Brittany cowered in the corner, her face pale.
I had one more score to settle.
40
“The superintendent is visiting your school tomorrow, right?” I asked her. “I heard you’re the student representative. Giving a speech?”
Brittany nodded weakly. “It’s the school’s sixtieth anniversary. I’m supposed to go first.”
“Good. I wrote you a speech. Just read it tomorrow.”
She took the paper, read the first line, and shuddered. “This…”
“If you do this,” I said, “the debt between your father and me is settled. Deal?”
A spark of life flickered in Robert’s eyes. “Do
it! Do whatever he says! Call him Daddy if he tells you to!”
<
11:10
“No,” I said, “if I had a daughter like you, I’d
rather be dead.”
Brittany didn’t argue.
40
The sixtieth anniversary celebration.
Firecrackers, drums, a marching band. The
superintendent arrived, walking down a red
carpet, the principal hovering beside him. His
hair was perfectly coiffed, obviously an
expensive toupee. Even his forehead gleamed.
Over two thousand students, in fifty
classrooms, watched his oily head on the
projector screens.
He finished his introductory remarks. Applause
thundered through the auditorium.
“Keep that smile plastered on your face,” I said
into the earpiece. “No long faces today.”
Brittany forced a smile. No one suspected a
thing.
<
The principal beamed. “Now, we have a speech
from our very own Brittany Miller. Brittany is a
student I greatly admire. Excellent grades,
respectful, and most importantly, honest. As
they say, it takes ten years to grow a tree, a
hundred years to nurture a person. As
educators, our greatest dream is to cultivate
students like Brittany. I’m incredibly fortunate
to have had such a gifted student in my career.
It’s been a true honor. Now, let’s give a warm
welcome to…”
Alex was practically choking with laughter in the
control room.
Brittany, under the principal’s greasy, adoring
gaze, walked stiffly to the podium, pulled out
my speech.
“On this joyous occasion, I’m honored to share
some of my personal reflections…”
“Louder!” I said. “Did you forget to eat
く
11:10
She raised her voice. “I’d like to thank our
principal, that old bastard, for nurturing me, this
little bitch! As they say, a fish rots from the
head down. He’s greedy, I’m a bully! He’s fat and disgusting, I’m a psychopath! I put a classmate in the hospital, and he said it was no big deal, because I get good grades. He said even if I killed someone, he’d cover it up…”
“I never said…” The principal jumped up.
The auditorium erupted. Whistles, shouts, security guards rushing the stage. The superintendent stormed out, his face
thunderous.
“Keep going! Don’t stop until you’re finished!” I
said.
Brittany dodged the guards, continuing her speech. “Our principal’s defining characteristic is selfishness. He’s got a face like a pig, but
he’s got no shame. All he cares about is his
<
own career, not the well–being of his students!
Having a principal like him is like… well, it’s like
a shit show…”
The guards finally wrestled her away from the
microphone.
She sobbed. “I did what you said. You’ll keep
your promise, right?”
“Of course,” I said. “It’s not my money your dad owes, anyway.”
“You… you bastard!”
“Hey, where are you going?” Alex asked. “This is the best part!”
“Nah,” I grabbed my jacket. “Lily’s getting out of the hospital today. I have to go get her.”
It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining.
<
“Brother, I’m all better!” Lily skipped towards
- me.
“Really? Spin around, let me see.”
Lily twirled, her skirt swirling around her like
flower petals.
“So, Miss Lily, are you ready for your new life?”
“I’m ready!”
“Let’s go!”
Lily jumped on my back. “Let’s go!”
Epilogue:
Alex hired a PR team. The video of Brittany’s
speech went viral. The principal couldn’t
suppress it. He was fired within half an hour.
Apparently, there were also some “moral
indiscretions” involved. His reputation was
<
Robert and his wife became indentured
servants to the casino owner. One worked in a
sweatshop, the other in a mine. Try to escape, they’d break their legs.
The two sidekicks? They never recovered. They
transferred schools, but wherever they went,
everyone knew they were bullies. They were
ostracized. A taste of their own medicine.
As for me, there were some unexpected
benefits. The story stayed in the news for a
while. People dug up my information. A
struggling writer named John Davies wrote a
novel based on my story. It became a hit.
I became an internet celebrity. I did a few
livestreams, by popular demand. The comments
were filled with “A Brother’s Revenge“.
The livestreams were popular, and lucrative. I
made three hundred thousand dollars in a few
months. Paid Alex back.
<
11:11
Then some talent agency contacted me, wanting to create a “revenge guru” persona. That’s when I knew it was time to disappear.
Lily didn’t transfer schools. The new principal took good care of her. She was healthy, physically and mentally. Her grades improved.
One day, she asked me, “Brother, why didn’t you ever ask me why they bullied me?”
“It didn’t matter why. They hurt you. That’s all
that mattered.”
“Oh,” she said. “Brother, do you remember that pinky swear we made when we were little?”
“Which one?”
“You said you’d study hard, get a good job, and
marry a good wife.”
“Yeah… why?”
<
“Alex told me you failed a bunch of classes this
semester.”
66
…
“Brother? What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking about going back to the dorm and ripping his lips. off.”
“No, you can’t do that! Just study harder. We
can do this together!”
“Okay. Together.”
“Pinky swear?”
“Pinky swear.”
