Chapter 5
The next day, I made sure to leave work right on time.
At the kindergarten gate, lines of students streamed out in orderly rows.
I scanned the crowd and finally spotted Daisy in her little floral dress.
“Daisy!” I waved to her.
She seemed surprised to see me, her face lighting up with joy. She quickly ran into my arms.
I immediately noticed her messy hair.
I knelt down, untangling her hair as I asked, “What did you play today at kindergarten? Your hair looks like a little scamp’s.”
Daisy shook her head. “After nap time, the teacher didn’t comb my hair, so I just tied it up myself.”
“What about the other kids? Did they tie their own hair too?”
Daisy answered without hesitation, “No, Ms. Thorne braided all of theirs, especially Isabella’s braids, they were really pretty. But when it was my turn, the bell for class rang, and the teacher just left.”
My eyes grew cold.
Doing children’s hair was part of the teacher’s job. I didn’t expect her to make it look like a masterpiece.
But she shouldn’t just walk away the moment the bell rings, right?
I took Daisy’s hand and walked into the kindergarten.
A few more children from Daisy’s class hadn’t been picked up yet, so the teacher was waiting with them by the door.
I looked at the young teacher fanning herself in the shade and politely greeted her, “Hello, Ms. Thorne, I’m Daisy’s mom.”
She looked up at me for a few moments, a little hesitant. “That’s not right, I haven’t seen you before.”
Ms. Thorne remembered clearly that it was always a plainly dressed middle-aged woman who picked up and dropped off Daisy.
But the woman in front of her was elegant and radiant, exuding an invisible aura of authority.
I said, “I’m usually busy with work, so I haven’t been able to pick up or drop off my child much. I wonder if you have some time? I’d like to chat with you.”
She flat-out refused. “You can SnapChat me if there’s anything important. After work hours are my private time, and I don’t want to deal with work matters.”
“Then I’ll be brief.”
I could hear the impatience in her voice, so I naturally dropped my polite tone. “Aurora has always valued student privacy. I do not want to see any more incidents of student backgrounds being investigated in various ways.”
She scoffed. “Daisy’s mom, I’ve always followed school regulations. If you have a problem, you can always transfer Daisy to another school. After all, our Aurora isn’t just for anyone.”
That last sentence immediately shut down any desire I had to continue the conversation.
I sneered, “Whether there’s a threshold for admission, I don’t know, but there certainly seems to be no threshold for teachers. I will relay every word you said today to Mr. Harrison.”
She casually shrugged. “Our principal is very busy; not everyone can get in touch with him.”
I pointed at her. “Whether I can reach him is my business. You just wait to be fired!”
“Big words! Even if every teacher in this kindergarten gets fired, I won’t be going anywhere.”
I caught the deeper meaning in her words. “What, are you some big shot, indispensable to Aurora?”
She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, quite pleased with herself. “Naturally. Oh, well… you common folk wouldn’t understand.”
I was about to retort when I saw her eyes light up. She grabbed a girl standing nearby and walked towards a woman who had just entered the entrance.
“Isabella’s mom, you’re finally here! Isabella was so well-behaved today.”
I watched Ms. Thorne’s fawning mannerisms, feeling utterly speechless.
Isabella… that name sounded familiar.
I seemed to recall that the top scorer on this assignment was Isabella.
I pulled out my phone and opened the SnapChat group chat.
It was indeed her. Although her drawing was crooked and distorted, the car logo was clearly identifiable as a Rolls-Royce.