SWNOVELS Chapter 51: School Bullies No More
Hendrik and the rest of the students in class 22D were utterly petrified. They had assumed that Tina's idea of "uncivilized methods" meant fighting, since their class was notorious for brawls. However, to their shock, Tina's method involved releasing snakes to bite people! It was terrifying! Where had the school found such a deranged individual? They wondered if they had any good days ahead.
The students internally screamed, feeling as though they were witnessing the apocalypse. Tina lifted her gaze to Hendrik, who had been scared stiff, and asked, "Are you thinking clearly now? Do you want to behave?" Hendrik dared not refuse; he nodded vigorously, "I will, I will. Miss Reed, I was wrong. Please, let me go!" He feared his reign as the school bully was over. What awaited him now was a future of utter misery and darkness. There seemed to be simply no way out!
"Put him down," Tina instructed Albert and the others nearby. Albert and his companions stood pale-faced, not daring to move. Who would dare? There was a snake! Even though they had released the snake, they were afraid too. What if Tina had bewitched the snake to bite them?
"Oh, you're afraid of it?" Tina realized their hesitation and her lips twitched sarcastically. With such cowardice, they had dared to set a snake on her? She pulled out a small knife from her pocket and flung it at Hendrik. Hendrik, who had just sighed in relief at the thought of being released, was startled to see a knife flying towards him. He braced for impact.
However, the next second, the knife pierced the snake's head with precision and both the knife and the snake hit the wall. Hendrik felt as though he had narrowly escaped death. The other students were stunned. Surely, this was something that required practice?
Tina commanded Albert to let Hendrik down. Standing on the ground, Hendrik's legs trembled, "Mi... Miss, I need to use the restroom." He couldn't hold it in any longer. Had it not been for the fear of wetting himself and the embarrassment that would follow, he might have already done so.
"Go ahead," Tina said, more amicably this time. Hendrik bolted for the restroom so fast that it seemed like a gust of wind had passed by.
Tina turned to the other dazed students and ordered, "Move the lectern here, and arrange your desks and chairs neatly." After a pause, she added, "I don't want to resort to uncivilized methods!" As soon as she finished her sentence, the students moved quickly to rearrange the furniture, their actions swift and astoundingly efficient.
Velma, sitting in the corner, took a long time to calm down. She had finally come to a realization. Her new friend from a couple of days ago, her "sister," had become her teacher. Good heavens! What kind of grand magical tale was this? Recalling Tina's recent actions, Velma obediently got up and arranged the furniture. She had the intuition that if she didn't comply, her good sister might turn on her and give her a thrashing.
About ten minutes later, the furniture was arranged, and Hendrik returned from the restroom. At the classroom door, he respectfully called out, "Report!"
"Enter," came Tina's indifferent voice. Hendrik entered, not daring to approach the lectern; he edged along the wall to his seat, as timid as a mouse in the presence of a cat.
"I am now going to discuss the rules. Any objections?" She stood at the lectern, her voice calm and steady. She looked like a beautiful young girl, but her presence was formidable, and none of the students dared to utter a word of dissent. Tina picked up the chalk and wrote her name on the blackboard, "Tina Reed! Remember this name, for the next three months, it might become your nightmare." No one spoke. Future nightmares? They were living a nightmare right now! "Mr. Stiller pays me a generous salary, and I intend to earn it. If you make things easy for me, I will not trouble you. No fighting, no bullying classmates, no mistreating teachers, greet people politely, attend classes on time. These are my rules." "It doesn't matter to me whether you take over your family's assets or not. As long as you are at this school, you must follow my rules. If anyone does not wish to comply, they can drop out. If you don't drop out and still don't follow the rules, I don't mind teaching you a lesson. Understand?"
"Understood!" The students replied with a booming voice, not daring to raise any objections.
"The school requires that at least one student from class 22D get into college this year." Tina looked calmly at thestudents, "There are forty-five of you in 22D, and I expect all forty-five to be admitted to college. Can you do it?" Silence fell upon the room. Outsiders thought they were in 22D just to scrape together a diploma and inherit their family's wealth, but no one knew that they were actually being given up on by their families. Ensford High School was an aristocratic institution, and it was no stranger to wealthy and noble students. However, those in 22D, due to poor grades, were relegated to the lowest class.
Teachers looked down on them, unwilling to instruct properly. Because of their deficiencies in all areas, they were disdained at home and at school, leading to rebellious attitudes. Rather than being disrespected, they preferred to be feared. The notion of merely graduating was a deception by their families to fool others; what genuine, affluent family would hand over their assets to someone ignorant?
Their failure would only bring shame to the family's name. So, while they behaved wildly at school, their families turned a blind eye, just hoping they could at least secure a diploma. No one cared if they made it to college because no one believed they could.
"What's the matter? Can't do it?" Tina asked.
Heads bowed, no one dared to speak, partly out of fear of Tina and partly because it seemed impossible. After a moment of thought, Albert stood up and responded, "Miss Reed, do you think we can get into college? We've nearly forgotten everything from Grade 9."
"Why not?" Tina countered with a lift of her eyes, her words deliberate and powerful, "There is only unwillingness, not impossibility, as long as you are willing to work hard."
Her voice was soft but seemed to carry a magical power that gave everyone a glimmer of hope. If they worked hard, could they also be admitted to college? Would others change their view of them? After all, they truly wanted to study hard at the beginning.
But being disrespected by teachers and family, they lost their confidence. "Do you believe in us?" Albert asked.
"I do."
Her affirmation brought tears to the eyes of the students of 22D. For the first time in over a year, someone was willing to believe in them. The bell rang for the end of class, and Tina announced, "Take a break. There will be a quiz next period! From Grade 9 to Grade 11, all subjects will be tested. It's okay if you don't know the answers, just write what you do know. I need to assess your actual level. Any questions?" "No questions!"
This time, their unanimous response was filled with excitement. Perhaps, Miss Reed was different from the other teachers and could lead them to see a different light.