it down on her desk. After pausing in thought for a moment, she retrieved a small towel as well.

"When I bring her back inside later, I'll prepare a damp towel and wipe her down with it."

My soul hung in the air, my chest so tight that it felt as if someone were squeezing it. Mom truly did love me. She just needed a reasonable "setup" before she backed down.

She had to make sure everyone got a good look at how her own daughter had been punished far worse than the other students before she finally "relented" and brought me back in. That way, she could carry on being the righteous and principled Ms. Campbell, known for being fair and impartial.

Mom had already started stuffing the towel into her bag when the door to the faculty office flew open. Ian was panting, his forehead covered in sweat as he leaned against the doorframe.

"Ms. Campbell! It's Julia... I think she passed out! She's lying completely still on the track. Her face has gone purple. I called out to her, but she didn't respond at all!"

Mom's body stiffened, the towel slipping from her hand onto the floor. "What did you just say?"

"Julia fainted! You have to check on her now, Ms. Campbell!" Ian was so agitated that his eyes had gone red.

Mom grabbed the sports drink from her desk and started rushing toward the door.

"Ms. Campbell!" Another voice rang out.

Chelsea appeared in the doorway, still holding a stack of notebooks.

"Calm down, Ms. Campbell. You don't need to rush out."

Mom paused in her tracks and asked, "What do you mean by that?"

After coming into the office and setting down the notebooks, Chelsea reported, "I just came back from the field. Julia hasn't fainted. I saw her myself."

Ian glared at her. "That's bullshit! Her face has gone purple, and she isn't moving at all! How can you say she hasn't fainted?"

"Ian!" Chelsea frowned.

Turning to Mom, she lowered her voice and commented, "I don't want to be too blunt about this, Ms. Campbell, but I saw Julia asking Ian for water just now."

Mom's hand stiffened.

Sighing, Chelsea continued, "She even told Ian that you'd be coming out any minute now to call her back inside. She said you always do this—you'd punish her and then bend over backward trying to make it up to her. And Ian did bring her some water after that, but I stopped him."

A short silence fell over the office. Mom's expression had changed. Gone was the worry in her eyes. It was replaced by the fury and mortification at having been exposed in public.

"What on earth are you talking about, Chelsea?" Ian cried out frantically. "Julia said no such thing!"

"Regardless of what she said, I saw you giving her a bottle of water." Chelsea eyed him, her expression unruffled. "Why don't I see you doing the same favor for other people when they get punished, huh? Are you only doing it because she's Ms. Campbell's daughter? If that's the reason why, then how do you expect Ms. Campbell to maintain her dignity in front of all the other students?"

Mom let go of the sports drink. She slowly sat down at her desk once more and stuffed the towel back into the drawer.

Ian looked at her in disbelief. "Aren't you going to check on Julia, Ms. Campbell? She's really in a bad way—"

"Ian." Mom cut him off. "Do you think I don't know what my own daughter's like?"

Ian's lips parted, but Mom went on, "If she was really about to faint, she wouldn't have had the strength to ask you for water."

She massaged her forehead and closed her eyes wearily. "Go back to class. No one is allowed to go to the field. Anyone who does will be given an automatic fail for their next quiz."

Ian looked like he'd been slapped in the face. He stood frozen, his body trembling and his fists clenched.

Chelsea gave him a seemingly understanding pat on the shoulder. "Let's go, Ian. Ms. Campbell knows what she's doing. You'll only be causing more trouble by making such a big deal out of everything."

Ian shrugged her hand off and stormed out of the office in a huff. The door closed behind him. Chelsea hadn't left yet.

Still standing beside Mom, she murmured, "Ms. Campbell, the students from the class next door were leaning against the windowsill to look down at the field just now. Many of them were saying that you were only putting on a show by punishing your own daughter. They said you'd definitely be bringing her back to class in no time."

Mom's fingers curled tightly around the sports drink. She threw it back inside the drawer before declaring, "If Julia wants to stay out there, she can go right ahead. If I go down there now, everyone will assume it's proof that they were right."

Chelsea secretly smirked to herself before asking, "Why don't I bring the ice cream cup to Julia for you, Ms. Campbell? I'll just tell everyone it's a kind gesture from a fellow classmate, so it has nothing to do with you."

Mom thought about it before waving off that idea.

"Forget it. Let's just wait a little longer," she said while glancing at the fridge. "I'll see how things go later. I know what Julia's temper is like. She's a stubborn girl, but she's not beyond reason."

Mom truly had no idea that I was no longer able to wait for her to come around.