Mr. Andy's office door flew open with a bang. Ashley stormed in, fury etched across her face as she flung the box of chocolates onto his desk.
"What's the meaning of this?" She shouted before Andy could get a word out. She whipped out the envelope and tossed it at him, cash spilling onto the floor. "This pathetic attempt to buy my forgiveness is insulting!"
Andy frowned, struggling to keep his temper in check. "I was simply trying to apologize, Ashley. If the gifts offended you, you could have them civilly instead of assaulting my office."
"An apology?" Ashley scoffed loudly. "You're only saying that because you're afraid of my father firing you. Well, let me be clear - you can keep your fake apologies and cheap gifts. They mean nothing!"
She whirled around and stormed out, slamming the door behind her hard enough to rattle the walls.
Andy sank back into his chair, holding his throbbing head in his hands.
"Ashley, wait up!" Hannah called, chasing after her friend. "What happened in there? What did he say?"
But Ashley kept walking in tense silence, refusing to utter a word.
Their last class of the day was literature with Mr. Williams.
As Ashley took her usual seat, her rival Angel slid into the desk directly behind her. Shooting a venomous glare at the back of Ashley's head, Angel quietly slipped out a pair of scissors from her bag.
When the bell finally rang, the other students immediately noticed the back of Ashley's skirt had been crudely hacked off, leaving it disturbingly short. Instead of alerting the oblivious girl, they just gawked and snickered meanly.
As Ashley rose from her seat, completely unaware of the embarrassing situation, Mr. Andy happened to be crossing through the hall.
He did a double-take, suddenly realizing her skirt had been vandalized, exposing her underwear to the jeering classroom.
"Ashley, wait!" he called, hurrying over. But she couldn't hear him over the raucous laughter and commotion. Thinking fast, he reached out to try holding the back of her skirt together discreetly.
Ashley whipped around at the sudden grip on her clothes - and her eyes went wide with shock and humiliation.
Before Mr. Andy could utter a single explanation, her palm connected with his cheek in a sickening slap that echoed through the hall.
"How dare you?!" she screamed, hot tears burning her cheeks as she finally registered the crude prank. "You're such a disgusting pervert!"
The noisy corridor fell disgracefully silent as all gazes locked on the transgressors.
Mr. Andy froze, hand cupping his stinging face, utterly stunned by the public outburst and false accusation.
Ashley's furious voice echoed through the hallway. "How dare you, Mr. Andy! How far will you go to be so shameless and disgusting?"
She opened her mouth to unleash another angry shout, but suddenly froze.
A cool breeze tickled the back of her legs.
Glancing down in horror, Ashley realized her skirt was torn, exposing her underwear for all to see!
"Oh my..." Ashley's face flushed bright red as the embarrassing truth dawned on her.
"I...I'm so sorry. I had no idea..."
Her stammered apology was met with stony silence from the handsome music teacher.
Ashley wished she could simply melt into the floor as the awkward moment stretched on.
Finally, the sound of footsteps approached.
Mr. James, the headmaster, came rushing out of the nearby classroom with a deeply furrowed brow.
"What's going on out here?" he demanded, surveying the gathered crowd of snickering students.
His eyes came to rest on Ashley and Mr. Andy frozen in the middle. "Well? I'm waiting for an explanation!"
The students exchanged sidelong glances, a few muffling giggles behind their hands.
One bold voice piped up from the back. "He can't do anything, sir. Her dad owns this place! Poor Andy was just trying to help."
A chorus of hushed agreement rippled through the hallway.
Apparently the whole school knew Ashley's wealthy father had paid handsomely to get her enrolled. She felt a fresh wave of humiliation wash over her.
After what felt like an eternity, Mr. Andy finally turned and walked away without a word, shoulders slumped in defeat.
Ashley started after him, but Mr. James held her back.
"Ashley, just go home and get cleaned up," the headmaster said, shaking his head in disbelief. "I'm surprised and very disappointed by your behavior today."
With tears stinging her eyes, Ashley hurried to the bathroom to change into her spare skirt.
She couldn't stop replaying the mortifying scene over and over in her mind. What had she done?
Her friend Hannah was waiting outside. "Are you okay?" she asked, brow furrowed with concern. "That was so messed up."
Ashley could only manage a tiny nod. "I...I need to apologize to Mr. Andy. Will you wait here?"
Hannah nodded as Ashley sped up to Andy's office.
She found him staring despondently out the window of his office. He didn't turn around as she entered.
"I'm...I'm so sorry, Mr. Andy," Ashley stammered again, desperately hoping he would accept her apology this time.
For a long moment, the only sound was the ticking of the old clock on the wall.
Then, Mr. Andy suddenly barked out a harsh laugh and swiveled to face her.
"You once told me that saying sorry only makes the offender feel better," he said, eyes glinting with anger. "It's obvious that's your intention coming here. To make yourself feel better. Well, I'm glad you're feeling okay now. You can leave."
The words hit Ashley like a slap in the face.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she struggled to find her voice. "But...but I didn't mean–"
"My own mother never once raised a hand to me," Mr. Andy continued, paying no heed to her protests. "And now a 17-year-old student has slapped me in front of the whole school. I may lose my job over this, Ashley. But I promise you, I won't let it go. I'll make the rest of your time here unbearable."
With that ominous vow, he gestured toward the door. Ashley didn't need to be told twice.
She fled from his office, tears streaming down her face, Hannah's comforting arms enveloping her in the hallway.
"What have I done?"