All Chapters of I Was Punished for Flunking: Chapter 1 - Chapter 8

8 Chapters

Chapter 1

“Mom, please let me out of the pond. I’m really scared...”I was standing unsteadily in the pond. My feet had sunk into the muddy bottom, and the water reached my chest.My mother’s face was red with rage as she pointed and shouted at me, “Oh, so now you’re scared? You should’ve thought about that before you flunked!“I work all day, then come home at night to help your father feed the fish. I skip meals and wear the same old clothes just to pay for your tutoring classes. Is this how you thank me?”She went on about all her sacrifices, as though every misfortune in her life was my fault.I opened my mouth to speak, but the freezing air hit my lungs, and I started hacking.“Did the cat get your tongue? You always go silent when I scold you. You know you’re wrong, so you’ve got nothing to say now, right?”She was talking so fast. I could not get a word in. “What did I do to deserve such a stupid kid?”She slapped her palm against her forehead. Her eyes were bloodshot. I could n

Chapter 2

Belle’s college send-off party brimmed with excitement and celebration.My mother kept piling food onto Belle’s plate. I never received such a loving, proud smile on her face before.“Look at Belle. She’s actually going somewhere. That’s how a kid should turn out!”My father sat nearby. He ate mechanically without any appetite.From time to time, his gaze kept wandering to the pitch-black window.When he found the right opportunity, he said to my mother, “I wonder if Tristy has gotten out of that pond yet. I’m a little worried about her.”My mother’s expression darkened when she heard this.“Forget about her. She needs to learn this the hard way, or she’ll never learn. Without good education, she’ll never succeed in life.”My father frowned and fell silent, but he was still worried. He made an excuse to step out to the balcony for a cigarette, then quietly pulled out his phone and looked for Zoey’s number.“Zoey, is Tristy—”Before he could finish, my mother appeared behi

Chapter 3

I hovered beside him and screamed with all my might, “Dad, I’m right here. I’m right down here!”But he could no longer hear me.He rolled up his pant legs and was about to step into the fish pond when his phone rang. The moment he answered, my mother’s hysterical sobs came through.“Felix, get back here now! This is a disaster. Not only did she fail in math, but she has also been seeing some boy behind our backs. Did she run away with him?”My father’s expression changed drastically when he heard this.“Hold on. I’m on my way. Don’t panic.”He spun around and sprinted for home. I screamed after him, but he did not stop.The moment he stepped through the door, he saw the mess all over the floor.My backpack had been dumped upside down. Books, notebooks, and stationery were scattered everywhere.My mother clutched a piece of pink paper in her hand. She tossed it violently at my father’s chest.“Read it. Someone mailed a love letter here. Do you finally see why she’s failing?

Chapter 4

After I was missing for two days, my homeroom teacher, Mr. Read, called. My mother answered the phone agitatedly.“She flunked her test, so I gave her a piece of my mind. She threw a fit and ran off. I was actually about to ask you which boys in her class she’s close with? Do you think she crashed at one of their houses?”On the other end of the line, Mr. Read briefly paused in surprise.“Mrs. Cardenas, all the other students are here in class today, and no one knows anything about Tristy’s situation. Right now, the priority is bringing her home safely.”My mother grew displeased. She raised her voice and said irritably, “I’ll tell you what I want to know! Why didn’t you warn me her grades were dropping? Now, you’re deflecting my questions about who she’s hanging out with. Are you intentionally out to get Tristy?”Mr. Read was momentarily taken aback. After he pondered for a few seconds, he responded in a cool, firm tone, “Mrs. Cardenas, I get that you’re worried sick about Tris

Chapter 5

My father helped pull the net. His eyes never left the obscure, heavy shadow beneath the water.“Whatever it is, it’s tangled up in the weed!”Hearing Jack’s remark, my father grabbed a fish-cleaving cleaver. He jumped into the pond and cut through part of the waterweed.His hands trembled violently. Tears streamed down his face as he silently prayed in his heart, “No, it can’t be... God, please don’t do this to me…”The tangled waterweed was finally severed.The three of them worked together and dragged the impossibly heavy net onto the shore with all their might.Inside the net was a swollen, waterlogged body. It crashed heavily onto the grass by the bank.I still wore the same clothes from that day. My hands were still tied behind my back.My father collapsed to his knees, completely drained. His lips quivered. He tried to speak, but no sound came.“Ahh!” Belle screamed in terror and darted behind Marie.“It’s... it’s a corpse!”Jack and Marie also turned pale with fear

Chapter 6

My father rushed forward in a fit of rage and used all his strength to pull my mother away.“She’s dead! Just leave her alone already, will you?!”His eyes were red with anger. Even the veins on his forehead were visibly bulging.“It’s you, you killed her! You shoved her into that pond. You tied her hands so she couldn’t climb back out. You knew she couldn’t swim. How could you be so heartless?”My mother was stunned by his unprecedented fury. She instinctively crouched down, trembling as she reached out her hand toward my nostrils to check for my breathing.There was none.She frantically pressed her fingers against my neck to check for my pulse. My neck was ice-cold, and there was no pulse.“Ah!!” She pulled her hand back with a short, terrified shriek.“How could this be...? How could this happen...?”She murmured to herself in a daze, as if she could not comprehend the reality before her.Then, she began to ramble defensively, “Felix, I didn’t mean to do this! Believe me,

Chapter 7

My father called the police.The on-site investigation and autopsy report concluded that my drowning had occurred on the same afternoon I was pushed into the fish pond.When she heard the conclusion, my mother’s body trembled violently. She lowered her head, and her eyes darted about in panic.Just as the police were preparing to take separate statements, she quietly grabbed my father’s wrist and pleaded desperately in a low voice, “Felix, please, just tell them she slipped and fell in. I can’t go to jail over this!”My father looked at her. Any love he still had went out the window. He only felt pure disappointment.“Even now, your only concern is saving your own skin? Fiona, you haven’t shown one shred of remorse about Tristy’s death.”He shoved her away without hesitation.In front of the police, he laid out every detail clearly.My mother’s face went from pale to ashen. When she heard my father identify her as the person responsible for my death, she abruptly jumped up fr

Chapter 8

My mother was eventually handcuffed. Her body trembled violently as she said repeatedly, “I only wanted to frighten her. I never meant for her to die. I swear it wasn’t intentional!”Her eyes were vacant with fear and despair.My father stood not far away, watching everything indifferently.Not long after she was taken away, he had a lawyer deliver divorce papers.Soon after, something inside my mother finally snapped.Whether it was because of the heart-wrenching betrayal from her most beloved niece, or because she could no longer bear the guilt of having caused her own daughter’s death deep down, she was diagnosed with a mental condition and sent to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.At times, she would curl up in a corner and murmur, “Sweetie, be careful. There’s water over there. Don’t go near it. It’s dangerous...”At other times, she would grab her own hair and shriek, her face contorted with rage.“How did you not pass? How?! I’ll sign you up for the best tutoring cla

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