As the school day came to an end, Cassie found her way to her mother’s car in the parking lot. However, as she hopped into the passenger’s seat, Cassie turned to her mother before she could start the car. 

“Mom, I actually have some school activity to attend right now. So...I have to go. The activity will probably take an hour or so...I will walk home myself when it's finished.” 

Just as Cassie expected, her paranoid mother wasn’t too happy with the prospect of her 15-year-old daughter walking home alone, especially considering how dangerous the neighborhood was. This was why she didn't say yes when Cassie offered to walk home alone every day after school, and that was why she said no now. 

“What’s the school activity and how come you never told me about it? And why would you want to walk home? I can come over and pick you up.”

“Well…” Cassie frowned and jumped to the excuse she already prepared. She couldn’t really tell her mother she had a teacher and a police officer to interrogate, and to be honest, she really wasn’t concerned about being kidnapped on the way home. “I joined the school finance club today, and I just found out about the activity. Well, I say activity, but it's more like a meeting...”

“And why do you want to go home by yourself?” Jolie Wilson pushed on. 

“Because I’m a high school student and that’s what everyone else does?” Cassie shrugged, sounding a little annoyed. She had a busy hour ahead of her! Come on, mom...please say yes!

Unfortunately, her mother didn't agree. 

“Cassie...you really should know better!” Jolie said to her daughter with disappointment in her voice. “You know how often there are violent crimes in the neighborhood! All those robberies and murders and, well...if the other parents are fine with having their kids in danger, then that’s their problem! But you dad and I will never put you at risk!” 

The brunette turned to the side and stared out of the window. Jolie thought Cassie was simply beaten down, so she softened her tone and offered her a few words of comfort. 

“Look, Cassie...I know being picked up every day may be a little embarrassing for you in front of your friends. How about this? I’ll ask your dad to buy you a taser...I guess I'll check to see if you can bring it to school. This way, god forbid something happens, you will at least have a way to protect yourself. This way, as long as you follow some rules, we will allow you to walk to school every day.”

Cassie sat there for a few seconds. Honestly, she was surprised that her mother was willing to make such concessions. She was always a good parent. Despite her fears and paranoia, Jolie Wilson still did her best to respect the desires of her daughter. 

“Very well, mom. Can I go now?”

Jolie nodded quietly as Cassie opened the car door and jumped off. As her daughter walked into the school building again, Jolie sighed and drove the car out of the parking lot and back home. Unknown to her, by the time she was gone, Cassie had already walked out of the backdoor of the school. 

Cassie knew the home address of both the resource officer and Ms. West. She didn't know when the officer would get home, but she did know Ms. West likely never left her house. As such, the teacher would be the first to receive a visit from her.

Twenty minutes later, Cassie found herself standing in the halls of the third floor of an apartment building. The walls and doors alike looked worn-out, suggesting this wasn’t the wealthiest residence. She came to a stop in front of a door and rang the doorbell. 

After leaving Pather High School, Cassie called an Uber and mind-controlled the driver into taking her to the address Ms. West gave her. She had no choice, considering she had neither the money nor the age to do this correctly. 

As she sat in the car and watched out the window as things flew by, Cassie couldn’t help but feel a sense of satisfaction at what she was about to do. She knew it wasn’t right, but the idea of ruining a sinner’s life with absolute ease...it just made her smile. 

It took three rings of the doorbell before someone finally answered. The person that opened the door wasn’t Ms. West. Rather, it was a young man in his early twenties. He wore a dirty white t-shirt covered in what seemed like Cheeto dust, and his hair...it was so messy that Cassie couldn’t help but frown. And it reeked...how long had it been since the man cleaned himself?

Cassie had no respect for people who didn't take care of themselves. Her father always told her that as important as inner beauty was, it was difficult for people to see it if the exterior of a person was filthy. 

“What do you want?” The man demanded impatiently. 

Cassie was certain the information she extracted from Ms. West in the bathroom was accurate. This had to be the right place. “Hi. My name is Cassie...I’m here to see Ms. West. It’s under my impression that she lives here…”

“You’re wrong.” 

“I…” Before Cassie could say another thing, the man moved to shut the door. A little annoyed, Cassie put her foot in front of the door, stopped it from closing, and stared into the man’s eyes. This time, she added a little something different in her voice. “Take me to Ms. West.”

The man nodded slowly before opening the door. He led Cassie into the apartment room. As Cassie walked, she couldn’t help but notice how dirty the entire room was. From the garbage pieces laying on the dirty carpet to the spots of unidentified liquid...Cassie’s own family wasn’t the wealthiest, but her mother always kept the house clean. 

This made Cassie’s view of Ms. West fall even lower, which was amazing considering how poorly she already thought of the teacher. 

The teenager stopped in front of a bedroom. He pushed the door open without even knocking first. Inside the room, Ms. West sat up from her bed. Her hair was messy and she looked furious at the intrusion, but as she opened her mouth to chastise her son, no word came out. 

Her eyes widened even more when she saw Cassie, standing behind her son. 

“You can leave now. Give us some privacy.” Cassie commanded. As Ms. West’s son obediently departed, the girl’s eyes were trained on Ms. West. She could tell Ms. West was angry, but what the teacher felt more than anger was fear. 

The teacher was no fool, especially since she had a full day to go over what had happened. If a random student could connect the dots, Ms. West, as someone who experienced all this first-hand, could as well. She knew something might be up with one of her students, and the fact that Cassie was here right now…

Cassie raised her hand. Her eyes turned silver for a brief moment. 

“What the…” Ms. West’s mouth hung open in shock before she realized something more shocking. Was that...her voice! She had her voice back! She could talk again! Oh god...it was really happening!

At that instant, Ms. West wanted to get down on her knees and cry her eyes out. She wanted to open her mouth and scream at the top of her lungs. But all of those thoughts faded into thin air as she stared into the cold eyes of Cassie.

“What...what is going on here, Cassie?” Ms. West demanded before quickly realizing how rude she sounded. Given what she just witnessed, it was perhaps not the wisest approach to take. “I mean...Cassie, can you please tell me what happened?”

Cassie didn't answer, at least not at first. Instead, she stepped into the room and closed the door. If the hallway outside was dirty, then this bedroom might as well be a garbage field. It was so messy that Cassie had to spend quite the effort just to find somewhere to put her feet. Finally, as Ms. West grew more and more impatient, Cassie spoke. 

“What happened? Simple. I silenced you.”

“You...you?” Ms. West bit her lips. She had already suspected something like this, but to hear Cassie say it with her own voice… “But...how? What did you do to me?” 

Cassie had no intention of repeating herself. 

“It must have been so pleasant, wasn’t it? To be able to stand in a position of power and viciously mock those below you. Students. Teenagers. People you, as a teacher, are supposed to support and guide. Instead, you tormented them. You made their lives hell. You made our lives hell.”

Ms. West froze for a second as she processed Cassie’s words. But as Cassie finished, the teacher didn't seem to have realized her mistake. Instead, she raised her voice in annoyance. 

“So this is what it’s about, isn’t it?” She retaliated. “That Indian kid. Did I offend you with what I told him? Is that why you silenced me?” She took a step forward as her voice grew louder and louder. Her anger was overcoming her fear. “All I did was tell him the bitter truth! If he couldn’t speak our language, then he might as well go back to his home country! He couldn’t survive here! Was I wrong? What was I supposed to do? Hold his hands and tell him he can do it? Tell him lies?”

“You were supposed to help him. That was your duty as a teacher!” 

Cassie’s voice was rising as well. She could tell that despite her torment, Ms. West didn't see the errors in her ways, and it disappointed her. 

“And it was more than that. You hated us. I know it. We all know it. What we don’t know...is why.” 

Cassie spoke coldly. Ms. West took another step closer. She towered over her menacingly, similar to the way the teacher towered over Cassie back in that classroom. Except, there were no students around, and Cassie had the ability to knock Ms. West off her feet at a moment’s command. 

“That’s not true.” Ms. West denied, quickly finding cover behind her lies. “I was just being strict to you. Back in my days, that would make me a brilliant teacher. It's just that kids these days have gone so soft!”

Faced with the denial, Cassie tilted her head. Once again, to the horror of Ms. West, Cassie’s eyes once again shone in silver color. Chilling words left her lips. 

“Tell me, Ms. West, why did you hate us?”

Once again, Cassie used her power on Ms. West in an effort to dig into her thoughts. She could read the woman’s mind, but most of the time she could only see what she was thinking at the moment. Having the woman confess made things much easier. 

Yes, it was still intruding on Ms. West’s privacy and Cassie knew it, but she felt little guilt. She wasn’t doing this for herself. She was doing this for the greater good. If Ms. West was unfit for her job, then she had to be removed, and since official methods obviously couldn’t get the job done, then Cassie had no choice but to take matters into her own hands. 

She considered her own actions...justified.