The Trash Bin

The other teachers bristled.

"You're pushing it! Our janitors get paid three thousand dollars every month! People would kill to get a spot!"

"Yeah, she's giving you a chance, and you're spitting in her hand? Take your daughter and scram!"

Samantha covered her giggle behind her hand. "Oh, leaving is easy for her. I think we should make her know her place!"

She tried to shove me, but I stepped back and smacked her hand. "You're a teacher. Watch your tongue."

"How dare you fight back!" Samantha was angered, and she slapped me hard.

My cheek was burning, and my ears rang.

"Guards, take her to the storeroom!"

A pair of guards darted ahead and grabbed me by my arms, then they pushed me toward the storeroom.

"Let go! You can't do this to me!" I tried to pull myself away, but they were two adult males. They kept pushing me until I was pinned in the corner.

Samantha sneered and picked up a trash bin. "I can do this to you. My husband is this place's biggest stakeholder. He invested 45 million just for me. He's not around, so I call the shots!"

"I donated that money for my daughter! You have nothing to do with it! I can prove it!"

"You're still lying." Samantha sneered. "You don't know your place, but I can help you with that."

She turned her hand, and the whole bin of trash rained upon me. Empty, sticky yogurt boxes, stained napkins, and everything else that smelled rancid assailed my nose. I nearly retched.

"Sober now?" Samantha tossed the bin away and dusted her hands. Then she looked at me like I was a maggot. "Stop daydreaming. Trash belongs in the bin."

The wavy-haired teacher got the hint. She grabbed a mop. Dirty water was still dripping from its ends. "Ms. Johnson, I think we should teach her that some people are born to be filthy, lowly peasants.

She dragged the mop across my blouse, and a yellowish-brown stain bloomed like a nasty flower. It smelled like rotten food. The guards were still pinning me against the wall.

"Come, ladies!" Samantha clapped her hands. "Wash Mr. Shaw's wife clean. Maybe we can sell her for good money. That'll pay for her daughter's fees!"

The other teachers grabbed brooms and cleaning cloth, then they came to me.

Humiliation and the filth on my face blurred my vision. I stared darkly at Samantha's face. If I could, I would tear this woman limb from limb.

It wasn't the time to cry. Harmony was still in the car waiting for me. I was her mother. I must not let her see me acting so weak.

So I mustered up my courage and slammed my head backward right into a guard's jaw.

The sudden attack made him loosen his grip. I broke free of their grasp and rushed toward the door as hard as I could.

"You crazy bitch!" The guard wiped his face. Blood was dripping from his nose. The moment he saw red, he went crazy.

The guard darted ahead and yanked me by my hair, then he dragged me back. The pain made me shriek, but he tossed me back to the corner. "You thought you could run after hitting me, bitch?"

I was pinned against the ground, covered in trash. His knee was against my back, and his full weight was behind it. I could not even move.

"Let me go! Quincy is coming! He'll kill you for this!"

My warning only made them laugh.

"She still thinks she's Mr. Shaw's wife! He picks up Ms. Johnson from work all the time! This woman's nothing!"

"Guess we really have to write out she's trash on her face, or she's never going to face the truth."

The wavy-haired teacher handed a marker pen over like a sycophant.

"You have a point." Samantha smiled smugly. She took the pen and approached me.

"Quincy is with me every single night!" I said. "He doesn't have the time to pick you up from work!"

"You're still stubborn."

I tried to protest, but Samantha's face fell. She crouched down and was going to scribble on my face.

Then, a young voice came from the entrance. It stammered, "D-Don't bully… bully my mom!"

Cruel Teacher

Harmony? But she was supposed to be in the car. I told her to stay there. My daughter was a timid child. Everything that was happening here would scare her!

"Harmony, get back into the car, now!" I said, my voice was breaking from panic.

"You were out too long, Mom. I was scared…" Harmony cried as she ran up to me, but Samantha scooped her up by the waist.

"So you're the little brat?"

"Let me go! Don't hurt my mom! You're meanies!" Harmony flailed her arms and legs and punched Samantha's chest.

"Your mother's a bitch, and you're no better. Stay still, or I'll gouge your eyes out!" Samantha's eyes dripped venom, and she pulled on Harmony's cheeks as hard as she could.

My daughter cried loudly. "Mom! Save me, Mom!"

My heart was hurting, burning from pain. "Let her go! Come at me if you're human! Leave the girl alone!"

My face was twisted, and I tried to get back up.

"She's moving again." Samantha gave the guards a look.

One of them sneered and slammed his palm into my cheek. Again and again he slapped me, until my cheeks were red and swollen.

The pain robbed me of my ability to speak, and my collar was creased from all the tugs.

"Don't hit my mom! Please!"

"You want us to let her go? Sure?"

Samantha smiled and pointed at the trash bin. "Get on all fours and crawl into that thing. And also, you must say 'I'm trash' ten times. Do that, and I'll let your mother go."

Everything stopped. My mind was blank. Harmony was always the more sensitive one among her peers. She was on the spectrum and needed more care.

If she crawled into the bin and called herself trash, it would leave an indelible mark on her heart. Her life would be ruined. I'd rather die than let that happen!

"Harmony, no…" I tried to say, but the pain did not let me. I shook my head violently and made a vague sound. "Don't listen to her…"

But my daughter, my sweet, lovely daughter, smiled at me though she was shivering. "It's alright, Mom. They'll stop hitting you if I do this."

Then she turned around and went on all fours. My little bundle of love was crawling into that trash bin. The brown filth tainted the edges of her dress, and the air was filled with a rancid stench.

A layer of black grime painted itself on her face, and Harmony curled up in the bin. The stench was making her retch.

The sight was cleaving my heart in two, and I thrashed wildly. "Let her go, you bastards!"

Then the guards slapped me.

"Now say 'I'm trash,' or I'll keep beating your mom!"

Quincy Appears

"Don't hurt my mom!" Harmony was still retching and crying, but then she kept pushing on. "I… I…" She retched again. "I'm trash…"

"That's more like it." Harmony's suffering made Samantha smile. "You're trash, just like your mother. The dump is where you belong."

My mind was blank again, and tears rolled off my cheeks. I cursed myself for my weakness. I could not even protect my daughter. I cursed these demons who tormented us.

Then, Samantha approached me and whispered darkly, "Do you know why I'm doing this? Because you deserve it! Quincy's been seeing me less and less! I was wondering if he was seeing someone else on the side, and you came up to me! I'll show you what happens if you wreck my relationship!"

She hissed, "When he shows up and sees you covered in filth, he'll dump you!"

So that was it. She thought I was the mistress. How dare she? This woman was the one clinging to my husband. How dare Quincy! How dare he do this to me! So all those years meant nothing to him?

Hatred was coursing through my veins. I was glaring at Samantha. With all the energy I could muster, I snarled, "You'll regret this. I'll make you pay!"

"You still don't know your place!" Furious, Samantha raised her hand.

Before the slap could land, someone crashed the storeroom door open, and a man came rushing in.

"Honey? Honey, where are you!" His voice was oozing with panic.

Samantha quickly changed her demeanor and swayed her hips as she turned around like a maiden in love.

"What took you, honey? She was pushing me around!"

The man didn't even look at her. He strode past Samantha and came up to me.

Samantha was stunned, but the man did not stop. He shoved the guards away and carefully helped me get up. When he saw the marks on my face, his heart broke, and fury burned his eyes.

"Who did this to you?" And then he saw his daughter curled up in the trash bin. "Harmony!" He darted toward the bin and carefully took her out.

"Dad…" Harmony buried her head in his chest and cried loudly.

Harmony was covered in filth and smelled like rotten food. The sight made Quincy's temples throb, and his eyes scanned everyone. "I'll say this again. Who did this?"

His flames of rage did not burn anyone, though they nearly froze the whole room.

I took a moment to regain my bearings, then I slowly pointed at Samantha. "She did this."

Quincy was furious, but Samantha spoke before he could. "You shameless mistress! You can't get Quincy here, so you grabbed a random guy?" Then she pointed at Quincy and shrieked, "At least find someone who looks like my husband! He'll be here soon, and then you're going nowhere!"

That stunned me and Quincy. The fury I had toward Quincy was replaced by doubt. The real deal was already here. If Quincy wasn't Quincy, I had to wonder who Samantha was really talking about.