Teenage Mischief

01 Question

"Mr Bailey, are you single?"

Thanks to that question, I'm currently sitting in a two-hour detention. An empty A4 sheet and a pencil are scattered on my desk while my lovely teacher, Miss Johnson is sitting opposite me a few feet away. Occasionally, looking up just to see if I'm doing my work or simply spacing out. I'm doing the latter.

"The sooner you finish writing the apology letter, the sooner you get to go home, Miss Holloway," she says with a sneer.

I click my tongue and roll my eyes. "This is unfair, Miss. He said to ask questions and I did. So why am I here?"

"Your question was rude and unwanted. Do you even know who Mr Bailey is, young lady? He's the owner of this school. Thanks to him, girls like you get the privilege of attending prestigious high schools like this one."

Girls like me? I want to ask but I already know what she means. Girls from poor backgrounds. Girls who unfortunately cannot afford to attend an outstanding elite school like Bailey's Private High School for Girls. Girls who don't have both parents to support them. In conclusion, girls like me.

There's no point arguing with her though. She's right. Thanks to Mr Bailey's generosity, I get the chance to attend this prestigious high school. I'm well aware of that. But she's missing the most important part. It's thanks to my hard work and dedication that I got the scholarship. It's thanks to those sleepless nights and extra hours I spent revising and learning that I got here. I. Got. Myself. Here. Not Mr Bailey. Arrogant women like her will never pay attention to that though, so there's no point trying to argue or convince her of it.

"I don't see how it was rude. It was just a question."

"Miss Holloway!" She glares at me. "You flirted with him. In front of the entire class without any shame. That is simply unacceptable for someone who attends this Institute. You should feel lucky I'm not informing your mother."

"I wasn't flirting," I say to defend myself. "I was going somewhere with that question."

"Is that so?"

"That is so!"

"Then please enlighten me. Where were you going with it?"

Well, it's not like I can tell her. It'll ruin my entire plan. "I can't tell you that. It's a secret project I'm currently working on."

She looks at me with droopy eyes. Presumably done with me and my nonsense. "Miss Holloway." She sighs, taking her glasses off to rub her nose. "Just write the apology letter so we can both be done with this conversation."

I guess she has a point. We won't reach a conclusion no matter how long we talk and argue. I finish writing the apology letter and hand it in. Although Miss Johnson and I don't see eye to eye on most things, I still admire her as a teacher. She's quick, intelligent and most importantly, fair when it comes to lessons. She might have a lot of prejudice and she's most certainly not afraid of showing them. But, she doesn't let it get in the way of how she rewards her students.

"You're one of our top students, Miss Holloway," she says to me before I exit the classroom. "Act like it!"

✧✧✧

"Act like it. Act like it," I mimic my horrible yet admirable teacher while drinking coffee with my best friend, Anais. She keeps giggling each time I do so and I can't help but do the same. "Seriously though, have you ever hated yet admired someone at the same time? Like I want to choke her but also sign up as her disciple."

"Believe me, I understand." She keeps giggling. "What did you do this time to get on her nerves?"

"I just saw my way to getting rich and shot my shot."