Chapter 36: A total of ten lives!

He muttered softly, "I... I was just asking...I didn't say they actually wanted to commit suicide."
As soon as he uttered those words, the students on the platform also began to speak up.

"Don't come up here."

"Yeah! Don't come up, if you do, we will jump down."

Queenie's face suddenly turned pale when she heard this, looking at the familiar faces of her students in disbelief.

The media guy, who had just been scolded, suddenly became a little more stubborn.
"See, they are collectively trying to commit suicide!
It's because of your poor teaching!
Ten students, ten lives!
Let's see how you handle it when something happens!"

At this point, the online attacks against Queenie reached their peak.

‘Ten students! Ten lives!’
‘I'm asking Queenie, how is she going to compensate!’
‘Call the police! Call the fire department!’
’Oh God, please protect these students, not a single one should be lost!’
‘So dangerous! Children, don't fall down!’

More and more self-made journalists arrived at the scene and began live streaming the students on the platform.
"A total of ten children, ten vibrant lives. What made them all gather here to commit suicide?
"What kind of teacher can drive so many lovely children to death? I'm Huang Da V, please follow me, I will continue to bring you high-definition live updates from the scene."

Queenie watched as these self-made media outlets reported one after another, and she couldn't take it anymore. She snatched the microphone from the nearest person and yelled at all them.

"Shut up, all of you! I have the final say here!
Not a single one of my students will die!
I believe in them!
They are all positive and good-hearted children!
They won't commit suicide!
Let me emphasize once again! My students will not commit suicide!"

Queenie's voice was resolute, her gaze unwavering. The influencers around her fell silent for a few seconds, after being yelled at like that.

At that moment, Brendon Carter cautiously walked to the position of the mic, overlooking the crowd below.

"Ms. Lorente, if they want to film, let them. I owe you an explanation, and I owe you fairness."

"Brendon Carter..." Queenie looked up at him, feeling as if the ten-year-old boy had matured overnight.

At that moment, Queenie felt a twinge in her heart.
"Do you all do live streaming? Come, film me, I am Gerald's son, my name is Brendon Carter. You guys like doing live streaming, so film me!"

As the voice fell, Glory and several other parents also rushed to the scene.

Glory saw Brendon Carter standing on a high platform and was scared to the point where her legs turned weak.

She tried to calm herself down and whispered, "Brendon, don't do anything foolish. Mom will listen to you, okay? Be good and come down, okay... (sob, sob, sob) ..."
Towards the end, Glory sobbed uncontrollably.

The other parents of the students also tried to calm their own children down and prevent them from acting rashly.

Brendon Carter smiled and said, "You all still don't understand us as well as Ms. Lorente does. We won't commit suicide. We just want to express our own thoughts."

"That's right!"

"That's how it is!"

"Ms. Lorente believes in us, and we wouldn’t do anything stupid to disappoint her."

"Yes, we just want you, the adults and the ignorant people on the internet, to listen to our voices."

...

Brendon raised his hand, and the other students also quieted down.

He looked at the cameras aimed at him below, "Let me start. Ms. Lorente, I really like you.

You are the best teacher I have ever had. You have taught me a lot of interesting knowledge that I couldn’t learn from textbooks.

I like mythological stories. There is some records that you yourself don't know. But every time I ask you, you will go out of your way to collect a lot of information, take notes, and then come to share them with me. I really like you.

You never mock the things I like, unlike my parents who always say I'm wasting my time reading useless books.

But my mom doesn't like you. She says you give too little homework. She wants to get rid of you.

I have seen her inciting other parents in the parent group to transfer you to another class. It causes me a lot of pain, but I can't stop her."

At this moment, with the only hope that Brendon would be safe, Glory hurriedly spoke up, "Brendon, mom was wrong, as long as you come down. Mom will listen to everything you say."

"No!" Brendon refused, "I haven't finished speaking yet. I apologize to Ms. Lorente, I am guilty. So, today, I am here to request forgiveness from Themis, the representative of fairness and justice."

Pausing for a moment, Brendon Carter continued,

"That day... I overheard a conversation between my dad and an uncle. That uncle is Ms. Lorente's brother.

Ms. Lorente's brother wanted to push Ms. Lorente towards my dad. He gave my dad some very bad ideas, telling him to do certain things to Ms. Lorente, in her room. Even if Ms. Lorente had called the police, nothing would happen.

I also cannot explain why the parents were invited to the house! After my dad found out that I had been eavesdropping, he asked me if I really liked Ms. Lorente and if I wanted her to be my mother. At that moment, I hesitated.

Then, my dad said that if he married Ms. Lorente, I could have two mothers who loved me. He mentioned that Ms. Lorente would also be able to tell me many interesting stories at home. I nodded in agreement."

Upon hearing this, Glory was so angry that she gritted her teeth.

"That Gerald Carter is a total jerk! Why doesn't he just die!"

Meanwhile, on the podium, Brendon Carter lowered his head, and a tear fell to the ground.

"Ms. Lorente, I'm sorry. That day after school, I actually wanted to tell you about my dad's conspiracy! But I hesitated for a long time, and in the end, I didn't say anything."

Queenie's eyes became slightly red as she recalled the scene after school that day. Brendon did approach her, but he seemed hesitant and left without saying anything.

Brendon sniffled, "I am in pain. Today, in the hallway, I saw my mom hitting you. I knew the truth, and I knew my mom was instigating everyone to drive you out of the class, but I couldn't say anything.
Ms. Lorente, I'm sorry. After school, I heard other parents saying that everyone was insulting you online, even telling you to die. I felt really sad and guilty.
I don't know how to help a teacher clears her name. So, my classmates and I posted on the internet. But those haters are really crazy, and they quickly suppressed our posts.
That's why we came to Themis. I remember Themis represents fairness and justice. Today, in front of my favorite Themis deity, I want to clear my teacher's name and give her fairness."

After Brendon finished speaking, a girl who liked Queenie also spoke up.

"Yes, our Ms. Lorente is an amazing teacher! We like Ms. Lorente, and we don't want to change teachers!"

Following that, other students also chimed in.

"Ms. Lorente is not the bad teacher the parents in the group chat described!"
"Yes, Ms. Lorente is not a bad person! She has done a lot for us!"
"Ms. Lorente even made personalized profiles for each of us, documenting our strengths, learning advantages, and areas for improvement!"
"I like Ms. Lorente!"
"Ms. Lorente is our favorite teacher!"
"I really, really don't want to say goodbye to Ms. Lorente!"
...
A few children cried as they spoke from their hearts.
At this moment, the viewers watching the livestream fell silent, in fact, the children’s words deeply touched everyone who heard them.
The sincere and affirmative voices of the children instantly made Queenie burst into tears.

She pursed her lips and closed her eyes. She felt that all the efforts she had made earlier were worth it! Soon, the firefighters brought air cushions and placed them on the platform on the fourth floor to prevent the children from falling if they stepped on empty space when climbing down the ladder.

With everything ready, Queenie looked at the ten students and began calling out their names one by one.

"Brendon Carter!"
"Here!"
"Mia!"
"Here!"
"Sophia!"
"Here!"
...
"All ten of you, come down!" Queenie assumed the posture of a teacher and commanded, "Be careful! Not one person less!"

"Understood!" The children responded loudly and after gradually landing on the ground, they all ran over and hugged Queenie. "Ms. Lorente, we can't bear to lose you."

Queenie wiped her teary eyes and touched the heads of the children.