I tamped down my anger. “Okay, fine. If it’s
already this bad after only three days, I want her transferred to a different class.”
The teacher’s smile faltered.
“Oh, no, that’s not necessary. It’s a little issue. The principal will be mad if I move her now.”
She was young and using that guilt–trip tactic
already.
“No, she’s getting transferred. End of
discussion.”
The teacher grabbed Mia. “Tell me, sweetie, do
you want to transfer?”
<
Mia just stared at the floor, terrified.
I hugged her. “She’s my daughter, and I said
she’s getting transferred. Now.”
“Ma’am…please calm down.”
Chloe hobbled over, all innocent. “Mia and I
grew up in the same orphanage, and I’m a little
older than her, I always took care of her. I don’t want to be separated.”
“Get lost!”
I yelled and took Mia away to the principal’s office.
I explained everything to the principal. He
agreed that it was best to transfer her. He
promised it would happen within the week.
I picked Mia up from school and bought her a
stuffed rabbit.
<
On the way home, she hugged the rabbit and
mumbled. “Mom, am I useless?”
I asked, “Why do you say that?”
“I can’t compare to Chloe. At the orphanage,
the headmistress loved her. The teacher likes
her here. I can’t be as confident as she is.”
Mia grew up in a society that valued boys,
she’d been dumped at the orphanage by her
mother.
How could she be confident?
I reassured her. “You can build confidence. You
told me you were being bullied. That’s a big
step! You’re going to be amazing.”
Her eyes lit up. “Really?”
I hesitated a moment before I said. “Yes. But
you have to promise me you’ll stay away from
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2:08
90
you have to promise me, you’ll stay away from
Chloe.”
She nodded, smiling.
That night, Sarah bombarded me with calls.
She was furious. “You’re insane! Bullying a little
girl? Who do you think you are?! My kid is perfect, and you have no right to scream at her!”
I lost it and yelled back, “Your daughter lied about my kid! I have every right to get upset!”
“Whatever!” Sarah was even angrier. “Listen up, Chloe’s a genius! If you’re smart, you’d try to
get on our good side! And if you ever hurt my
daughter again, you’ll regret it!”
I laughed and blocked all her numbers.
Things were quiet for a few months. Then it
was time for the school’s fall field trip to a
mountain park.
I had a bad feeling about it, so I quietly followed
Mia.
There were around 200 kids in first grade.
Chloe was in class A, and Mia was in D. They
were pretty far from each other the whole time.
At lunch, all the kids gathered to eat their
packed lunches, and I lost track of Mia.
I calmed down, knowing that Chloe couldn’t do
anything to Mia in front of everyone.
When the teachers started roll call, Mia was
missing.
I panicked. I ran everywhere, searching.
I was terrified. I called the police.
<
The police told me to search along the trail, and
they’d be right over.
I was exhausted, desperate, and couldn’t find
her.
I had a hunch that Chloe was behind this.
I went into the thick of the woods.
The sun had already set. All the students had
gone home. Only a few teachers, police, and I were still there.
The mountain was filled with our voices.
I was about to give up, when one of the police
officers found Mia.
She was passed out beneath a tree.
I ran over and hugged her tight, crying. Mia was
surprised to see me. She said, “Mom! You’re
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here! Did you get hurt?”
I didn’t understand.
90
I was okay. I was also very far away. How could
she see me?
Mia said, “Chloe said you followed us and got
hurt. I got so worried! She told me to head
west, and I’d find you.”
A cold chill went down my back.
The west side of the mountain was a cliff.
If it was dark, Mia could have fallen to her
death.
I was shaking with rage.
This monster had tried to hurt my daughter
again.
<
I pointed at Chloe. “You hear that? Chloe tried
to hurt my daughter. She’s evil!”
The teacher went pale. “That’s not true. Chloe
is just a little kid, she wouldn’t do that.”
The police checked Mia for injuries. “Tell the
officer, is what you said true?”
Mia nodded. “Mom told me not to lie.”
The officer looked at me. “We can’t jump to conclusions. They’re just kids.”
I couldn’t tell them that Chloe was a dwarf.
I knew there was no point in arguing. I picked up Mia and left.
Right outside the park, I saw Sarah and Chloe.
Sarah pretended to be worried and ran up to
hua Min
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6 90
“I’m so glad you’re okay. You had me worried
sick!”
I pulled Mia to me and sneered at Sarah, “What
do you care?”
Sarah couldn’t keep up the act anymore. She
spat at me. “If it wasn’t for Chloe worrying
about Mia, why would I even come?”
That was it. I snapped.
“Your daughter told my daughter to walk west!
She knew there was a cliff. She was trying to
kill her!”
Sarah’s face went red. “It’s my daughter’s fault
that she got lost? Why do you have to be so
jealous that my daughter is a genius?!”
I wanted to tear Sarah to shreds. The teacher
came over and pulled me back. “Mrs., let’s calm
down. There’s no need to be so upset.”
<
2:08
At that moment, Chloe started crying.
ล 90
“Ms., I’m so sorry. I saw the white bandage on
your arm, and I thought you got hurt. I told Mia. I didn’t know…”
She was hyperventilating. “I didn’t know there was a cliff, I’m so sorry.”
A twenty–eight–year–old faking to be a child. It
was infuriating.
I balled my fists. “We’re done with transfers,
she’s moving to a new school.”
Sarah scoffed. “You have a victim complex,
always thinking someone is trying to hurt your
kid. If she dies, it’ll be because of you. You had
to follow us, or else Chloe wouldn’t have said
that.”
“Shut up!”
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2:08
I couldn’t take it anymore. I slapped Sarah
across the face.
90
This version is more natural for American
readers and uses more common expressions,
while keeping the main plot and themes intact.
Let me know if you’d like any other
adjustments!
Sarah was stunned, her jaw hanging open.
She snapped out of it, her face turning red. She
lunged at me, trying to grab me, but the police
arrived just in time and pulled her back.
Sarah, totally unhinged, started shouting at the
cops. “Officer, she hit me first! I didn’t do
anything! Arrest her!”
“You cursed me to death and wished my
daughter dead. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you!” I
was so angry, my teeth were grinding.
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90
The police intervened, trying to de–escalate the situation. “Everyone, calm down. Please, not in front of the kids.”
I turned to look at Mia. She was staring at
Chloe, not with fear this time, but with something else.
She pointed directly at Chloe and yelled. “We’re
done talking. I hate you, Chloe!”
Everyone froze.
Chloe started sobbing even harder.
I took Mia’s hand, and we walked back to the
car, not looking back.
The police gave Sarah a stern lecture, and then
Sarah, with Chloe, got into her car. Surprisingly,
the teacher got in with them.
Were they related?
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I U–turned and followed them back to Sarah’s
house.
In the parking lot, Sarah got out of the car and
told the teacher, “Cousin, that b*tch is tough to
deal with, huh?”
The teacher chuckled. “Don’t worry, our Chloe is a genius. We’ll make her cry sooner or later.”
We’ll see, Sarah.
I transferred Mia to a private school in the suburbs. After that, Mia and Chloe were done
with each other.
Years passed. The next time I saw Chloe was at the orientation for the city’s top middle school.
Five years had gone by, but Chloe hadn’t changed much. The orphanage director had told Sarah that Chloe had been malnourished since childhood, that she was not only disabled but
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also had a chronic illness, and would never
grow. This was to conceal the fact that Chloe
was a dwarf.
When I saw her at my daughter’s school, I
immediately planned to transfer Mia again.
But Mia refused.
