Chapter 8
926 Words
Ivy was at her volunteer work. After giving her students some classwork, she checked her phone and scrolled through her group messages. There were so many notifications, and then she saw it- her name.
Oh no… It’s my turn to handle the group activities today.
She glanced at her battery.... Two per cent Panic set in. She quickly typed a message to explain she wouldn’t be available, but before she could send it, her phone died.
“Oh, s**t!” she muttered under her breath, hoping none of the students had noticed. Thankfully, they hadn’t.
She didn’t want to seem irresponsible to her new group members. It had been just over a week since she joined, but what could she do? There had been a power cut since morning, and she had no choice but to drop her phone and focus on her students.
“Are you guys done with your classwork?” she asked.
A mix of “yes” and “no” responses came from around the room.
“You have only two minutes to pass your books on my desk,” she instructed.
After a few minutes, she called out again.
“Alright, time’s up. Submit.”
The students began lining up, books in hand, when suddenly a commotion erupted outside. Ivy stood up to see what was happening, and the students followed her gaze.
“To your seats now! I know you’re just looking for something to gossip about,” she scolded. They scattered, and she turned back to leave the classroom.
A heated argument had erupted at the school entrance.
“What do you mean you didn’t put my son’s name in the elementary school leaving examination? You know he can’t enter secondary school without it!” a parent shouted.
The principal replied calmly, “Ma’am, you haven’t paid for the exam. It’s an external exam- I can’t just put his name down.”
“I told you I would pay once I got the money!” the parent argued.
“When?” the principal asked.
“I don’t know… very soon,” she mumbled.
The principal shook her head. “You couldn’t even pay 10% of the regular fees. How can I trust you to pay for the exams and certificate?”
Ivy walked closer, realising the parent was looking at her.
“Please, help me talk to the headmistress,” the parent pleaded.
Ivy hesitated. She wanted to tell the truth.
“Your son is in my class, and he doesn’t even pay any fees because we provide totally free education for him. But your other two sons cannot pay the small fees being charged.”
The parent nodded, seemingly considering her words. Ivy continued, keeping her tone calm:
“The best option now is for your son to join next year’s exam. It’s offered every year, and by then you should be able to pay both the exam and the fees. Your child may not be the smartest, but he wants to learn, and this gives him the chance.”
The woman asked quietly, “So next year, he just has to register again?”
“Yes,” the principal confirmed. “Come to my office if you have any other questions.”
The principal looked at Ivy and nodded in thanks.
“I’m glad to help, ma’am. I’ll go back to my class now,” Ivy said, and returned to her students.
By the time she got home, the power had finally returned. She plugged in her phone, took a quick shower, and checked the messages that had flooded in. Mentions from her comfort group had filled the screen -so many she lost count.
She quickly typed...
“I’m so sorry, guys. I had a busy day and my phone died. Should I start the activities if you don’t mind?”
Replies came fast.
“Start what? It’s evening already.”
“What do you want to start?”
One of the admins added: “You have to pay a fine.”
Ivy froze. A fine? She had no idea what they were talking about.
“I’m so sorry. I would have loved a heads-up that I had to coordinate today,” she typed. “I’ve had a long day, and my head is killing me.”
More messages came in:
“You still have to pay the fine- it’s the rules!”
“What fine?” Ivy replied, confused.
“The one if you don’t meet your duties or commit an offence. It’s in the protocol- if you actually read it.”
Admittedly… she hadn’t read everything.
Ivy groaned. She was on a tight budget and couldn’t just spend money like that. If she had accepted the other school’s paying offer months ago, maybe she’d have extra funds, but she had refused. She had to put her students first.
These people are really on my neck, she thought. I can’t believe they expect me to pay.
Exhausted, she took a headache relief medicine and went to sleep.
Three hours later, she woke feeling a little better. She picked up her phone, ready to send the money. But when she opened the group chat, a new notification blinked at her:
“No other coordinator was told a day before they had to coordinate.”
Ivy typed back: “I know, but I’m not always online to know things just a few hours before they happen.”
She pressed send…
1… 2… 3…
YOU CANNOT SEND A MESSAGE TO THIS GROUP BECAUSE YOU HAVE BEEN REMOVED.
What…!?
- Writer
