C51 fifty one

"Are you friends?" I directed my question to both of them.

She glanced at the girl beside me, who was looking down, then returned her gaze to me before shaking her head.

"Why do you ask?" I asked curiously.

She sat beside me, so I adjusted my sitting position.

"She's aloof. Even though I want to be friends with her, I can't because she always avoids me. She ignores all our classmates too," she explained.

"Your high school life won't be happy if you don't have friends, Stone," I said to the disheartened Stone.

She slowly lifted her gaze.

Her face was no longer wet with tears. She bit her lip before looking away.

We remained quiet, only our breaths and the passing students creating noise.

"What happened to Stone earlier? Why was she crying?" I asked Elie curiously.

She sighed, "Earlier, Ms. Valencia talked to her."

My brows furrowed.

"She told her to pay the tuition fee," she explained.

I rubbed my temples, "Did she tell her or did she embarrass her?"

She bit her lower lip and took a deep breath, "She embarrassed her."

I closed my eyes in frustration. She even picks on kids! She's too immature! I don't know where she gets the audacity and guts! She's too heartless!

I sighed and patted Stone's back, who smiled back at me, forcing a smile.

"Don't worry about money," I smiled. "I'll take care of your tuition for now. Enjoy your high school life."

Her eyes widened at what I said.

"Oh, Miss," she said shyly.

I stood up and smiled at her.

"Later or maybe the day after tomorrow, come to the faculty with me to pay," I said.

She nodded, "Thank you!" she said with a smile.

I smiled at her and turned to Elie.

I bid them farewell, saying I was going back to the faculty because my next class was about to start.

I ran my fingers through my hair and glanced at the other students passing by.

It's also nostalgic to be a student. Just running around the hallway, laughing. Racing down the stairs to be first in line at the canteen. I miss it.

I sighed and bit my lip to hold back my emotions.

"Oh! Well! It's good that you're back? Can you please send what I asked?" Ms. Valencia sarcastically said.

As much as I wanted to give her a piece of my mind, I didn't. I just continued walking and sat down at my seat.

"Don't start with your worn-out attitude, Ms. Valencia. Stop being immature. I've sent you the files you requested multiple times. Try checking your email. Double-check it," I said calmly.

I combed my hair because if I didn't focus on something else, I might snap at her.

"Duh," she said haughtily.

"If you can, please refrain from humiliating students. You are a teacher; act professional. You shouldn't humiliate your students, especially in serious situations," I said without hesitation.

I admit, sometimes I joke around with my other students, but when I know I've gone too far, I apologize. But I never let it escalate to that extent.

"Excuse me?" She seemed offended by what I said.

I lazily looked at her before raising an eyebrow.

"It's not the child's fault she can't pay tuition. You can talk to her parents or whatever. You don't need to embarrass her in front of other students," I said calmly.

She chuckled, "What are you talking about?"

She stood up properly before walking towards my table.

"Stone," I sighed. "She's your student," I brushed my hair back before looking at her. "You should not humiliate her in front of several students. Instead, you should approach her well."

She fell silent and thoughtful because of what I said. Some of the other teachers were now looking our way.

"She needs to pay tuition, and she can't study here if she doesn't pay!" she said irritably.

I nodded, "Yes, I know," was my only response.

I couldn't understand her mindset.

Why did she choose to embarrass her own student? Education is not about money! It's not about who pays for their education!

"And I don't care about that student," she said with a smirk.

I felt a surge of anger rising within me. How can she say those words! I clenched my fists to stop myself from speaking.

She turned away and sat back down.

How could she not care about her student?! Is she really a teacher?

I angrily stood up and walked briskly towards her. The other teachers looked at me again. I felt my face flush with anger.

I crossed my arms over my chest and smirked. "I'm just wondering how can you educate your students if in the first place you can't educate yourself?"

She coughed as if holding back her anger.

I sighed again and looked at her as if disappointed. Yes, I am.

"Isn't 'education is a right, not a privilege'? Like, duh, huh."

I turned around and walked out.