Birmingham teamed up with and another city to put on this big show. Almost all the high schools in town participated in it and put on a total of ten shows. They had been rehearsing for two months for this day.
Tammy, dressed in a navy blue gown, had just stepped back from the center of the stage. A woman in black leaped out of the side door on the west side of the auditorium and bent over to sit quietly in the far corner.
“This is a violin concerto performed by Birmingham High School’s junior class.”
Ada’s eyes shone with a sinister light as the announcer’s voice rang out. She gave a wicked grin.
Meanwhile, Bill, who was at the door, turned back impatiently as he noticed that Ada had left.
Ada took the stairs down to the underground garage. Her steps down the stairs were lighter because she was so happy to see Tammy was there.
The sound of her softly humming song echoed throughout the underground garage. Her fingers traced the cars until she stopped in front of a yellow school bus. She smiled wickedly as she stared at the words “Birmingham High School” on the bus. With her heart filled with joy and excitement, she pulled a hobby knife from her bag, the sharp blade glinting oddly in the light.
A few moments later, Ada went underneath the car and then crawled out. She almost laughed out loud as she raised the knife in her hand. All of a sudden, she heard footsteps following her. Having turned around, Ada was surprised to see Bill.
“Do you really want everyone in this one car to die just to get back at Anna?” Bill asked. With his hands in his leather jacket pockets, he appeared unconcerned and didn’t appear to be taking this seriously.
“Why are you following me?” Ada asked, putting down the knife in her hand.
When Bill grabbed her arm, she was about to walk around him. He asked, “I promised to help you. So, why are you still doing this?”
She laughed strangely and said before leaving, “I want her to feel the pain as well! You’d better mind your own business and stay out of it!”
Listening to the sound of the loud engine and brakes in the quiet underground garage, Bill hesitated in front of the yellow bus. After a moment, he thought of Joanna’s beautiful face and what she said to him when she snuggled up to his shoulder, “I’d prefer you to be a good person.”
Bill leaned up against the school bus and dialed Anna’s number. He remembered it because he had stolen Peace’s phone before.
It took Anna a long while to answer the phone. She left the auditorium quietly through the side door. After pressing the answer button, she lowered her voice and asked, “Hello?
“The bus has a brake issue. Tell them to change buses.”
The moment she heard it, Anna tensed up and became terrified. Before she could ask who that was, Bill hung up the phone. Her mind kept replaying the straightforward but shocking message. It wasn’t until a minute later that she called back immediately, only to find that she couldn’t get through.
Just as Anna was about to return to the auditorium, she noticed the doors had been opened. And people rushed out of the jammed doorway. Immediately after that, Anna became alarmed and dashed toward the underground parking lot.
She instantly stopped in front of the bus owned by Birmingham High School. The last students were just getting on the bus at that point. Anna slammed the door shut and asked the driver to get out because she thought she had no time to explain to him what happened.
“What’s the matter with this woman?” The driver asked, frowning as he slowly began the engine.
Tammy, who heard the noise, looked out the window and exclaimed, “Stop the car!”
The driver had no choice but to stop. Tammy jumped out of the car as soon as the door opened.
“Brake!” Anna yanked the driver out of the driver’s seat, panting.
The driver was startled after checking the brakes suspiciously. “Dear God!” he exclaimed. After coming back to his senses, he asked Anna, “How did you know there was a problem with the brakes?”
Anna didn’t have time to explain, so she ignored him. She called the police first and hung up before saying, “I’ll explain this to the police.”
***
For three days, Birmingham had been raining nonstop, and the air was extremely humid.
When Anna woke up in the bedroom, she heard the sound of raindrops outside the window. Frowning slightly, she opened the curtains and looked out.
The sky was so dark that Anna thought it was night. Somehow, as she looked up at the dark sky, Anna felt anxious and sorrowful for no reason.
After a shower, she entered the dining room and saw Wayne and Matthew reading the Financial Times. Tammy then walked downstairs in her school uniform. When she noticed the extra cutlery in the dining room, she asked, “Is Grandma back?”
“It’s Ryan,” Wayne looked up at her and answered.
Sitting next to Wayne, Anna sipped her milk. She raised her eyes and looked at Wayne, who was reading the newspaper. “I heard he was helping police catch criminals abroad. Is this mission over?” Anna asked.
“Yes, he’s now taking a break.” Wayne flipped over the paper, seemingly unconcerned about the situation. What surprised Anna was that Ryan had not told her of this but had instead told Wayne.
“Read it after you finish your breakfast,” she said and snatched the newspaper from both of their hands.
Wayne and Matthew exchanged glances and skimmed their lips together. The maid immediately brought breakfast to the two of them.
At that time, Tammy had already wiped her mouth and walked upstairs. She returned to the dining room a short time later with her schoolbag, saying, “Let the driver take me to school earlier today. You don’t have to come with me.”
With that, she dashed to the entrance to change her shoes. The maid handed her an umbrella before she went out.
Wayne looked up at Tammy as she was about to take the umbrella. “Tammy, you don’t have to go to school for a while,” he said slowly and softly.
“Why?” Tammy loosened her grasp, and the umbrella thudded to the floor. Upset, she stood at the front door and looked over at Wayne, retorting, “I told you I didn’t want to work for your company.”
Yesterday, Wayne offered Tammy a break from school to work for his company after returning from the police station with Anna. Tammy refused and even got mad at him. She assumed Wayne wouldn’t bring it up, but she wasn’t expecting him to say that again.
Tammy went out again because she was so angry. However, as she turned around, she ran into someone. She stumbled a little as she smelled the rain, and Ryan caught her before she fell.
“Are you going to school? Why didn’t you wait for me? You know I’m going to come back home,” Ryan said to Tammy with a slight frown.
“Oh, Uncle Ryan!” Tammy said with a smile after a brief pause.
Ryan then placed his hand on her shoulder. The heavy fabric of his uniform made her feel safe. They then walked to the dining table together.
“The plane doesn’t take off until ten o’clock. Please wait a little longer, Tammy.” Dressed in a soaked uniform, Ryan walked into the dining room, leaving muddy footprints from the doorway to the dining room. Then he began eating the toast that was on the table.
“Uncle Ryan, what are you talking about?” Tammy was baffled as to why Ryan wouldn’t let her go and was even more confused when she heard his words.
“Ah, you don’t know about that? Didn’t your dad tell you about it?” Ryan appeared to be hungry and quickly finished that slice of toast. He then glanced at Wayne unhappily.
“Sorry, I haven’t had a chance to tell her yet,” Wayne said calmly, setting his bowl down.
“Are you going to tell me about taking a break from school to work at the carousel?” Tammy asked angrily.
“Huh? No! I want you to go on a study tour to the US. New York University has recently begun recruiting students in England for a study tour. These students will spend a month and a half studying at ten most prestigious universities in America. This is an incredible opportunity for you!”
Tammy’s eyes widened as she exclaimed, “Huh? Attend college? But I’m not yet in high school.”
“You may also be eligible for guaranteed admission to a well-known local high school. If you have this experience, you might be able to get into the college you like later on!”
Ryan said, “I have two spots available here. Matthew has expressed an interest in going there, so there is only one spot left. Do you want to go, Tammy? If you don’t want it, I’ll give it to a friend’s child.”
“I’ll go!” Tammy exclaimed joyfully and laughed. She had always wanted to study in America.
Wayne nodded as he took up the newspaper next to him, saying, “Matthew, you can’t always work with me. You can travel to America to see if there is a college you want to attend and then prepare for it. You and Tammy can attend high school together in America next semester.”
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.