Alex returned to Oak Ridge High School. As he walked through the school gate, the Central District Education Bureau's director ran over to him.
In accordance with Alex's request, the students of Class 6 had returned to school, but they hadn't promised to behave.
They hadn't heard that Mr. Ambrose had agreed to continue as their head teacher, so they started to make trouble again.
When the director of education saw Alex walking through the school gate, he rushed straight over to him in a fluster and shook his hand.
"Oh, Mr. Ambrose, we've been waiting for you." He grinned at Alex, trying to convince him that he had made the right decision to return to the school.
It turned out that while Alex was absent, many important parents had called the director and asked him to persuade Mr. Ambrose to return to the position of head teacher of Class 6. Those important people included Central district council member Ronald Cartwright.
Most of them acknowledged that Alex was an extraordinary person and that it would be very hard to find another such teacher to replace him. They also knew that their children would continue to do well in Class 6 if Alex could be persuaded to return.
Additionally, they believed that if their children established a good teacher-student relationship with someone as powerful as Alex, then if they needed any help in the future, Alex would be more likely to help them.
So, they had all called the director directly to insist that he find a way to reinstate Alex.
The director didn't dare to ignore the demands of such important families. He quickly put aside what he was doing and drove to the school gate to wait for Alex. On his way there, he received the excellent news that Heidi had been rescued.
"Mr. Ambrose, we are eternally grateful to you for saving Heidi. On behalf of the Central District Education Bureau, I would like to thank you. But how can I allow such a good teacher to leave Oak Ridge High School? Mr. Ambrose, I apologize profusely for any previous misunderstandings. Now that everything has been resolved, please consider returning to the position of head teacher of Class 6."
Alex refused. "Sorry, but I don't have the time. I have a lot going on."
"Oh, Mr. Ambrose, we can work around your other commitments. If you're too busy for your previous role, the school hopes to employ you as an honorary head teacher. You won't need to be in the classroom or abide by school rules. Your only duty will be to occasionally visit Class 6. As for your other affairs, the school will not interfere," the principal explained.
"And as a head teacher, you will receive the same treatment as the principal. I will be your manager and the only person you will have to deal with," he continued.
The terms offered by the director were unprecedented for a head teacher. Alex had only worked at Oak Ridge for just over a week and in that time had become as good as a king without a crown.
The director knew all about the students of Class 6 and was familiar with how powerful many of their parents were. He had to listen to them and act on their wishes. He was also aware that only Alex seemed to be able to control them the class.
When Billy Wilde had taken over as head teacher of Class 6, the result had been a disaster.
Alex didn't want to accept the director's offer and he was about to refuse when Heidi said,
"Mr. Ambrose, you're the only teacher that the students of Class 6 trust. For our sakes, please come back." Her eyes welled up at the thought Alex leaving. "Please don't leave us alone, Mr. Ambrose," she sobbed.
"Mr. Ambrose, please accept our offer," the director urged Alex. "Think of the poor students. They thrived with you as a teacher, but it was for such a short period of time," he added.
"Well, all right, I accept," Alex conceded. He would never have accepted the job based on the director's bribes and flattery, but his heart melted at the sight of Heidi's tears. He knew that the students of Class 6 needed him.
The director of education immediately called the principal and told him, "Dismiss Billy Wilde and Leonard Winters immediately. Make it clear to them that they will never be employed within the Central district education system again."
The principal replied, "Director, I have wanted to fire Billy Wilde and Leonard Winters for a long time. They are morally corrupt and incompetent at their jobs. I fully support your decision, but don't forget that Billy's uncle is a council member. That's why I haven't done anything about him before. What do you think?" The principal wanted to see the back of the two corrupt teachers, but he was worried about the school getting on the wrong side of the local council.
"You don't have to worry about it. I'll take care of it." The director had made up his mind. He wasn't worried about the local council. He knew that he had the support of many other important people in the city. Most of them disliked Billy and would back up his decision to fire him.
The director was in a good mood when he ended the call. He smiled at Alex and said, "Mr. Ambrose, you can go back to the class now and see what the students are up to. Since you left, they have been in uproar, and we were all helpless to stop them."
As the two men turned to face the school, they saw that the whole school was in chaos and confusion.
Alex looked up and saw smoke coming from the school yard. It looked like there was a fire in the school yard, but there was nothing to indicate that the fire department had been called.
Alex ran toward the smoke to find out what was happening.
Heidi followed closely behind him, still beaming with joy. For her, the only thing that mattered was that Mr. Ambrose had agreed to stay. As for the chaos in the yard, she didn't care at all.
When Alex and Heidi reached the school yard, they were both stunned by what they saw.
The school yard was littered with tables, chairs, benches, and a large number of textbooks. They had been piled up into a mound, which has been ignited, and a fire was now blazing.
Smoke from the school yard had already filled most of the school, and a large group of students was watching the fire and cheering.
Besides being a stubborn and unruly bunch to begin with, Class 6 was at the most critical time of their education, and they were under great pressure to succeed. It was no surprise that the pressure often led them to rebellious behavior.
The students of Class 6 also happened to be particularly daring and courageous characters. Nothing was beyond them.
The fire in the school yard had caught the attention of other classes at the school. When they saw what was happening, they also got excited and started bringing out the desks, chairs, benches, blackboards, blackboards, and books from their classrooms and throwing them into the fire, laughing at the growing flames.
The teachers were becoming flustered. Many of them rushed to the school yard to try to persuade their students to stop, but no one listened to them. The students were having too much fun.
By the time Alex arrived, the whole school was in complete mayhem, and the whole fiasco was being coordinated by the students of Class 6.
They were careful to burn very few of their own belongings. Instead, they burned textbooks and other students' possessions.
"My God, what are you doing? Stop immediately, I beg you!" the principal cried. He pleaded with the students to return to their classrooms.
But no one paid any attention to him. He had no influence or power over the students.
Billy, who stood next to the principal, yelled, "What are you doing? Are you all crazy? Listen to the principal. Why are you rebelling?" As the new head teacher of Class 6, he had no power over them. All he could do was stand and shout. Of course, there was no way they were going to listen to him.
The principal looked at him impatiently and thought, You really are useless. I haven't had a chance to tell you that the director's instructed me to fire you yet. Enjoy your last few minutes as head teacher.