Chapter 2Never Too Late to Make Someone Pay

I placed Winona's employment paperwork over the newspaper, covering the article. My phone buzzed with a notification.

Winona's new video was trending. Everyone in the comments was praising her. They called her kind, strong, and forgiving.

I scrolled through it for a bit, then put my phone away. Then, I touched Dad's photo on the ID card and laughed quietly. "Lena, your daughter walked right into it."

…

Winona had been at Westbrook High for less than a month, yet there was hardly anyone who didn't know her.

It wasn't because she was a good teacher, but because she knew how to work a camera.

Every morning, she was the first one in the classroom. She'd set up her phone and ring light on the podium, and then it was showtime.

"Hey, everyone, I got some warm milk for the kids today. My mom never had a good teacher, so I know how much a little kindness from a teacher can mean to a kid," Winona said as she slowly handed out the milk.

The kids held up their milk and called out, "Thank you, Ms. Lambert!"

Their voices were all over the place, and Winona's eyes quickly turned red.

Once the video was over, she shoved the rest of the milk back into the box.

A boy quietly asked her, "Ms. Lambert, are we still reciting our lessons today?"

Winona glanced at the stats on her phone. Her post had gained over 100,000 likes. She smiled. "Just study on your own for now."

I sat in my office, watching the class on the security feed. Some students lowered their heads and covered their faces, and a few stuffed the milk into their desks. One girl kept looking out the window, probably worried someone at home would see her in the video.

Winona barely looked at them, her eyes still on her phone.

Her followers kept growing, and more comments rolled in. As far as she was concerned, the class was a success.

Winona's account soon hit a million followers. She started taking sponsorships for thermos cups, desk lamps, and kids' milk.

Lena came up in every video she made. "My mom was hurt by a teacher back then, so I won't let my students be treated unfairly by the world."

Just one line to pull people's heartstrings and sell her products.

She'd turned Dad's tragedy into views for her account.

Winona also dragged her students in front of the camera.

It wasn't like the school didn't want to do anything. The department heads had brought it up, and some parents had complained too.

But Winona's live stream was getting a lot of attention. Plenty of social media accounts reposted her videos just to get in on the traffic, giving the school a nice publicity boost.

At a meeting, Dave closed the file in front of him. "It's a good time to get some publicity. Don't be so rigid about it."

After that, no one stopped Winona.

Sue Brooke did, though. Her dad had been the only longtime teacher brave enough to speak up for Dad back then.

Like me, Sue had spent almost ten years at Westbrook High. She couldn't stand Winona using her students to get views.

That morning, Winona was live-streaming again during study hall in tenth grade, Class 3.

Sue happened to walk past the door with a stack of test papers in her arms. She stopped and looked inside.

The students were standing, but their books weren't even open. There was a phone set up on the podium.

Sue walked in and put her hand over the camera. "Ms. Lambert, it's a study hall."

The smile on Winona's face froze, and she quickly ended the live stream. "Ms. Brooke, I just want people to pay more attention to the kids' mental health."

Sue set the test papers down by the podium and said, "Paying attention to the kids doesn't mean making them help film your videos. They're students, not props for your videos."

The classroom went quiet as Winona's face turned red. She didn't argue. She just lowered her head and bit her lip, as if she'd been hurt.

But when Sue turned and walked away, Winona looked up at her. There was no hurt in her eyes. Just hate.

I watched it all on the security feed and put down my coffee cup.

The Teacher of the Year notice came that same day. Only one teacher would win.

When it came to results, Sue's class had been at the top of the grade all year. When it came to experience, she'd been named an Outstanding Homeroom Teacher three years in a row. As for her reputation, parents had nothing but good things to say about her.