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From Kindergarten Scam to National-Level Payback

From Kindergarten Scam to National-Level Payback

Short Story · Emotional Realism
By:  SwingerCompleted
Language: English
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10Chapters
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Synopsis

Feel-Good Story

Plot Twists

Freak

Male POV

Teacher

Face Slapping

Revenge

While on vacation, I return to my hometown to help my parents harvest pears. After seeing my Instagram post, my son's homeroom teacher, Ernest Dugan, sends me a private message. "So you sell pears, Mr. Miller? The kindergarten hasn't finalized next month's fruit supplier yet, so we'll order from you. You won't suffer any loss from this deal. I'll pay five dollars per pound. You just need to arrange transportation and deliver them to the kindergarten." I almost laugh out loud. My family's pears are the famous Green Jewel variety; they are known as the "Hermes of pears". They sell for over 100 dollars per pound on average. Five dollars wouldn't even cover the cost of a single pear. Even though Ernest is being ridiculous, I still reply politely, "Sorry, all of our pears are reserved. You'll need to find another supplier." To my surprise, Ernest immediately posts photos of my family's pears in the parent group chat. He writes, "Next month's fruit selection for the kindergarten will be upgraded to Green Jewel pears. If anyone wishes to buy some for personal consumption, feel free to place orders below. The price is five dollars per pound." The chat group buzzes with activity as parents rush to place orders one after another. Three days later, they block the truck carrying my shipment to Windford. Determined to force the sale, they surround the vehicle and refuse to let it leave. Before they can ransack the truck, several military-plated vehicles arrive and seal off the road. A group of officials steps out with stern, angry expressions. One of them coldly demands, "These are pears specially ordered for this weekend's state banquet. Who said you could lay a finger on them?"

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Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Mr. Dugan's message instantly sent the group chat into an uproar.

"Really? Green Jewels at five dollars a pound?"

"Mr. Dugan, you're amazing! How did you manage to negotiate such a great deal?"

"I want ten pounds! Let's get this chain going—I'm jumping in first!"

"I want 20 pounds! Save 20 pounds for me!"

The group chat was immediately flooded with messages, and within ten minutes, over 40 parents had already joined in.

I furrowed my brow tightly but forced myself to hold back my anger and typed out a clarification in the group chat.

"Sorry, everyone, this batch of pears has already been fully reserved. There really aren't any extras. Please stop adding to the chain."

Mr. Dugan replied instantly, "Mr. Miller, you've been flexing pears all over your Instagram, so how could you possibly not have any? Could it be that you just don't want to help out the kindergarten?"

The head of the parent committee, Jay Bradshaw, also jumped in.

"Exactly, it's not like we're asking you to give us the pears for free. Five dollars a pound is more than generous. Even the supermarket sells them for just over three dollars."

Before I could even explain, the rest of the parents in the group started making snide remarks.

"I think he just wants to sell them at a higher price, and that's why he won't sell to us."

"The kindergarten has spent two years educating your kid. Is it really too much to ask for a little help?"

"Your Green Jewel is probably just a knockoff variety at best. How good could it possibly be? Five dollars a pound might sound low, but we're buying in bulk!"

I bit my lip hard. So, selling off my pears for dirt cheap when they were over 100 dollars a pound was their idea of "helping out"?

"My family's Green Jewel has a heritage of over 300 years. It's not a knockoff, and the price is far more than five dollars a pound. Besides, the annual yield is extremely limited, so there really aren't any left to sell. I hope everyone can understand."

I had put it as tactfully as I could, but the parents in the group chat began mocking me one after another.

"Oh, please! Far more than five dollars? How much could it really be? 50 dollars? You think we've never had any good food before?"

"Who are you trying to impress? You're only selling pears. Honestly, I don't get why you're acting so superior."

"The fact that Mr. Dugan even asked and you still said no is wild."

Jay sent a hand-over-mouth laughing emoji with the message, "Some people are just so narrow-minded. I can't believe they've lived this long."

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10 Chapters
Chapter 1
Mr. Dugan's message instantly sent the group chat into an uproar."Really? Green Jewels at five dollars a pound?""Mr. Dugan, you're amazing! How did you manage to negotiate such a great deal?""I want ten pounds! Let's get this chain going—I'm jumping in first!""I want 20 pounds! Save 20 pounds for me!"The group chat was immediately flooded with messages, and within ten minutes, over 40 parents had already joined in.I furrowed my brow tightly but forced myself to hold back my anger and typed out a clarification in the group chat."Sorry, everyone, this batch of pears has already been fully reserved. There really aren't any extras. Please stop adding to the chain."Mr. Dugan replied instantly, "Mr. Miller, you've been flexing pears all over your Instagram, so how could you possibly not have any? Could it be that you just don't want to help out the kindergarten?" The head of the parent committee, Jay Bradshaw, also jumped in."Exactly, it's not like we're asking you to giv
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Chapter 2
I felt utterly drained reading these malicious taunts.Finally, Mr. Dugan posted a screenshot of a conversation in the group."I've already reported this to the principal. This is an official collective purchase by the kindergarten. Mr. Miller, just think of it as supporting the kindergarten."Make sure you have the stock ready. I'll arrange for the parents to come pick it up from your place when the time comes. You don't even have to deliver it yourself."Looking at his message, I felt a tight knot in my chest. Since when had I agreed to this purchase? And where was the purchase contract?Yet, not a single person in the group spoke up for me. In fact, aside from those praising Mr. Dugan, the rest were ridiculing me for not knowing what was good for me.I decided to stop reading the group messages altogether. It wasn't like they could just show up and take them by force if I just ignored them, right?When I dropped Stanley off at the kindergarten the next morning, I happened to
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Chapter 3
"Well, if it isn't Mr. Miller. How can I help you?" Mr. Dugan asked.I took a deep breath. "Mr. Dugan, why has Stanley been moved to the very back? And why is he saying you won't let the other kids play building blocks with him?"Mr. Dugan clicked his tongue, then shrugged and said, "Mr. Miller, no offense, but isn't Stanley being a little too sensitive? The whole class rotates seats—how come I haven't heard anyone else complain? Why is he the only one who finds it a problem?"I clenched my fists, but Mr. Dugan just fixed me with a smug, knowing look."On the other hand, why don't you reconsider the matter with the pears? After all, Stanley still has over a year left at this kindergarten."By the time I left the office, my palms were slick with cold sweat. It wasn't because I was scared, but because I was barely keeping myself from snapping.That afternoon, I was in the orchard supervising the packing of the final batch of pears when my phone suddenly buzzed several times.The p
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Chapter 4
I thought about it for a long time. In the end, I had no choice but to leave the group chat.In the yard, my mother, Dora Ortiz, was directing the workers as they loaded the pears onto the truck."Douglas, someone from the state government is coming to pick up the order at 3:00 pm. I need you to keep an eye on things when they arrive. Make sure not a single pear goes missing, you hear?" she called out to me."Got it, Mom," I replied, stepping forward to help.The State Department of Agriculture had reserved this batch of pears six months ago. Every single pear had a serial number, weight, and Brix reading on file. At pickup, every crate had to be verified against the records.This was because these pears were going to be served at the state banquet.That afternoon, I set off with the shipment.My mind was entirely focused on these pears. As long as I could get them safely delivered to Windford, the rest could be dealt with slowly.But just as the truck was traveling along the f
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Chapter 5
When they saw the row of black SUVs, the parents who had just been frantically looting the pears froze in place, completely at a loss.At the very front stood a gray-haired official, radiating an authority so natural it required neither anger nor volume to make itself felt."Every single one of these pears has a serial number, weight, and Brix reading on file. Do you have any clue the kind of liability you'd be facing if you damaged so much as one pear?"Julie Lockwood, the governor of Queenton, was absolutely livid.The staff behind her immediately stepped forward to begin inspections.The parents across from them had gone completely pale, especially Mr. Dugan, who was even subconsciously shrinking back into the crowd."No one is allowed to leave! Everyone is to submit to the investigation!"The officers who got out of the police cars barked into their radios, ordering all the parents to stand together.The parents who had been so brazen just moments before now looked utterly
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Chapter 6
Mom called soon after. She was quite familiar with several state officials, so she must have heard about what had happened here."Douglas, are you alright? I'll be there soon!" she said urgently."I'm fine, but some of the pears were damaged," I said with a sigh.Not long after, Mom pulled up at the scene.She was nearly 60 years old now. Years of working out in the orchard had left her skin sun-darkened and weathered—she looked just like an ordinary old farmer.And that was exactly why Mr. Dugan and the others had dared to act so brazenly.In reality, though, Mom had worked for over 30 years at the State Department of Agriculture. Her orchard held the status of state-level model farm and had long maintained a working relationship with government agencies."Officers, even if these pears are meant for some state banquet, you can't treat us like this."Some of the parents began to voice their dissatisfaction."Yeah, we didn't know they were for a state banquet, and Douglas never
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Chapter 7
"Why did you have to call the police and get people arrested? It was just a few pears!""What's going to happen to Mr. Dugan if he ends up with a criminal record? Our kids still want him as their teacher. Don't you get it? You're destroying a man's future!""Don't you know the law doesn't apply to a crowd? With so many parents involved, do you really think the police will actually arrest us?"I hung up call after call and finally just turned off my phone altogether.But online, the public outcry was already starting to brew.Someone had posted about the incident on a local forum, but the angle had been completely twisted."A certain Green Jewel farmer maliciously jacked up prices and refused reasonable purchase offers, resulting in multiple parents being arrested. For the sake of a few pears, he got the parents of over a dozen children thrown in jail. He's just a fruit seller—did he really have to be so ruthless?"The comments under the post were overwhelmingly one-sided."Peop
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Chapter 8
"Your son won't have a good ending either! Karma will come for him sooner or later!"When I read the last one, I finally couldn't hold it in anymore.I could take people insulting me, but I could never accept anyone cursing Stanley.I turned on my laptop and started organizing all the evidence. I sorted through every last piece—from Mr. Dugan's first private message to me, through the parents' slander and personal attacks, right down to Mr. Dugan's veiled threats about making things difficult for Stanley.I also wrote out in detail everything Stanley had experienced at the kindergarten. When the time came, all they would need to do was pull up the surveillance footage, and the truth would speak for itself.Finally, I opened a folder that had been gathering dust for a long time. Inside was Carmen's dossier.She had made outstanding contributions in high-altitude agriculture and had been awarded the title of National Outstanding Agricultural Worker, so she didn't deserve to be mali
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Chapter 9
After leaving the law firm, I headed straight to the Education Bureau.They thought they could walk all over me, that I wouldn't have the guts to fight back. So, they kept pushing their luck.Well, today I was going to put my foot down and make every last one of them pay.Once I had organized all the documentation of what Mr. Dugan had done, the staff at the Education Bureau gave me an immediate response."Mr. Miller, if what you've reported is verified to be true, then Mr. Dugan has committed a serious violation of our code of ethics for teaching professionals. We will launch an investigation right away."I supplemented a few more pieces of evidence before leaving.In the evening, I went to a newly selected kindergarten to complete the transfer procedures. Although it was a bit farther from home, it was a public kindergarten with an excellent reputation.The principal who received me was a gentle woman in her 40s, Rosemarie Knapp. After listening to my brief explanation, she sm
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Chapter 10
Most of the parents also ended up with criminal records. Jay received the harshest sentence—eight years in prison.In the aftermath of this case, a statewide campaign was rolled out to reinforce professional ethics among educators, along with rigorous inspections targeting any teacher misconduct.A television crew came and requested an interview with me.I didn't want to accept at first, but Ms. Durham advised me to put an end to any future trouble once and for all."Too many people are involved in this case. There are bound to be some who'll want to stir up trouble again, so to ensure some peace and quiet going forward, I suggest you clear your name publicly."I thought about it and figured Ms. Durham had a point, so I agreed to an exclusive interview.The day the reporter, Pauline Gardner, came, I showed her around the orchard.The pear trees were over 300 years old, their trunks so thick that it took two people to wrap their arms around them. Overhead, their canopy stretched
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