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I have to be careful with these rich kids. I can’t afford to piss them off, she thought. ‘But some poor brat waltzes in herete? That’s a p in the face. I have to teach her a lesson today!

“Why should I?” Olivia asked. She stood on the aisle steps, looking down on Hallie from above. Though her voice was quiet, it carried a surprising weight.

“Because I’m the one in charge,” Hallie snapped, forgetting her lessonpletely as she red up at Olivia. “You werete. You broke my rules. And now you have to face the consequences.”

‘Consequences?‘ Olivia thought. She almostughed. ‘Five minuteste, and I get consequences. What’s next, detention for breathing wrong?‘

“Alright,” Olivia said, tossing her ck bag onto an empty desk. She turned back to Hallie, a flicker of amusement in her eyes. “So, what’s it going to be?”

“I won’t make this difficult,” Hallie said, pulling a book from her bag and dropping it on the floor. “Copy this Englorian novel fifty times, and I’ll let this go.” She jerked her chin at the book, telling Olivia to pick it up.

A quiet shock went through the room. It would take a couple of days just to read that book, let alone copy it. They all knew Hallie was being brutal, but nobody was brave enough to say a word.

Olivia didn’t move. She just stood there, watching Hallie’s little power trip unfold. She hated literature, and the thought of copying a whole book by hand was just absurd.

Her eyes scanned the room, noting the thick stacks of paper on everyone else’s desks–the Englorian study materials.

It only took her a second to see the problem. The worksheets were full of basic vocabry and grammar. They were barely rted to the actual SAT. She realized Hallie was ripping everyone off.

“Are you deaf? Why are you still standing there?” Hallie demanded, her expression souring. “If you don’t do as I say, ss bis /bover.”

At that, a few students started to get anxious. Their parents had paid a fortune for this course.

Hallie had been teaching graduating seniors for more than ten years. She was a legend who’d supposedly even written questions for the real SAT.

And on top of that, this was the only ss she was teaching. They couldn’t afford to miss this opportunity. A few students started trying to reason with Olivia.

“Hey, just give in,” one of them whispered. “Just say sorry to Ms. Brown.”

“Yeah, we need this ss,” another added. “The SAT is just a few months away. We can’t have Ms. Brown walk

out.”

“We’ll help you with the writing,” another offered desperately. “Just don’t get the ss canceled.”

The girl next to Olivia leaned in. “You don’t get it. Ms. Brown is paid by the minute,” she whispered. “She has

b12:10 /bbMon/b, Oct 6

all the power here. If you get on her bad side, you’re out. For good.”

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After a heavy silence, Olivia started down the steps. A smug smile spread across Hallie’s face. ‘Doesn’t matter who she thinks she is, she thought. ‘In my ssroom, she has to bow down to me.

A secondter, Hallie’s smile froze. Olivia bent down, picked up the book, and then casually tossed it onto Hallie’s desk.

“Parents paid a lot of money for you to teach,” Olivia said, her voice low and cutting. “And this is what they’re paying for? Wasting our time?”

Hallie’s jaw dropped. She couldn’t believe Olivia had the nerve to talk back to her. In a blind rage, she swept the chalk box from her desk. It burst on the floor, coating the tips of Olivia’s boots in a fineyer of white dust.

Hallie’s voice turned ugly,ced with pure contempt. “Who do you think you’re talking to? Look at yourself. You’re not worthy of being in my ssroom, bumpkin.

“My students get into top universities. Their families have money and influence. And you? You’re a nobody, a charity case who thinks she can y with the big kids. fn9df2 ?? ??? ???? ?? ???? ???? ???????s, ????s? ??s?? find[?]ovel/fn9df2

“And even if I bothered to teach you, could you even keep up? I’ve seen the files for everyone in this room. They all came in with solid SAT scores.”

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