I had once sponsored a poor student who was about to drop out, ensuring she completed university. But when I rejected her advances, she started spreading rumours that I was trying to keep her as my mistress. Suddenly, I found myself in the eye of the storm, bombarded by accusations and insults. The stress and long-term depression left me mentally shattered, and I ended it all by leaping from a window at Kingsbury College. Now, given a second chance, I will never sponsor that ungrateful wretch again. When I opened my eyes again, a tearful girl stood before me. I blinked, focusing—wasn’t that Victoria Bennett? What on earth? Had I not died? A quick glance at my phone confirmed the date. It was true—I had been reborn. This time, I wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes. “Mr. Clarke?” Hearing her tentative voice, I snapped back from my thoughts. “Yes, I’m listening. Go on.” “I won’t be coming to school from tomorrow. Mum says we can’t afford it anymore. Thank you so much for all your help these past few weeks.” Her eyes welled up with tears, a sight that had once moved me deeply. In my previous life, I had been so touched by her situation that, out of a sense of duty as a teacher, I sponsored her tuition fees and living expenses. I went above and beyond, fulfilling almost every request, all in the hope that she could one day live a better life through her own hard work. But she repaid my kindness with betrayal. After I rejected her subtle advances, she maliciously spread rumours that I was trying to “keep” her. I was powerless to defend myself. Not only that, but she even wrote a public post implying that if I didn’t have ulterior motives, why would I have been so generous? Why sponsor her out of all the struggling students? The insinuation was clear—I must have had something shameful in mind. The rumours spread faster than I could have imagined. Before long, people were whispering as soon as I stepped outside, and even online trolls managed to find my family. I was powerless to stop it. No one cared about the truth. They saw what they wanted to see. Depression consumed me until, one day, I was so out of it that I jumped out of a window at Kingsbury College, ending a life that should have been full of promise. The thought of it all sent a chill through my body. There was no way I would let the same thing happen again. “Well, if that’s what you and your parents have decided, then let’s go with it.” She looked shocked, clearly taken aback by my response. Still frozen in place, she stared at me, so I added, “Anything else? If not, you should leave.” Watching her walk away, I let out a long sigh of relief. Finally, that problem was sorted.
The next morning, however, Victoria was back in my 8 AM class. I frowned—wasn’t she supposed to be dropping out? Why was she still here? Though I was puzzled, I couldn’t ask directly. “Mr. Clarke, I’ve decided not to drop out. Henry Parker has offered to help me.” Henry? I remembered him. He’d had a crush on Victoria for ages. He had been a key figure stirring up trouble in my previous life. Victoria made a calculated move, throwing herself into my arms. Before I could push her away, Henry quickly snapped a photo. With both the evidence and witnesses in place, I’d never be able to explain myself. “Alright.” I replied curtly and stood to leave. But Victoria blocked my way. I frowned, annoyed. “What is it?” “Henry can only help with my tuition. But as for my living expenses…” She trailed off. “You’re an adult now. There are plenty of ways to earn money for living expenses. The college has lots of work-study positions. If you need help, I can assist you in applying.” She bit her lip, giving me that same pitiful look. “But those jobs are too hard…” “I’ve given you a solution. If you’re unwilling to accept it, then there’s nothing more I can do.” She might as well have stuck a sign on her forehead that read “Sponsor Me.” “If there’s nothing else, let’s keep some distance between us. It’s important for students and teachers to maintain boundaries.” Seeing that I remained cold and didn’t follow her lead, she reluctantly left. But as I watched her leave, I had a feeling this wouldn’t be the end of it.
James Rourke, the head boy, messaged me later that day. Victoria hadn’t shown up for the morning class and wasn’t in her student accommodation either. No one could reach her. My mind buzzed—what was she up to now? Losing contact with a student is enough to make any tutor panic, especially one with such malicious intentions. As I racked my brain, a place suddenly came to mind. I quickly found Victoria’s family address from the student records and drove straight there. But when I arrived, the house was empty. While I pondered where she might have gone, Simon Collins rang me. “Mr. Clarke, you’d better come back. Mrs. Bennett is causing a scene in the headmaster’s office.” Without a moment’s hesitation, I rushed back. As I was about to leave, an older lady stopped me. “You’re here to buy the Bennetts’ house, aren’t you? They told me to keep an eye on things if anyone came by. They’ll be back soon.” I stared at her, confused. “I think you’ve got the wrong person. I’m not here to buy a house.” Sensing my confusion must have sparked her gossip instinct, she continued eagerly. “Lucky for the Bennetts, though! That old wreck of a house, and someone actually wants to buy it to turn it into some sort of live-streaming base? I don’t get it, but they’re getting a tidy sum. They’ll be moving into a big house in the city soon.” So, Victoria’s family wasn’t as hard-up as they made out? After a quick goodbye, I headed back to Kingsbury College. Just as I arrived, I saw Mrs. Bennett leaving the headmaster’s office, a smug smile on her face. Instead of confronting her, I ducked into a nearby stairwell to eavesdrop. “You see, if I didn’t kick up a fuss, the college wouldn’t take it seriously. Didn’t you say your tutor was kind-hearted and would help you out because you couldn’t afford to stay?” She scoffed. “He’s not as great as you thought, is he? In the end, I had to step in. Once we sell the old house, we’ll be moving into the city. Be careful not to let anything slip. You’ve got four years at university without me having to pay a penny for your tuition or living expenses. We’ll save as much as we can.” “Alright.” So, they’d been planning this from the start.
As soon as Mrs. Bennett left, the headmaster summoned me to his office. “Mr. Clarke, what’s going on? How did this escalate to a student’s parent causing a scene at the college? We’re about to select teachers for merit awards, and if this isn’t sorted, you can forget about it.” The headmaster had always thought highly of me, and I knew his advice came from a place of concern. “I understand, headmaster. I’ll handle it.” He sighed, “It’s clearly a deliberate attempt to stir things up. The college has already promised to help them as much as possible, but it’s up to you to navigate this.” After nodding, I left the office and immediately called Victoria. “Meet me in Lecture Hall 1201.” I’d chosen that room because it was one of the few with functioning CCTV. When Victoria arrived, I could barely contain my frustration, though I kept a calm face. “You know, you can apply for student loans. If you’re unsure how, I can help you find someone to guide you.” Victoria hesitated. “But loans have to be repaid…” My tone sharpened. “And? Are you expecting a free ride?” “No, sir, but the loan is over £30,000. That’s a lot of pressure. What if I can’t pay it back?” As she spoke, the tears came again. It seemed they had become her signature move. Turning away to compose myself, I spotted Henry lurking in the corner, trying to stay out of sight. Ah, so we’re going to re-enact the past, are we? Fine. Let’s see them reap what they’ve sown. “Mr. Clarke… would you consider sponsoring me? I promise I’ll repay you once I start earning money. I’ll never forget how kind you’ve been to me.” I thought to myself, Who wants you to remember this for the rest of your life? Seeing that I remained silent, she seemed to believe she had a chance, so she pressed on. “If I drop out, I’ll have to return home and get married. I’m still so young—I don’t want to waste my life like that, Mr. Clarke.” I took a deep breath and replied as calmly as I could, “There are plenty of ways you can earn money to stay in school, but you’d rather sit back and wait for someone to hand you everything. I’ve already promised to help you with the student loan and work-study options.” Victoria’s expression shifted, growing more frustrated as she realised I wasn’t giving in. Suddenly, she pulled out a small knife and, before I could react, slashed at her own arm. It happened so fast that I barely had time to stop her. I rushed forward, grabbing her wrist to prevent further harm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Henry raising his phone, snapping photos. I didn’t call him out. Instead, I hurriedly took Victoria to the college infirmary. Luckily, it was just a surface wound, nothing serious. Once we were alone, she leaned in and whispered, “I’ve made it obvious what I need, haven’t I? Are you really not going to sponsor me?” “No,” I said firmly. My voice left no room for argument. “Fine,” she muttered, a strange smile playing on her lips.
By the third day, Kingsbury College’s website was ablaze. An anonymous post had shot to the top of the student forum, trending faster than anything I’d seen before. The headline read: “Mr. Clarke from Business English 2 tried to use financial sponsorship to manipulate a female student into an inappropriate relationship. When the student resisted, he physically restrained her, leading her to self-harm in desperation. The college must investigate this immediately and ensure a fair resolution.” Attached to the post was a carefully angled photo. I had to hand it to Henry—he’d captured the perfect moment. The photo made it look as though I had forcibly grabbed Victoria, with no sign of the knife or the wound. If he had this much talent, he was truly wasted at Kingsbury. There was no need to check; I already knew it was Henry behind this. When I left my accommodation later that day, a crowd of students had already gathered. “Sir! Is it true? The post says you assaulted her! You always seemed so proper—how could you do something like this?” “You’re supposed to set an example for us! How could you act like this?” Some of my students, however, rushed to defend me. “Mr. Clarke isn’t like that! You don’t even know the full story—why are you jumping to conclusions?” “Exactly! You can’t just assume someone’s guilty before you’ve even heard their side!” The argument escalated, with both sides refusing to back down. At one point, it looked like a full-blown fight was about to break out. Security arrived just in time to break things up, but the damage was already done. The headmaster wasted no time in calling me to his office. As soon as I walked in, he was on the attack. “Mr. Clarke! I thought I told you to handle this discreetly. Now look what’s happened! It’s no longer about the merit awards—we’re talking about the reputation of Kingsbury College. Do you have any idea the kind of damage this could cause?” “I understand, sir,” I said, “But I assure you, I’m being framed.” “Whether I believe you or not doesn’t matter! Do you think the public will? What you need to do now is gather hard evidence to clear your name.” With a promise to the headmaster, I left his office determined to turn the tables. Henry had used the college’s Wi-Fi to post that message on the forum, and it wasn’t long before I had a technician trace the post back to his phone. With the evidence in hand, I confronted him in front of the class. “You took the photo, didn’t you? If you captured the moment so well, you must have seen the entire incident. So, why don’t you tell everyone what really happened?” Henry stiffened, clearly caught off guard by the sudden confrontation. His bravado faltered for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure. “Of course I saw everything. That’s why I posted the truth—I couldn’t stand seeing you act like a hypocrite.” “You’d better be sure of your words,” I warned, “because there are consequences for spreading lies.” Seeing I wasn’t backing down, Henry hesitated, but before he could respond, Victoria stepped in. “Mr. Clarke, there’s no need to push Henry. He was just standing up for what’s right. I can forgive him if you stop intimidating him.”
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