Chapter 3

2

Watching Skylar's carefree laughter and her fans' blind praise made a surge of fury rise in my chest.

I couldn't accept that my daughter was being used as a prop for someone else's profit.

Just then, my phone buzzed with a notification.

It was a message from Skylar in the class group chat about a new fee.

"Hi parents! The students suggested we hold a Food Festival this Friday night. Everyone needs to send $100 for the event fund."

Before anyone could even respond, she sent a payment request.

I couldn't help but scoff as I scrolled through the previous messages.

The last time we paid a "class fee" was only two weeks ago.

Tuition and meals were already paid for at the start of the year. I couldn't wrap my head around how a class of teenagers could burn through thousands of dollars in two weeks.

"Ding."

Another message popped up.

I clicked on it to see who it was.

"Ms. Reed, didn't we just pay a class fee a few days ago?"

It was Lily's mom. She was the only one brave enough to ask. Even though other parents were suspicious, nobody wanted to be the one to speak up.

It took Skylar nearly thirty minutes to reply. It wasn't an explanation.

"Lily's mom, if your family is having financial trouble, you don't have to pay. You can just pick Lily up early on Friday before the activities start."

On the surface, it sounded okay. But everyone in the group could feel the condescension in her words.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Lily's mom silently sent the money.

I recorded the entire screen of the group chat.

My iPad was still frozen on Skylar's last video.

I didn't pay the fee immediately. Instead, I used a secondary account to leave a comment on her video.

"Using nicknames like that for female students might really upset their parents if they see this."

Skylar's millions of followers were real, and they were protective. Within thirty minutes, my comment was flooded with vitriol.

"Are you just sensitive?" one fan wrote.

"The girls and the parents haven't said anything. Why are you so triggered?"

"This just shows how close Ms. Reed is with her students. Stop overthinking everything."

"It's because of people like you that Ms. Reed has to be so careful with what she posts now."

"Go away, Karen."

While I was reading the insults, a call came through from a local landline.

"Mom, why haven't you paid the activity fee yet?"

As soon as I answered, Macy's voice came through, thick with tears.

"Macy, what's wrong? Don't cry. Tell me what happened."

I tried to calm her down, but she only sobbed harder.

"Why didn't you just pay it?"

She choked back a sob, her voice trembling.

"During study hall, Ms. Reed said I was the only one who hadn't paid. She asked me in front of everyone if our family was struggling. She said… she said if I didn't want to participate in group events, I should just stop coming to them altogether."

I went straight to Skylar's office.

I checked my watch impatiently. It had been twenty minutes, and she still hadn't shown up.

It was lunch break, so there was no way she was in a class.

Just as I stood up to go find her, she arrived.

She was holding two books in one hand and her phone in the other, filming herself and whispering to the camera.

"Ms. Reed, I thought you forgot our meeting."

"Sorry, the Vice Principal wanted to discuss the school's new promotional video with me. I had to stop by his office first."

Her apology was casual, her expression totally indifferent.

"Ms. Reed, don't you think what you said to Macy last night went way too far?"

I got straight to the point.

She didn't seem to care.

"Oh, Macy's mom, it was just a joke. Don't be so sensitive."

She kept tapping on her phone, editing the video she had just filmed.

Seeing her dismissive attitude, I let out a cold laugh.

"So, giving girls malicious nicknames is a joke? Posting videos of them without their consent right after a shower is a joke too?"