Winning Her Heart Back

 Their High School Days

At that time, Emelie was a freshman in high school.

It was a stage in high school where the academic pressure and the looming anxiety of college entrance exams hadn't yet fully taken hold.

As such, she would often find herself indulging in little moments of joy, like leaning out the window during evening study sessions to watch the sunset.

She believed that studying hard and enjoying youth didn't have to be mutually exclusive. However, not everyone shared her optimistic outlook.

There was a girl in her class who was always a top student, but she put immense pressure on herself. She was constantly doing practice tests, and even the slightest drop in her rank sent her into a panic.

The high pressure that she gave herself kept her grades fairly stable. It was until one time, during a major exam, something unexpected happened.

Everyone was shocked to see that her rank had plummeted by more than twenty spots. The day the results were posted, she broke down in tears right there in the classroom.

Emelie didn't know her well enough to comfort her properly, so she just handed her some tissues.

She couldn't help but wonder what had gone wrong. Dropping a few spots was normal, but to drop that many, something must have seriously gone wrong. Had something happened to her?

Later, during a break, Emelie ran into the girl in the restroom. She saw her frantically pumping out soap and scrubbing her hands as if she were trying to wash off something filthy, all the while crying.

Emelie and a few other girls who were there asked her what was wrong. She seemed to find it difficult to speak, only sobbing quietly.

Then, a senior student who happened to be there blurted out, "I just saw you coming out of the teacher's office. Did Baldy bully you?"

"Baldy" was their math teacher and also the grade-level coordinator. The girl was his class representative. Emelie felt a chill run down her spine when she realized what the senior student meant by "bully".

The girl broke down completely, crouching down and crying as she said, "He threatened me. He said if I didn't do what he wanted, he'd make sure that I got a demerit. If I get a demerit, I'll lose ten points and get expelled. I'm only able to attend school because of a scholarship. I don't want to get expelled, I just want to go to college

They were attending the best high school in Coastalburg. Most of the students there either came from wealthy families or were top academic performers.

Emelie and this girl belonged to the latter group, the ones at the bottom of the social food chain, with no power or influence, the easiest to target and exploit.

Emelie suddenly remembered that Baldy had once touched her hand too. At the time, she had felt uncomfortable.

However, it was pure luck that just then, Wesley had come looking for her, calling her name from the classroom window. After that, Baldy hadn't tried anything again, and she had dismissed her earlier discomfort as just her imagination.

A delayed wave of nausea hit her, followed by a surge of anger.

The senior student clenched her fists and said, "When he was teaching us, he used to do the same thing to girls from less well-off families. We even reported him anonymously!

"However, as there was no proof and he was on the school board, so the school protected him. The whole thing got swept under the rug. I thought he'd stopped, but I guess he's still the same scumbag!"

The girl kept crying, not denying anything. It must have been true.

Emelie trembled with rage. "Isn't there anything we can do to stop him?'

"Why can't we be the ones to stop him?" A male voice rang out from the doorway, and they all went out of the washroom.

Apparently, the boys who were passing by outside had overheard their conversation.

One of the boys sneered. "Keeping a scumbag like him around is an insult to our education. I don't want our school to be known as 'the one with that pervert teacher' when I talk about it in the future."

Emelie immediately asked, "So what should we do?"

The teenagers were all filled with zeal for justice and doing what was right. However, when it came to actual plans everyone fell silent, unsure of what to do nextContentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Some suggested tying him up and beating him outside the school. Others talked about using their family connections to get him fired. There were lots of ideas floating around.

They all crouched in a corner of the hallway, discussing animatedly, but none of the ideas seemed like a real solution. Everything felt like a temporary fix, not a permanent solution to the root problem.

Then, a boy who hadn't participated in the discussion spoke up. His voice was calm and clear, and Emelie instinctively turned to look at him.

The boy said, "She should pretend that nothing happened. The next time she goes to his office, we'll secretly film it. Once we have evidence, we can expose him and make sure he pays for what he's done.'