Chapter 44
Chapter 44
When Stella turned her down again, Irene felt like everyone around her was laughing at her. She couldn’t take it anymore and burst into tears. “I hate you, Mom!” she shouted, running off.
People just glanced over at the commotion, then lost interest and went back to what they were doing. After all, between family members were pretty common.
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“Mrs. Lloyd,” Linda called out, stepping forward. She couldn’t just ignore it like everyone else. “Break’s almost up, and we’ve got another game starting soon. Maybe we should find Irene first?”
“No need,” Stella said, not wanting to stay. “Since she left on her own, that means she forfeited. Just count it as a loss for her in the next game.”
“Wait, what?” Linda froze, looking confused. She hadn’t expected Stella to not only be indifferent about the game but also not plan to comfort Irene.
Before, Linda thought Irene was just clingy with Sylvia, something that could be fixed with a little counseling, but now, with the adults acting out, things seemed much more serious. She needed to report Irene’s family situation as soon as possible.
“Ms. Lee, I have to go,” Stella said politely, not bothering with Irene or the two sitting next to her. She stood up and left.
Ernest was there, so Stella figured Irene would be fine. It was probably better for Stella to leave. Maybe Irene would come back once she saw that Stella was gone.
Just as Stella had predicted, no sooner had she left than Irene, hiding around the corner, came running back, sobbing harder than before.
“Mom left? Why did she just leave like that?” Irene wailed. No one answered her-just like no one really understood why she resented her mom so much.
Ernest knelt down and gently wiped away her tears. “Let’s go,” he said softly.
Irene gazed up at him, confusion all over her face. “Dad, where are we going?” she asked. There was still another game to go, and she hadn’t even received her medal yet.
“Because of what you did earlier, you’ve already quit the game, so we have to count it as a loss,” Ernest explained. “And since your mom left, even if you wanted to join, we can’t play now.”
The next round was a family trio game, and with one person missing, there was no way for them to compete.
Irene’s resentment toward her mom grew even stronger.
‘She didn’t even apologize to Ms. Jansen, didn’t bother to comfort me at all. If it weren’t for Mom, I’d have my medal now. Everything’s ruined, and it’s all her fault!’ Irene fumed inside.
Her frustration just kept building up, and finally, Irene blurted out to Sylvia, “Ms. Jansen, can you be my mom instead?”
‘I bet if Ms. Jansen were my mom, I’d still get that medal,’ Irene thought.
“That’s not okay,” came a gentle but firm voice, snapping Irene back to reality.
Linda crouched down beside her and said, “You can’t just say you want to change moms, Irene. That will really hurt your mom’s feelings. I don’t want to hear you say that again.” Get full chapters from.net
As a teacher at a prestigious private kindergarten, Linda had to maintain high standards, not just in her teaching, but in her
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character and professional conduct.
If Linda had heard Irene say something like that outside of school, she might not have interfered-it would be a family
issue.
But in school, she couldn’t just ignore it. She was already considering getting a counselor involved to help Irene with her emotional struggles.
“Okay, Ms. Lee,” Irene mumbled, shrinking back a little. Every kid was at least a little scared of their teacher.
“That’s good to hear,” Ms. Lee said with a smile. “Owning up to it and trying to do better means you’re still a good kid.
Irene nodded silently, but secretly, she was already planning to ask her dad to move her to a school where they let kids choose whichever mom they wanted.
“Not gonna happen. I’m never saying yes to that,” Kristy Lawrence said as she tapped Trisha on the forehead.
Stella could only stand by, powerless to do anything.
She had planned to head home after leaving the school, but as soon as she stepped outside, she ran into Kristy, who had Trisha with her.
The moment Kristy saw Stella, she grabbed her arm enthusiastically. “I never got the chance to properly thank you for last time. Let me treat you to dinner. Please?” Kristy said.
Faced with Kristy’s sincere invitation, Stella couldn’t bring herself to refuse.
But with Trisha still pleading nonstop, they’d ended up hanging around by the school gate for ages.
“Mom, please—just let me call Dad,” Trisha begged, squirming and looking up with those big, hopeful eyes. “If he knows it’s me, I know he’ll come for sure.
“It’s the last game. If Dad doesn’t get here soon, we’re totally out of time.”
Trisha Lawrence was also a student at this fancy private kindergarten. She and Irene weren’t in the same class, but they were in the same grade, and both had scored invites to the parent-child event.
The thing was, Trisha’s dad, Charles Lawrence, was swamped with work and couldn’t make it. At first, Trisha was full of hope, then came disappointment, and now she stubbornly kept pleading, still not ready to give up on getting her dad to show up.
Kristy sighed. “Sorry for the chaos, Ms. Spencer. Her dad swore he’d make it today, but last minute stuff came up, and now this little one won’t quit fussing.”
She lightly patted Trisha’s little bum. “Alright, sweetie, that’s enough. If you keep up with this, Mommy’s gonna have to give your tiny tush a smack.”
“But Dad…” Trisha’s voice cracked, tears welling up. “He promised me he’d be here.”
“Trisha, I’m sure your dad didn’t mean to let you down,” Stella said softly, wiping away Trisha’s tears. “When you see him later, you can make him say sorry and buy you a whole bunch of toys to make up for it, okay?”
Stella knew better than to start spouting off about how Charles was just working hard for the family or how he was doing it all for Trisha’s future. Kids didn’t want to hear that stuff-they just wanted their parents to show up.
This kind of lecturing might have worked for a short while, but in the long run, it only built resentment that could tear a
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Chapter 44
family apart.
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Sure enough, as soon as Stella finished speaking. Trisha stopped crying. She blinked her big, teary eyes, and with a sniffle, wrinkled her tiny nose.
“Then Dad has to say sorry and buy me a ton of toys,” she demanded, her voice still a bit shaky.
“Okay, okay, I’ll tell him as soon as he gets home,” Kristy said, relieved that Trisha had finally calmed down. As for a bunch of toys, she had more than enough means to spoil her that way.
“Come on, wipe those tears, Trisha. Ms. Spencer is still watching. Aren’t you embarrassed? You’re too big for this,” Kristy gently teased, hoping to lighten up the mood.
Trisha hid her face in Kristy’s arms, cheeks flushed pink. In a muffled, sulky voice, she grumbled, “It’s all Dad’s fault for tricking me. I didn’t want to cry, really.”
“Alright, alright, it’s all on your dad,” Kristy teased with a smile.
Stella chuckled gently. “Hey, I’m not laughing at you, sweetheart. Once those tears are gone, we’ll head out for a tasty treat- anything you want to eat.”