FOE Family First Chapter 16: Don't be a heretic, stray from the right path, and walk in the dark path
Compared with the cramped single curtained room, the layout of the champagne box is of course much more spacious and comfortable. Although the space is only the size of a home bathroom, at least there are sofas inside, upholstered walls, a small coffee table, and the ceiling has changed from a dim light to a colorful light ball hanging.
There is still no door, but there is no vaguely visible gauze curtain like the one between the curtains. Instead, it has been replaced with a purple opaque soft rubber door curtain. The most important point is that there will be no bodyguards guarding the champagne box at all times. They will only appear after fifteen minutes and speak outside the door to remind the guests and dancers inside that the time is up and they can either renew their fee or leave.
"Have fun, sir." The bodyguard led Tommy Hawke into the door of the box, said this, and turned and left.
Melonie walked in from outside holding a bottle of cheap champagne with a look of horror. Tommy Hawke motioned Melonie to sit on the sofa while he stood guard at the door. He lifted the door curtain and watched the bodyguard walk away before turning around and saying, "Okay, we now have fifteen minutes to chat without being interrupted."
"Why are you here, Tommy Hawke?" Melonie seemed uncomfortable with being discovered by someone familiar in such a gaudy outfit. She sat on the sofa, curled up slightly to minimize her exposure.
Tommy took off his jacket and handed it to Melonie. "You should be thankful that the high temperature today is only 17 degrees. I wore a jacket. By the way, the wig is nice."
Melonie took the coat and put it on herself. She took a few deep breaths and tried to make herself look as indifferent as she did when facing Tommy Hawke before. "You haven't told me why you are here. You are a high school student, Tommy."
"My classmate gave me a ticket to see the world." Tommy took out a cigarette from his pocket and put one in his mouth. Seeing Melonie's expression, he handed the cigarette box to her: "Would you like one?"
Melonie took the cigarette irritably. Tommy lit it for his distant aunt and retreated to the door. "I remember your job was a substitute teacher. Has your business now expanded to tutoring high school students like me who have no interest in studying in the club?"
"That's not funny, Tommy." Melanie exhaled smoke. "I...I said I was going to change jobs."
"Aren't you preparing to attend interviews at those public schools and apply to become a full-time teacher?" Tommy Hawke frowned slightly and asked.
My aunt Melonie graduated from the School of Education at the University of Rhode Island. Although this university is not a famous one, the career plan of the graduates is very clear, which is to obtain a teaching certificate, and then apply to join a public middle school or public elementary school in Rhode Island and become a teacher.
The University of Rhode Island is not a prestigious school, so it is very difficult for graduates from here to work in high-end private schools, but it is much easier to work in public schools, especially thanks to the rights and interests that the teachers' union fought for for public school teachers after World War II. As long as a teacher works in a public school for two years, he or she will automatically be upgraded to a tenured position and cannot be fired at will.
What this sentence means is that as long as the teacher has not committed a crime and been imprisoned, the difficulty for the school to fire the teacher is tantamount to making an enemy of the teachers' union, which has one million elementary and secondary school teachers in the United States. As for the teacher's educational performance in the school, according to the teachers' union, it should not be considered when the school fires the teacher.
This is also the main reason why the quality of education in American public schools is so different from that in private schools. After all, for teachers, as long as they can pass the two-year probation period, they have a real iron rice bowl. No matter they work hard or do nothing, they will earn the same salary. So of course they will choose to work in the easiest way until retirement and receive a monthly pension.
Melonie is such a teacher who has no aspirations. She now travels around the state as a substitute teacher in schools. All her hard work is for the purpose of getting an interview opportunity at a public school. The principals of the schools where she has substituted for teachers will give her positive comments and win the favor of the school. Then, after a successful interview and being hired, she can earn a stable job with a weekly salary of $240, and keep earning it until she retires and dies, and is buried in a cemetery.
She had been a substitute teacher for so long in order to get into public school, and now she was suddenly planning to change jobs? And she was going to change jobs to be a stripper?
"I came here part-time because I needed money." Melonie lowered her head and said in a cold voice: "Five hundred dollars, or more."
Tommy Hawke flicked the ash off his cigarette. "I guess it's because of your ex-boyfriend?"
"We started dating in college, and when we were dating... we did some crazy things." Melonie's hands were shaking as she talked about the past. She barely held the cigarette to her lips and took a deep puff before continuing, "Then that guy became a teacher at a public elementary school faster than I did, and then he hooked up with a slut in the school and got her pregnant, so we broke up. But now, he knows that I'm also going to be a public school teacher, so he's using those crazy past events to blackmail me."
"Perhaps he has some photos that, if exposed, would be enough to make you say goodbye to your teaching career completely?" Tommy Hawke was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "So the scar on your face was also caused by the dispute with him?"
Melanie looked up at Tommy somewhat dejectedly, and finally nodded slightly.
"What a jerk." Tommy said without comment, and glanced outside before continuing to stare at Melonie . After a full half minute, he seemed to have made up his mind and said, "I'll help you deal with him. How about you do something for me?"
Melonie noticed that Tommy had been staring at her blankly. When she heard what Tommy said, her face changed slightly: "You'd better take those eyes away from me. Although we are not related by blood, I am still your aunt. I will never..."
"Aunt Melonie, I will help you deal with that bastard and make you a sacred people's teacher, but you need to mortgage your apartment and help borrow $20,000 from the bank. I will pay you back within a month, including interest." Tommy Hawke seemed to have not heard Melonie's words at all. Without waiting for her to finish, he went straight to tell her his way of cooperation.
It was not until Tommy finished speaking that Melonie realized that she had guessed wrong, but she still maintained a serious expression: "You can take out a loan to pay for your college tuition, unless you are prepared to do something shameful. Plus, you are hanging around in this kind of place, Tommy Hawke, I suspect you are planning to sell..."
"No! Of course not. Although I do want to do some business, I can guarantee that I will never violate any American law." Tommy Hawke looked at Melonie calmly and openly:
"I swear in the name of my most devout mother. She often read the Bible to us at the dinner table. The sentence she told us most was: Do not be a heretic, do not stray from the right path, walk in the dark path, the path is crooked, and the path is secluded. I always keep it in mind and promised her seriously that I would never walk on the evil path."
Melonie lowered her head. "So, you 're not going to kill that bastard, nor are you going to use the money to start a hemp or drug business."
"I'll send him to where he should go. If you're interested in the business, I can also tell you about it. You can decide whether to lend me the money after listening to it. So, shall we go home together, aunt? Considering that I'm a poor high school student, let's go home and chat. The charges here are too expensive for me." Tommy Hawke smiled at Melanie and stretched out his hand.
Melonie hesitated for a moment, and finally stood up. Instead of shaking Tommy's hand, she gently hugged Tommy in her arms: "Let's go home, kid."
