Chapter 196

Shanley clenched his jaw, forcing down the acidic wave rising in his throat. He managed a fond smile. “Very sweet.”
Really? Then her half-hour of careful selection at the market had been worth it.
“You can have them all,” she said happily. She had planned on having a piece herself, but seeing how much he seemed to enjoy them, she generously gave him the whole plate.
Shanley pressed his temple, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. “That’s sweet of you, but next time, just let Dana handle it.”
Juniper assumed he was just being considerate, concerned about her hands. It wasn’t until later, when Shanley stepped away to get some water, that she snuck a piece for herself. It was so sour it made her eyes water.
…
After the exam incident, Juniper had become the apple of every teacher’s eye at Aurora High School. She and Queenie were now considered the school’s “two most precious assets,” and students and teachers alike gave them a wide berth, as if they were made of fragile glass. The remedial classes were, of course, no longer necessary.
Juniper went back to the classroom to pack up her belongings, most importantly the stash of candy Shanley had bought her.
“Juniper!” The typically stern math teacher greeted her, his smile as bright as a sunflower. “Here to get your things?”
“Yes,” she replied politely. “Please, don’t mind me. You can continue with your lesson.”
“Alrighty then!” the teacher chuckled and returned to the front of the class.
As Juniper finished packing, she glanced at the blackboard and frowned. The solution to the problem written there seemed overly complicated. The students, who were already struggling, looked completely lost.
“Is there a problem, Juniper?” the teacher asked, his heart sinking as he saw her expression. Had he made a mistake? He quickly re-checked his steps.
“It’s not wrong,” Juniper said, shaking her head. “But there’s a simpler way.”
“Really?” The teacher broke into a cold sweat, unable to see an alternative solution on the spot.
“Mhm.” Juniper nodded, walked up to the blackboard, and picked up a piece of chalk.
The math teacher sheepishly grabbed his own hair, then quietly sat down at an empty desk, taking out a pen to follow along.
“And so, the final answer is 2,”
Juniper concluded. A problem that had taken the teacher fifteen
minutes to explain, she had solved in five in a way that every student in the room understood.
“Juniper, what about the second problem? Is there another way to solve that one
too?” the teacher asked, his eyes shining with intellectual curiosity.
“There is.” Since she had the time, Juniper explained that one as well.
At that moment, Salma and the
school’s dean were making their rounds. They peered into the remedial classroom out of habit and froze in disbelief. There was Juniper, confidently teaching at the front of the room, while the veteran math teacher sat among the students, head tilted up, listening intently and occasionally raising his hand with a question.
Salma and the dean exchanged a bewildered look. Who exactly was the teacher here?
On Saturday, after school, Juniper received a text from the old lady: [Good
afternoon, my little miracle worker!]
Juniper replied: [Good afternoon.]
The old lady: [Don’t forget my birthday banquet tomorrow! You have to come!]
Her other grandson was back in the country, and she was dying to introduce the two of them. Even if Shanley didn’t appreciate the girl, her other grandson might have better taste. Either way, she was determined to make this miracle worker her granddaughter-in-law.
The thought made her giddy.