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.