Wayne sat down on the sofa after they finished breakfast and waited for Tammy to go to her room to get her school bag. When Anna realized that Wayne was going to send Tammy to school, she felt relieved.
Before leaving the house, Wayne took Tammy’s bag from her grasp. Then he said to Anna firmly, “I’ll take Tammy to school every morning, and Matthew will pick her up from school. So don’t worry, Anna. We got this.”
The two then walked alongside Tammy and followed her to the car.
At around five o’clock, Matthew and his driver had arrived at the school gates an hour early. About an hour later, as soon as the bell rang, a group of students in school uniforms walked out of the gates.
Matthew was playing Sudoku on his iPad as he waited for Tammy, but she still didn’t come after a long while.
The driver got out and stood in front of the school gate, trying to spot Tammy from the crowd. He said to Matthew worriedly after waiting for a while, “Matthew, why hasn’t Tammy shown up yet?”
Hearing his words, Matthew raised an eyebrow. He had already pushed open the car door with his other hand as he put away his iPad. Then he stepped out of the car with a serious expression. “I’ll go check it out. Wait for me here,” He said.
After that, Matthew walked down the road towards the teaching building. On the way, several girls were checking him out. Matthew could hear the noises inside Tammy’s classroom as he walked outside the corridor. When he realized someone was saying nasty things to Tammy, he started to quicken his pace.
He had just entered the classroom when he noticed Tammy huddling in the corner. She was drenched, and there was a puddle of water beside her. A chubby boy stood in front of her, holding a red bucket and yelling angrily, “Why didn’t the kidnappers kill you?!”
At the same time, a tall, thin girl was standing in front of Tammy with her arms wide open. Her face flushed with nervousness, and her body trembled. Nonetheless, she said, “Jonas! Stop it! You have no right to bully a girl just because your family is rich! Everyone knows you did it to Tammy because she refused to go out on a date with you!”
Jonas gave her a cold grunt and said, “Stay out of my way, Ruby! I’m speaking with Tammy. What makes you think I will fall for a girl like her? She has a shameless mother!”
He threw back his head and laughed as he spoke. Several of the boys around him laughed with him.
When she heard this, Ruby burst into tears. Much as she wanted to beat the hell out of them, she resisted the urge as she knew she couldn’t beat so many people on her own. Ruby then turned back to look at Tammy, who was huddled in the corner, shivering. Tammy clenched her teeth and appeared to be about to snap.
“Tammy, calm down. Just ignore him.” Ruby was nervous and immediately wrapped her arms around Tammy. She was worried that Tammy would fight with them on impulse and get hurt.
When Tammy was about to punch Jonas, she heard a loud noise behind her, followed by Jonas’ screams. When she came back to her senses, she saw that Jonas was drenched and had a red bucket over his head. The next second, Matthew kicked Jonas hard and knocked him to the ground before he could remove the bucket.
Surprised, Ruby looked at them. The moment she saw Matthew, an angry, good-looking teenager beating Jonas to the ground, Ruby felt that her heart raced.
Jonas was moaning on the floor, begging Matthew to stop. Still, Matthew clenched his fist. He gave the boys next to him a warning look without saying anything. Then the boys all ran away in a fluster.
Immediately after that, Matthew turned back and looked at Tammy as he was worried about her. He thought, Tammy, I know you have always been assertive and strong and will not let anyone bully you. But the situation is different today. The cold water or Jonas’ hard fist did not knock you down. It was the ugliness of human nature that you’ve never experienced or imagined hurt you. I’m so sorry, Tammy. I should’ve been there for you before those boys lay their hands on you and said those harsh words to you.
“Tammy,” Matthew said as he fixed his gaze on her.
Tammy raised her head. Her hair obscured her vision, but her gaze was as fierce as a wolf’s. Her gaze softened as soon as she locked eyes with Matthew.
“You’re safe now. Let’s go home,” Matthew said as he took off his light blue suit jacket. He held Tammy in one hand and the suit in the other.
With Ruby’s help, Tammy rose to her feet. Her heart felt warmed after her cold fingers touched Matthew’s warm hand. Matthew then draped his coat over Tammy’s body.
However, just as Matthew thought everything went smoothly, a man entered the classroom and blocked their way.
“What are you doing?” He asked with a serious expression. The man was in his fifties, and his stomach bulged from under his shirt. He was stern, with his hands behind his back.
Ruby immediately hid behind Matthew in fear, muttering in hushed tones, “We’re doomed! That’s our headteacher, Mr. Frye.”
Matthew glared indifferently at the man. He was unfamiliar with how the schools operated and had no idea that the students were typically terrified of the headteachers.
Before anyone knew it, Jonas was crying and hugging Mr. Frye’s waist, exclaiming, “Someone hit me!”
Ruby murmured once more, “Damn! I forgot that Mr. Frye is Jonas’ uncle.”
“Who hit Jonas?” Stroking Jonas’ hair, Mr. Frye asked.
“I did,” Matthew spoke up right away.
Mr. Frye glared angrily at Matthew right away. Matthew said nothing and looked at him with disdain and indifference. Mr. Frye was enraged by his arrogance and said, “Call your parents and tell them to meet me here!”
Matthew clutched Tammy’s hand and said impatiently, “My sister should go home and get changed right now. So, you can just talk to me directly if you have anything to say. I can speak for her.”
Mr. Frye was so enraged that he nearly passed out. He said, “We’re not talking about your sister here. We’re talking about you! Is that how you usually talk to your teachers?”
“Oh? Then how do you think I am supposed to talk to you?”
Ruby’s heart began to race once more. It wasn’t because she had a crush on Matthew but because she was terrified. She tugged at Matthew’s shirt and whispered, “He’s always that mean, so you’d better not piss him off. He likes it best when people flatter him.”
Matthew then asked Mr. Frye, “I heard that you like people flattering you, right? Sorry, but that’s not something I’d do.”
Ruby’s hands trembled with nervousness. Then, as she predicted, Mr. Frye yelled something that could send shivers down every student’s spine: “Call your parents NOW!”
“Feel free to bring my parents here. But I think you should let his parents come here as well,” Matthew said indifferently, glaring at Jonas.
Since Mr. Frye was there, Jonas became bolder as someone was backing him up. “You’ll be expelled!” He said, raising his chin to Matthew.
Matthew sneered and dialed Wayne’s number. After explaining what was happening to him, he urged Wayne to hurry and added, “Don’t forget to bring Tammy’s clothes.”
“Got it,” Wayne said, and he sounded even more enraged than Matthew. As he hung up the phone, Matthew couldn’t help but laugh.
***
“Are you all savages? Take a look at the bruising on my son’s face!” Jonas’ mother shouted.
It had been an hour and a half since the end of the school day. Jonas’ mother, a middle-aged woman in heavy makeup, slapped the desk inside Mr. Frye’s office. As she spoke, her mouth opened wide, and her shrill voice echoed throughout the room. Standing beside her, Jonas lowered his head and acted as if he were the victim.
After hearing this, Matthew couldn’t help but look him over. Because Matthew hadn’t hit Jonas hard enough earlier, he only had a few bruises on his face. Matthew would have kicked Jonas a few more times if he had known what would happen later.
After realizing Matthew had a dismissive attitude, Jonas’ mom roared more angrily, “You’re going to be kicked out! You’ve ruined the reputation of the school!”
“Jonas started it!” Tammy said. She had come to her senses by then. A puddle of water was forming at her feet, and her hair was dripping wet. She looked a mess, but she stood firm in defense of her brother.
Jonas’ mom didn’t take Tammy seriously. She raised her head with contempt and crossed her arms over her chest slowly. She asked, “You must be Tammy, right? Now, almost everyone in town is blaming you and your shameless mother. I’m surprised that you still have the nerve to come to school!”
Tammy took a step back before the woman could say anything more venomous. Her hands clenched into fists, and her entire body trembled. She couldn’t take any more of the scathing remarks.
Seeing that, Matthew approached Tammy and hugged her tightly to comfort her. The woman smiled triumphantly at the sight of her pitiful appearance. She was about to say something else when she heard a loud bang at the door.
Someone slammed the office door open. Immediately after that, a dozen men in suits and ties entered the office, the man in the front carrying a bucket of water. He poured water on Jonas before anyone could react.
Seconds later, the woman’s high heels were also soaked in the water. Her eyes widened in surprise as she asked, “Who the hell are you?! What do you want?”
The crowd spread out on either side, leaving a path in the middle. Wayne strolled from the back of the crowd, and he looked condescending. “You were looking for me?” Wayne ignored the screaming woman and approached Mr. Frye, who was sitting at his desk drinking tea.
Mr. Frye’s eyes widened in surprise, and he spat back into his teacup the mouthful of tea he had just taken. He was taken aback by the scene and needed a few moments to recover his composure. “Are you Tammy’s father?” He asked, setting his teacup down and wiping his mouth with his cuff.
“Yes, I’m her father. What’s wrong?” Wayne answered indifferently.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.