I was the homeroom teacher of my own nephew.
On Women's Day, the nephew who had never liked me walked up and handed me a pink plastic rose.
"Ms. Donaldson, my mom says all those times you were hard on me, it was for my own good. She told me to apologize. Happy Women's Day!"
I was touched. He was finally growing up. But the moment I took the flower, my sister appeared in the doorway with her phone raised, already livestreaming.
"Ms. Donaldson, accepting bribes in broad daylight! Do you think we parents are idiots?"
She snatched the flower from my hands and tore it apart. That was when I saw the hundred-dollar bills tucked between the petals.
The livestream exploded. By the end of the day, I was trending online thirteen separate times.
The internet tore me apart. I was fired. Someone splashed red paint across my front door. Parents who had praised me to my face as a wonderful teacher went online and claimed I'd taken their money too.
I had nowhere left to turn. I went to my mother, begging her to help clear my name. She threw me out.
"I told you to look after your nephew. You wouldn't even pull a few strings for him. You brought this on yourself."
In a daze, I climbed to the rooftop and jumped.
In the last second before everything went dark, I heard my nephew's voice.
"Good riddance. That's what you get for sticking me in the back row."
When I opened my eyes again, I was back at the exact moment I'd taken the flower stuffed with cash.
——
The classroom door flew open with a bang, and the sound snapped my foggy consciousness back into focus.
My sister, Jennifer Donaldson, was already striding toward me with her phone raised.
I'd seen this exact scene play out before. I knew she was livestreaming.
I also knew that long before she'd kicked open that door, she'd been sobbing to her audience about how I played favorites with students, took money from parents, and treated kids differently based on what their families could offer.
She shoved the camera in my face.
"Ms. Donaldson, don't you think you owe everyone an explanation? Why would a student be giving you money?"
"This was my son's allowance. Every last dollar he saved up on his own. If I hadn't noticed his wallet was empty this morning, how much more would you have conned out of my child?"
In my previous life, the ambush had sent me into a panic. I'd scrambled to defend myself, but every word only fed the frenzy in the comments.
Sure, she says she didn't take money. And we're just supposed to believe her? Teachers these days have zero integrity.
Look how smooth she is. She's clearly had practice. Forget teaching, she should try acting.
Who knows how she got that "Outstanding Teacher" award in the first place.
I drew a slow breath and looked Jennifer straight in the eye.
"Before you interrogate me, maybe you should explain something first. Every other student gave me a card. Your son is the only one who handed me cash."
"Without your knowledge, your child independently decided to bribe his teacher. Shouldn't you be asking yourself whether there's a problem with your parenting?"
Jennifer clearly hadn't expected me to be this calm. She stood there, mouth working, unable to form a response.
It was my nephew, Tim Dickerson, who cracked first.
"That's not true! You told me yesterday that if I gave you the money, you'd tutor me on the side!"
The livestream erupted.
Tim wore a look of pure innocence, as if he were the real victim in all of this.
What incredible acting. If I hadn't already died once, I never would have imagined that the idea to frame me with planted cash had come from him in the first place.
I was about to speak when a voice cut in from the hallway.
"Ms. Donaldson, you have truly disappointed me."
Principal Lawrence.
My fists clenched so tight my nails bit into my palms.
In my last life, he'd been terrified the school would get dragged into the scandal. He'd fired me before the day was out.
