The Imposter Bride (Natalia and Magnus) novel Chapter 563

The teacher yanked a blank sheet of paper from the desk and slammed it down with a huff, scolding Anna in a loud voice. "Grace! How many times have I told you about the importance of unity and camaraderie here at school? But look at you! What on earth have you done? Have you been a team player? Oh no, you think because your grades are sky-high, you can just strut around like you own the place? Let me tell you, young lady, you're not leaving this room until you've written me a heartfelt reflection on your actions!

"Cindy? Do you think you can just tangle with her? Her family could buy and sell this school a dozen times over! You better write up that apology and deliver it to her first thing tomorrow!"

Anna was on the verge of tears, her eyes welling up as she faced the teacher's towering indignation. "I didn't start the fight—it was Cindy who hit me first. Why doesn't she have to write anything?"

The teacher glared fiercely at Anna. "Was that backtalk? I don't want to hear your excuses! When I got there, you were the one standing on Cindy's face. What do you have to say to that?!"

"So I was supposed to just stand there and let her hit me?" Anna retorted, defiant and unyielding.

"Oh, talking back to your teacher now, are we?" The teacher was livid, banging on the desk. "I'll have none of it, Grace! You're going to write me a reflection that really digs deep, or you can kiss goodbye to ever seeing your home again!"

With those final words, the teacher stormed out and locked the office door from the outside.

Anna stared at the white paper before her, feeling utterly wronged. She knew Cindy's family was loaded, with someone on the school board, no less. Anna had hoped for a fair shake from her teacher, but the blatant favoritism for Cindy was a cold splash of reality.

So much for the nurturing gardener of young minds!

As time ticked away and the sky darkened, Anna shivered uncontrollably in her drenched clothes, pondering her next move. With her resolve finally broken by the cold, she begrudgingly penned a confession, though her respect for her teacher had plummeted. She had once believed teaching to be the most sacred of roles, only to find it tarnished by bias and favoritism.

Meanwhile, Johanson, worried by his sister's absence, made his way to the school to find it practically deserted. He headed straight for the office, where he overheard Anna's teacher groveling on the phone, "Yes, yes, of course, she'll be properly disciplined. No worries at all."

Once the call ended, Johanson approached. "Hi, I'm Grace's brother Johanson. She hasn't come home yet, so I came to check up on her."

The teacher, still smarting from a dressing-down by the school board member, was in no mood for niceties. "Oh, you're Grace's brother, are you? Perfect timing. I was just saying she needed a parent to come in. Do you even discipline her? Fighting with a classmate is no behavior for a young lady."

Johanson's heart skipped a beat. "Fighting? Is Grace hurt?"