Chapter 41: Chloe York Goes Head-to-Head with the Homeroom Teacher
Knowing her homeroom teacher would be like this, Chloe York glanced around and saw that no one else had their hand raised—only her. And yet, the teacher wasn’t calling on her. Since that was the case, she’d just stand up and recite.
The students had been waiting for the teacher to call on someone, so they were surprised when Chloe York suddenly stood up and began reciting.
"Chloe York, did I call on you?" the homeroom teacher snapped when she saw Chloe stand up and start reciting.
Chloe York ignored her, having already finished the first poem and moved on to the second.
Most students would have been lucky to fluently recite even the first classical poem. They never imagined Chloe York could actually memorize two in just five minutes, and so flawlessly.
Scholar System: [Congratulations, Host. Task completed: Raise hand and successfully recite two classical poems. Wisdom Value +5, Memory Value +5.]
Only after hearing the system’s notification did Chloe York respond to her teacher. "Ma’am, you’re the one who said to raise our hands to recite. I was the only person in class with my hand up. What’s the problem?"
The homeroom teacher was rendered speechless and could only glare at Chloe York, a growing sense of panic rising within her. ’In the past, Chloe would’ve been lucky to memorize a single poem in an entire day, let alone recite it fully. Now she’s memorized two in five minutes, and flawlessly at that. Don’t tell me she’s actually going to score over fifty on the second mock exam!’
’If I have to apologize to her in front of the entire school, what shred of dignity will I have left as a teacher?’
Chloe York sat back down. Her mission was accomplished; she didn’t care what anyone else—or the homeroom teacher—thought.
The homeroom teacher suppressed her panic and resumed the lesson. The students already knew from the bet that their teacher and Chloe York were at odds, but they hadn’t expected the conflict to be this blatant in class.
But they were just as amazed that Chloe York could actually memorize and recite two classical poems in such a short amount of time!
The person most delighted by this scene was Brooke York. ’With such a huge conflict with her homeroom teacher, there’s no way she’ll get good enough grades for college,’ she thought. ’Just for language arts, if she has any questions, the teacher probably won’t even bother with her.’
When afternoon classes ended, Chloe York and Stella Winters went to the cafeteria again, though they didn’t run into Evan Shaw this time. After dinner, they returned to the classroom.
The homeroom teacher was already in the classroom, ready to supervise the evening self-study session.
"Ma’am, I have something on tonight, so I’ll be skipping evening study."
"Suit yourself."
Any other student would have understood the teacher’s "Suit yourself" as a denial and would have sat down for the study session. But Chloe York took her at her word and immediately started packing her bag.
Though the students pretended to be studying, they were all secretly watching Chloe as she packed her things, and the homeroom teacher, whose expression at the front of the room was growing darker by the second.
"Ma’am, I need to skip tonight’s study session as well," Stella Winters announced, standing up. She didn’t have much to pack, just a single book that she tucked into her desk.
The teacher was already fuming about Chloe skipping the study session. Now Stella was doing the same. It felt like they were ganging up to defy her, one after the other.
"Some people shouldn’t get so full of themselves. Thinking that just because you’re a little famous now, you can ignore everything. You’ll have plenty of time for regrets later."
Still, watching Chloe leave, the teacher felt a sense of relief. ’This will cut down on her study time,’ she thought. ’She’ll remain a lost cause, just like always.’
’I know I shouldn’t think this way,’ she admitted to herself, ’but no student has ever dared to defy me like this. Only Chloe. That’s why I want to teach her a lesson. I want her to lose this bet.’
Chloe York paid no mind to the teacher’s pointed remarks. Once her bag was packed, she walked out of the classroom, with Stella hurrying to catch up.
Seeing Chloe leave, Brooke felt a strong urge to follow. She wanted to see if the same person who picked Chloe up yesterday was coming for her again.
’I’m just waiting for the right moment to release all the photos,’ she mused. ’Since Chloe seems to understand the power of public opinion and netizens so well, I’ll let her have a taste of her own medicine.’
’If I frame her as a mistress being kept by some rich man, I refuse to believe the netizens will still praise her. I can’t wait for that day to come. When the "beautiful and kind" girl everyone loves is exposed as a kept woman... now that will be interesting.’
"Man, that teacher really has it in for you," Stella Winters said. The memory of the look on their homeroom teacher’s face as they left was terrifying.
"It’s only natural she’s got a grudge against me," Chloe replied. "She’s waiting for the chance to humiliate me, for me to fail to score over fifty on the second mock exam."
"Chloe, what would you say your chances of success are right now?"
"About seventy percent."
"That high?" Stella was stunned. At those odds, it was practically a sure thing.
"Yep. Do you believe me?"
"I believe you! I’d say it’s one hundred percent."
"Alright, then. I’ll make it one hundred percent."
They reached the back gate of the main athletic field. A single security guard was on duty, and the gate was locked. They’d need him to open it.
"Sir, could you open the gate for us? We need to get out this way." The two girls poked their heads into the security booth. The guard was busy scrolling through videos on his phone, the sound blaring.
Hearing their voices, the guard put his phone down, the screen going dark. He looked at the two of them. "What grade are you in? Why are you leaving school this late? And why through the back gate?"
Stella was about to speak, but Chloe stopped her. "We’re juniors," she said smoothly. "Our parents are planning to rent an apartment in the complex over here, so they sent us to take a look. If it’s a good fit, we’ll move here to save time and focus on studying for our senior year."
The guard nodded in understanding. It was true that living nearby was a good way to save time preparing for senior year. But this was still a school, and the back gate at that. He was responsible for security here; he couldn’t just let students in and out based on a few words.
"Let me see your student IDs."
Chloe hadn’t expected him to ask for their IDs. Her mind raced. "They’re at home," she said. "We didn’t bring them with us."
"If you didn’t have them, how’d you get in through the front gate?"
"A teacher was walking in at the same time I was, so the guard at the front gate just waved me through. Sir, look, I’m even wearing the school uniform. I’m obviously a student. Besides, I’m already on campus—I’m just trying to leave. Once I move in around here, I promise I’ll show you my ID."
That sounded plausible enough. The guard opened the gate to let them out. "Just remember to bring your IDs next time. You can’t use this gate without them."
"Got it. Thanks, sir."
The two of them walked out and headed straight for the apartment complex. After they had put some distance between themselves and the gate, Stella asked, "Chloe, why didn’t you just say we were seniors?"
"The school doesn’t allow seniors to live off-campus by themselves without a parent. To use the back gate, they have to register with their parents first. Only juniors are allowed to come and go freely through here without needing to register."