300 years had passed, and these memories had long been buried. Demi never expected them to resurface today.
In truth, what happened to Vanessa had also happened to Demi. Her family was poor, unable to afford gifts for Rebecca. On top of that, her academic excellence had prevented Rebecca's class from taking first place.
Without parents to stand up for her, Demi had become the target of Rebecca's relentless bullying and verbal abuse. Yes, verbal abuse—complete with curses and insults.
Rebecca's children, spoiled and brazen because their parents were teachers, had also joined in, bullying others without consequence. Among their victims were Demi and Timothy.
Once, when Larry was bullying Timothy, Demi stepped in, and it escalated into a physical fight.
Rebecca and her daughter, Erika Gomez, had rushed over. The former slapped Demi twice across the face without hesitation.
But that wasn't the end of it. After that, Erika rallied a group of girls to torment Demi every single day.
Though 300 years had passed, and the memories and emotions had faded, it had felt like living in hell back then.
Demi had often wondered when Rebecca and her family would be punished. Was this their retribution? It didn't feel harsh enough.
"Rebecca, it seems like you didn't learn your lesson. Fine, take your son home and handle the withdrawal procedures. Don't come back," Jacob said coldly.
Then, he noticed the girl standing beside Rebecca and added, "And take your daughter with you."
"I didn't do anything wrong!" Erika protested.
"That's right! My daughter hasn't done anything wrong. Besides, she's in her final year of high school. Changing schools now would ruin her chances for the college entrance exams," Rebecca pleaded.
"The only reason your children were allowed into this school was because you were a teacher here, and Mr. Tanner put in a good word for you. Now that you and Mr. Tanner have been dismissed, your children should have left with you.
"But I was too lenient. I thought that since your children hadn't done anything wrong, it wouldn't be fair to expel them. Reality has shown me that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree! I never should've shown you mercy."
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: A Second Life, A New Power