After a Student's Parent Forced Me to Kneel Publicly, Everyone Regretted It

On the day I received my state-level Outstanding Teacher Award, with the ceremony broadcast in a live stream, the parents of my students stormed into the auditorium.

Behind them came a group of con-artist shamans dressed up as sorcerers, who poured foul-smelling charmed water down over my head.

You call yourself an outstanding teacher? Pah!

"My son Job had a fever for a whole day and night yesterday, crying without stopping. The master said it isn't an illnesshe was struck by something filthy!"

As he spoke, the shaman leveled the divination compass in his hand straight at me and drawled.

"That's right. She's the filthy thing."

"She has to be tied up and made to kneel under the midday sun to call Job's soul back. Otherwise even the gods themselves couldn't save him."

Just as I opened my mouth to argue, Job was shoved right in front of me.

His thin little arms were covered in wounds.

"Everyone, come lookthe wounds on the boy's hands were done by this beast too, this thing lower than an animal!"

My stomach dropped.

Yesterday after school, Job's mother had messaged me privately, saying something had come up and she'd be a little late.

So I stayed and played with the boy until eight, and even paid for his dinner out of my own pocket.

But I was absolutely certain that when I sent Job off, he was perfectly fine.

So what was going on with this child in front of me, burning with fever and covered in injuries?

Section 1

The words had barely left his mouth when the auditorium broke into an uproar.

Every eye turned toward this group of people, and the reporters swung their cameras onto Job's mother.

On the award stage, only I was left, frozen.

I clutched the banner I'd just been handed, at a total loss.

"Someone like you is fit to be a preschool teacher?!"

Job's mother snatched the banner, hurled it to the ground, and spat hard.

"Pah! Scum like you deserves an award?"

She yanked the child out from behind her and pushed him in front of me.

"Look what you've done to this boy!"

Job instinctively shrank back, his tiny body trembling uncontrollably.

His once bright, sparkling eyes were swollen like walnuts.

What on earth had happened?

The stares and the murmuring all around made my heart pound with dread.

My professional ethics told me I had to stay calm.

"Ma'am, the child is sick. The most urgent thing right now is to get him to a hospital for treatment"

"Spare me the high-and-mighty nonsense! He isn't sickyou tormented him until you scared his soul right out of him!"

Job's mother pointed at me, her eyes vicious.

Then, in front of everyone, she pulled down Job's pants.

His bottom was covered with dense red welts, a horrifying sight.

A gasp went up across the whole hall.

I grabbed the child's hand.

How could this be?

Yesterday after school the boy had been perfectly fine.

Last night I'd patiently waited with him for his mother until past eight.

For dinner he'd ordered his favorite, the braised beef brisket and tomato rice bowl.

He'd eaten with his cheeks puffed out like a cute little hamster,

saying his mother never let him eat things like this, and never spent time with him.

So I'd made a point of telling his mother, just a couple of words, to spend more time with her boy.

Could it be that because I'd spoken out of turn yesterday, his mother had flown into a rage and set out to humiliate me?

Then these injuries were most likely fake too! They had to be drawn on!

I tried rubbing at the welts, breaking into a frantic sweat.

They wouldn't rub off at all.

Job cried even louder.

Job's mother flung my hand away and gathered the child protectively into her arms.

She screamed hysterically.

"Stop hurting my child!"

"Do you have any shred of humanity left?!"

That set the entire auditorium ablaze.

"I never would have guessed Ms. Lawrence was this kind of person."

"No sense of a teacher's ethics at all, and a person like that got voted an outstanding preschool teacher."

"Who knows whether she slipped somebody money or pulled strings behind the scenes."

The official from the education board couldn't keep his composure and walked out in anger.

Before he left, he snapped at Principal Finch.

"This is the outstanding teacher you people picked? Absolutely disgraceful!"

Zoey Fernandez, the homeroom teacher of Class 3-A, was a strong contender competing against me for the top award this time.

She suddenly stood up, stammering.

"A while back I happened to see Ms. Lawrence drag a child who wouldn't take a nap into the bathroom."

"I don't know what she did, but when the child came out, there was yellow liquid on his mouth."

"At the time I figured my eyes were playing tricks on me."

"But now, looking back"

The moment she said it, the parent representatives present exploded.

"What else could it be? She forced the child to drink urine in the toilet!"

"A person like that is just a pervert!"

"I demand she be fired immediately! Otherwise we're pulling our kids out!"

In an instant, every accusation was aimed at me.

Job's mother looked at me smugly.

"I really never imagined you'd done so many filthy thingslooks like I've done the public a service."

"Now hurry up and come with me out under the sun to call Job's soul back! If we miss the auspicious hour, don't blame me for what comes next!"

The shrill accusations came at me from every side.

The crushing pressure made it hard to breathe.

"No! I never did any of it!"

"Principal! I want to check the security footage!"

"Every classroom in the preschool has a camera. Check them and you'll know whether I ever did anything to harm a child!"

"Fine! We'll clear this up by checking the security footage," Principal Finch agreed at once.

Five years ago, I had just graduated, passed my teaching certification, and started my internship at the preschool.

It was Principal Finch who patiently taught me how to feed the kids, wipe their noses, and settle them down for their naps.

She didn't just have lofty ideas about early childhood education; she handled all those small, trivial tasks herself.

You could say it was Principal Finch's help and trust that earned me the honor I have today.

Even if that honor was about to go up in smoke.

Hearing the principal back me on checking the footage, I stood a little straighter.

"Who knows if your footage is real or fake?"

"You're all in the same boat."

Job's mother threw out her doubts.

"Besides, there are so many blind spots in the school's cameras."

"Lawrence is an old hand at bullying kids. She definitely knows how to stay out of the cameras!"

"Job's mother has a pointthere are no cameras in the classroom restroom."

Zoey jumped right in.

"Then check the ones at the school gate!"

"The cameras at the school gate are the clearest, three-hundred-sixty degrees, no blind spots," I offered.

"As long as Job was fine when he left school yesterday, then I'm not the one who hurt him."

I had that confidence.

Last night I handed Job over to his mother myself before I clocked out.

I knew better than anyone whether he'd been hurt.

A few minutes later.

"Principal! The cameras are all broken!" the security guard, Mr. Li, came hurrying over.

"What?!" My heart, which had just settled, leapt straight back up into my throat.

"Ha!" Job's mother let out a cold laugh.

"No wonder you were so sure about checking the footageyou'd planned this all along!"

"I hear Ms. Lawrence worked overtime until after eight last night before going home," Zoey said snidely.

"You weren't sabotaging the cameras during all that overtime, were you?"

The footage was gone.

The way things stood now, I had no way to defend myself.

I looked toward the audience seats. My parents were watching me, worry all over their faces.

But my fianc, Rick Gilbert, who had been sitting beside them, was nowhere to be seen.

All at once I felt like I'd lost my anchor.

Rick and I went to the same college.

I studied early childhood education; he studied law.

After graduation I became a preschool teacher, and he became a lawyer at a major local firm.

This May 20th, we were going to get our marriage license.

Today he'd taken the day off on his own to celebrate my award with me.

I'd invited my parents so they could witness my proudest moment.

And now it was all ruined.

Principal Finch mulled it over for a moment, then looked at me.

"Since the footage is gone, we still owe the parents an explanation. Just go along with her for now!"

I never expected the principal to tell me to go along with a soul-calling ritual. For a moment I couldn't accept it.

"Principal, please, believe me, I didn't do it"

"Whether I believe you or not isn't the point!" she cut me off.

"You need to understand how the child's parents feel!"

"If this blows up"

Principal Finch lowered her voice in my ear. "Is the preschool still going to stay open? Do you still want your teaching certificate?"

I stared at the principal I trusted most, chilled to the bone.

Job's mother grew bolder still, seizing my arm and hauling me toward the door with all her strength.

"Lawrence, you'd defy your own boss?"

"Come do the soul-calling with me, now!"

Job's mother was unbelievably strong. I couldn't fight her off at all.

"I'm Moira Lawrence's fianc. Whatever the problem is, I'll answer for it."

It was Rick's voice.

A warm rush swept through my chest.

I hadn't shed a single tear through all the false accusations and twisted words, but the instant I saw him, my nose stung.

I started to step forward, wanting to bury myself in his arms.

But what he said next dropped me into an icy pit.

"Moira, you truly never learn!"

"I never imaginedit's not enough that you torment me at home, now you won't even spare a child!"

Before I could react, Rick rolled up his sleeves.

Several long red scratches stood out clearly on his arm.

I couldn't help being startled.

Only then did I realize that he, who always hated the heat, was wearing long sleeves today.

"Rick, what are you talking about? I don't understand."

"Stop playing dumb!" Rick sighed and lowered his head.

He muttered under his breath, his voice quiet but loud enough for everyone there to hear.

"You throwing fits at home, cursing me, hitting mefine, I could let that go."

"But I never imagined you'd turn your claws on a child."

"You really are beyond saving. I can't shield you anymore."

I stared at him in disbelief, backing away again and again until I nearly fell.

He caught me.

"I'm sorry, Moira. I'm a lawyer!"

"My professional ethics won't let me help you deceive everyone!"

Those few words all but confirmed that I was a devil with violent tendencies.

The crowd around us stirred, and some even pulled out their phones to take pictures.

"There's a demon among us!"

"That someone like that gets to teach and raise children is more terrifying than a horror story!"

"Even her own fianc came forward to testify."

"When did I ever hit you?! You're talking pure nonsense!"

My finger trembled as I pointed at the man I had loved for eight years.

"Moira!" Rick cried out in anguish.

"Are you really going to force me to produce evidence?"

My mind went blank, and I couldn't get a word out.

Rick took out his phone and opened a recorded phone call.

"They're so annoying, chattering and squawking nonstop all day long!"

"One minute peeing, the next pooping, then needing their noses wiped."

"I honestly wish I could sew all these kids' mouths shut!"

That was my voice.

Then he opened a video.

In the video, I had a plastic bag over a kitten's head, the bag pulled tight, and I was swinging it hard.

My laughter could be heard too.

"Hahaha! That'll teach you to yowl! Feels great!"

A wave of fear crept up my back, leaving me cold all over.

"Did everyone hear that?! She's a psychopath."

At some point, Job's mother had started a live stream on her phone.

"My son Job was beaten by her, scared so badly he lost his soul!"

"He ran a fever the whole night through!"

"I just heard that Job's mother is a single mother," Rick said to the crowd, full of feeling.

"It's not easy raising a child all on your own."

"When her child was hurt, she didn't hit back to get even, and she didn't demand some outrageous payout."

"All she wants is for Ms. Lawrence to help call her child's soul back."

As a renowned lawyer, Rick was at his best in a courtroom, stirring people up.

Some of the parents around us were even moved to tears.

"Single mothers really do have it hard."

"As a parent, I understand that love for a child all too well!"

Others were indignant.

"It's just a soul-calling, it won't cost her a scrap of flesh, and she still won't do it! She's not even human!"

"If it were me, I'd hit back tenfold, a hundredfold! And make sure she went to jail!"

My chest was so tight I could barely breathe, and the curses around me made it impossible to lift my head.

Suddenly several pairs of feet stopped in front of me.

It was that band of con-artist shamans.

"It's getting late." Job's mother shot the shamans a look.

The men closed in around me.

"Ms. Lawrence, hurry up and cooperate."

Principal Finch urged them on.

"There'll be even more people at dismissal time. It reflects badly on the preschool!"

"Let's see which of you dares lay a hand on me!" I roared in fury.

"I'll do it!" Ferdinand shoved the shaman aside.

He kicked me square in the knee.

I couldn't hold back the pain and dropped to my knees.

"The masters have their spiritual cultivation to keep, so they shouldn't have to trouble themselves with youdon't push your luck!"

Ferdinand clamped down hard on my neck and forced me down; I couldn't break free.

"Masters, I'll hold her down, go ahead and begin!"

My heart went dead and cold, and I closed my eyes.

From Job's mother's live stream came her voice: "Everyone, come and witness this together."

"What are you doing to my daughter?"

My eyes flew openmy parents had come to save me!

"Dad... Mom..." I struggled to lift my head.

Rick pressed me back down, hard.

"Sir, ma'am, so many people are watching."

Rick made a show of glancing around.

"I'm doing all this for Moira's own good, and you two are people who understand what's right."

"No need to say anything more!" my father cut in sternly.

"Moira, when you've done wrong, you should make amends!"

"If you want to keep your job, cooperate with the masters and finish the ritual!"

My mind went blank with a roar.

"You've disgraced the whole Lawrence family!" My mother stamped her foot in fury beside me.

"Today I invited all your aunts and their whole families here."

"Where am I supposed to hide this old face of mine now?"

"Your future in-laws are here too. If you carry on like this and let people look down on you, do you think they'll still want you?"

I had never realized my mother's voice could be so sharp, every word driving into my heart.

"Moira, you always seemed like such a good, sensible girl. I never imagined you'd have a violent streak in you," Rick's mother said, heartbroken.

Eight years together, and I'd gotten along so well with Rick's mother.

She once held my hand and told me the story of Rick's first love.

"I never met that girl, but she was no innocent, believe me."

"Rick got together with her his first year of college."

"Then who'd have thought she'd meet some rich playboy and dump Rick just like that?"

"During that time, Rick lost twenty pounds."

"Thank goodness he met you afterward. You're the most thoughtful girl. His father and I both adore you."

Rick's father's cold snort pulled me back from the memory.

"This engagement is off. Our family has no wish to bring a vicious woman into the house."

My aunts and uncles were all muttering among themselves.

"What a disgrace to the family!"

"We never should have come today. Now we're dragged into this mess for nothing."

"Utterly shameful."

Every trace of the old family affection was gone.

Things had come to this, and I had no strength left to resist.

Rick kept my neck pinned so I stayed kneeling on the ground, and yanked off my coat.

"Masters, please hurry!" Job's mother urged anxiously.

The leader, a shaman in a long yellow robe, drew out a stack of yellow talisman paper.

It was covered in runes I couldn't read.

Several con-artist shamans wet the talismans with their spit and pressed them onto my eyes, my cheeks, my neck, all over my body.

"Now hear my command!"

"Gag her, and make her crawl a full circle around the preschool!"

At that, Rick took the black rag the shaman handed him and shoved it into my mouth.

The foul, fishy stink made me gag.

I didn't want to crawl on the ground like a dog.

So they tied my hands with rope.

Like walking a dog, they dragged me to my knees under the sun.

Every ten yards I had to knock my head to the ground.

They dragged and pulled and forced me to crawl the entire circle around the preschool.

The blood running down my forehead had already gummed my eyes shut.

"Ms. Chavez, this last demon-warding talisman is for you to stick on her forehead."

"Then make her shout three times: Job, come back!"

"And the soul-calling ritual will be complete!"

Job's mother took the talisman and slapped it hard onto the wound on my forehead.

A sweet, cloying scent slid into my nose.

I couldn't help frowning.

The yellow-robed shaman tore the black cloth out of my mouth.

"Shout it, now!"

I clenched my teeth and refused to open my mouth.

Slap! Slap! Two blows landed across my face.

It was Rick who had raised his hand against me.

He forced my mouth open.

"Say it!"

"If you miss the auspicious hour, there's nothing I can do for you!"

"You've always got so much to say. Why play mute now?"

The onlookers chimed in one after another.

"Well done! Evil gets what it deserves!"

"A real lawyer, all rightputting justice over family!"

Looking at my cold, heartless family, the man I no longer recognized, and Job's mother beside herself with triumph.

I suddenly understood.

I wrenched myself free of the ropes, shoved through the crowd, and rushed for the roof of the classroom building.