Seeing his sister's gaze filled with warmth and affection, Christian felt his resolve wavering. A part of him longed to bury himself in her embrace and find comfort, but he managed to regain control of his emotions and held back.
"So, what exactly happened?"
Hearing his sister ask about the situation, with her now gentle but firm tone, Christian was about to respond reflexively, but the lingering gloominess from before he slept held him back. Instead, he first asked.
"What about you? Why didn't you reply to my call but answered the school's?"
Christian still feeling some frustration, didn't want to let any misunderstandings linger between them. The last thing he wanted was for some pitiful reasons or the actions of others to create distance or awkwardness between him and his sister.
And Annabelle, hearing the question, panicked and hurriedly replied,
"I'm so sorry, Chris. When you called me, I was in a meeting and couldn't answer. By the time it was over, the school had already called before I could get back to you, so I didn't mean to ignore you."
Annabelle immediately understood why her brother had asked such a question. If he hadn't felt hurt because of her, he wouldn't have brought it up. A wave of guilt washed over her as she tried to reassure him.
"Then who talked to you exactly? Did he introduce himself?"
While still trying to determine if what she said was sufficient, Annabelle replied reflexively.
"It was the math teacher, Clayton Murphy, who called. He introduced himself and explained the situation, though he was quite agitated."
Knowing it was the math teacher, Christian immediately realized that what she had heard was likely even worse than he initially expected. Still somewhat curious about how much the teacher had exaggerated or lied about what had happened, he asked again.
"Then what exactly did he say?"
Annabelle froze, unsure of what to say. From the little bit her brother had mentioned, it was clear that he was angry because of that teacher.
"Of course, it was by studying!"
'In your dreams?' Annabelle wanted to reply, but didn't in the end. Instead, she asked again.
"Still, how would you prove that it wasn't cheating?"
Christian didn't like the idea of having to prove himself. He felt that if anyone needed to prove something, it should be the teacher, who should prove that he was cheating.
Still, it was actually a simple problem.
"I can just take the exams again,"
Seeing her brother's confidence and hearing his answer without any hesitation, Annabelle was a little shaken. She didn't know where it was coming from, but she decided to trust him.
"Okay, what about the other issues?"
Christian, finally remembering that he had not yet explained what had happened or his confrontation with the teacher, decided to recount the events.
And Annabelle now hearing him, especially how he mentioned their parents, triggered her. She was even more enraged upon learning how the teacher had tried to corner her brother.
After remembering the schedule she had for work the next day, she decided to take a day off to address the situation as soon as possible.
She definitely would not stay silent about this kind of trash who didn't deserve to be a teacher.
If what her brother said was true, it would all come down to the accusations of cheating, and he was saying he would take the exam again.
So, there's no way they are in the wrong.
"Tomorrow, we will go together and see what he says."