My student was diagnosed with leukemia, and it turned out I was a match. So, I donated my bone marrow to him. As his teacher, I wasn’t looking for anything in return. Just out of politeness, I accepted the health supplements his mom sent over. But after Caleb started to recover, his mom showed up at my hospital room, claiming I, as a teacher, was trying to cash in on my bone marrow donation. Based on those two boxes of supplements, she demanded I pay her back, threatening to cause trouble until I got fired. That’s when I truly understood what it felt like to be bitten by something so utterly ungrateful. Four months later, when I found out I was pregnant, Caleb’s mom came knocking again. She said her son’s condition had relapsed, and I *had* to donate bone marrow again. “You’re pregnant? It’s just a blob of flesh, what’s so precious about it?” “Just get rid of it! Don’t mess up my son’s match!” There was a boy in my class, Caleb Hayes, who was diagnosed with leukemia. I had signed up for bone marrow donation at the hospital a while back, and when they confirmed I was a match, I agreed to donate to Caleb. Before the surgery, Caleb’s mom came to see me, bringing a bunch of health supplements. “Ms. Sterling, my Caleb is so lucky to have met you! These are the supplements Caleb usually takes.” My mom, Martha, wasn’t thrilled about me donating bone marrow, but seeing Caleb’s mom act like that, she couldn’t show her displeasure. It’s just polite to bring a small gift when visiting someone who’s sick. Looking at the stuff, they were just some inexpensive health supplements, nothing fancy or expensive. My mom politely accepted them. Caleb’s mom didn’t say much, just glanced at us before leaving. I was pretty nervous before the surgery, so I didn’t think too much about it. I just focused on encouraging Caleb: “Don’t worry, with your teacher here, you’re definitely going to pull through.” The surgery went smoothly. But there was a risk of post-operative complications, so I needed to stay in the hospital for observation. When Principal Harrison heard about it, he even brought some colleagues to visit me. I was genuinely relieved, because at least Caleb was alive. A little suffering was worth it. As we were talking, a young nurse, Chloe, rushed in. “Ms. Sterling, the patient’s family is saying you deliberately charged her for gifts and are refusing to leave the hospital, threatening to make a scene!” “You should call your family to come negotiate. The hospital staff can’t hold her back anymore!” I froze, completely stunned. Before I could even say anything, I heard a commotion at the door. Brenda, Caleb’s mom, burst in, yelling accusations at the top of her lungs. “You, a teacher, have the nerve to accept gifts from a student? The principal said you donated bone marrow voluntarily, and you still dared to accept things?” I was dumbfounded. What gifts? It was just two boxes of supplements. It’s customary here—if a relative or friend gets sick, you bring them gifts when you visit. And I was donating bone marrow to her son? How could she twist a few health supplements into me accepting gifts? I was completely confused: “You must be mistaken, Mrs. Hayes? You brought these yourself, I never asked for anything…” Caleb’s mom suddenly took a huge step forward, almost lunging at my hospital bed. “You’ve always bullied my son, and now you finally have a chance to bully our family! You’re just trying to extort money and take advantage of the situation!” “Don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You’re trying to create a big spectacle to promote yourself and get a promotion! My son is practically dying, and you want to use him as a stepping stone!” “How can a teacher be so malicious? If I didn’t expose you today, who knows how much more evil you’d do behind our backs!”
When I finally understood what was happening, a wave of pure rage surged through me. The ungrateful wretch! When her son, Caleb, first got leukemia, all the teachers and students at school spontaneously donated money. But money was easy to donate; finding a bone marrow match was incredibly difficult. Many people had to spend tens of thousands of dollars just to find a suitable donor. She was desperate, crying daily because she couldn’t find a match. Then the hospital found out I had signed up as a bone marrow donor, and my type matched Caleb’s. His mom, like a drowning person grasping at a straw, came to my house crying every day, begging me to donate. She promised she’d pay any amount if I could save her son’s life. Of course, I wouldn’t make things difficult for her. I had always intended to save a life, and Caleb was my student. Naturally, I asked for nothing, donating purely out of kindness. I even paid for all my pre-op tests myself, thinking her family had already spent so much on his treatment. I never imagined that my good deed would be met not with gratitude, but with such vile betrayal!
The roomful of teachers exchanged glances, unsure how to respond. Caleb’s mom was clearly there to extort money, but no one knew how to handle a situation like this. A colleague, Ms. Davies, spoke indignantly: “When her son first got sick, all the teachers and students volunteered to raise money, and this woman—she’s just insatiably greedy!” When Caleb was diagnosed with leukemia, the entire school rallied, with spontaneous donations from students and teachers, plus my selfless donation. It should have been a heartwarming act of kindness. Principal Harrison was proud of the school’s compassionate spirit and had even intended to use it for publicity, nominating me for an award for outstanding service. It should have been a win-win situation, but instead, it got me caught up in such a dirty scandal. Principal Harrison looked annoyed, and as he left, he didn’t forget to caution me: “You started this mess, you fix it. Don’t let it affect the school’s reputation.” Just then, my mom, Martha, walked in, smiling, carrying a food container. “The chicken soup I made this time is extra delicious! I even sent a portion to Caleb, but his mom wasn’t around, and he was awake… What’s wrong? Why do you all look so upset?” I couldn’t hold it in and burst into angry tears. “Mom, his mom just came in here causing a scene, saying she’s going to make me lose my job!” My mom heard the whole story, and her face turned crimson with anger. “My daughter kindly saved her son’s life, how could she do something so utterly shameless?” My mom has a quick temper. Ignoring our attempts to stop her, she spun around and headed straight for Caleb’s hospital room. “I’m going to go ask her face-to-face why she’s bullying my daughter like this!”
I followed my mom closely, supported by a colleague. When we reached the room, Caleb’s mom was feeding him chicken soup. “This chicken soup smells so good, son, drink more! You’ll recover faster! But there’s too little meat in this chicken soup, why didn’t she give more chicken drumsticks?” Caleb, sipping his soup, slowly mumbled: “Ms. Sterling’s mom also made ribs, I smelled them. She didn’t give me any. Mom, next time can you ask for some for me?” Caleb’s mom, of course, readily agreed: “That old hag is hoarding ribs from you? How shameless! Wait until I get them for you!” My mom couldn’t stand it anymore and scoffed: “Who’s shameless now?! I cooked those ribs for my own daughter! What, you think they’re for this greedy pig?” I stopped my mom, who was about to lunge forward to argue, and glared at Caleb. “You told your mom I was up for an award, didn’t you? You told her to make a scene about it, right?” I remembered. The day Ms. Davies came to give Caleb the donation money, she mentioned the award nomination. Caleb’s mom wasn’t there then; it could only have been Caleb who told her. Later, when Caleb’s mom asked me why I wasn’t on the donation list. I hadn’t thought much of it, just told her it was from the students and teachers at school, and since I was hospitalized, I wouldn’t know. She then muttered softly: “She’s getting such a big award for free, yet she wouldn’t even donate a little money?” At the time, I thought I’d misheard her. Now, looking back, Caleb was already relaying information then. They probably started plotting against me back then. Caleb’s hand, which was tearing chicken meat, stopped. He glanced at me, then guiltily spoke. “Ms. Sterling, my family has it tough.” My mom was absolutely livid: “Your family has it tough? What about mine? I only have one daughter, and she donated bone marrow for you, and now she’s still lying in this hospital bed! Is this how you repay her?” “Don’t listen to her BS!” Caleb’s mom retorted, hands on her hips, not backing down. “I asked around! You recover from bone marrow donation in about a week! Your daughter is just playing the victim, lying in bed like a hog for months!” “Trying to play the victim and get an award? You think you can just lie there like some cheap floozy and get ahead? Look at yourself! I’m telling you, if you don’t give me money to shut me up, I’ll make sure you lose your job!” I’d never been cursed at like that in my life, and I was utterly speechless with anger. My mom’s eyes turned red, she glared, her chest heaving abnormally. “Shut up! Who gave you the right to curse my daughter like that?” Caleb’s mom became even more aggressive, striding up to my mom and poking her finger repeatedly into my mom’s chest. “Like mother, like daughter, right? Getting all worked up like this, did I hit a nerve with you two?” My mom gasped, couldn’t catch her breath, and collapsed onto the floor with a thud. I was trembling with fright. Ignoring my own need for support, I rushed to my mom’s side: “Mom!!”
Nurses rushed over and quickly took my mom to the emergency room. Caleb’s mom still couldn’t keep her mouth shut: “See? I told you she deserved it! Her daughter violated teacher’s ethics by accepting gifts and secretly taking credit for an award with the principal. Her mom’s just getting what she deserves!” She muttered something else, saying this wasn’t over, and just because she was in the ER didn’t mean anything. She still planned to go to the Department of Education to cause trouble. The more I heard, the colder I felt. My mom was old and had underlying health issues; how many times could she endure such emotional turmoil? People like this are truly dangerous; she didn’t care about anyone else’s life or death. With a cold face, I transferred five thousand dollars to her. “I’ll take the loss. The teachers each donated an average of five thousand, so I’ll give you that average amount. But you have to sign a guarantee that you will never again come here and upset my mom!” Caleb’s mom was ecstatic. “If you’d just given the money earlier, your aunt wouldn’t have had to go to the hospital! Don’t worry, I definitely won’t come again!” “That’s why she’s Caleb’s teacher, right? She’s such a good teacher, not only donating bone marrow for free but also giving five thousand dollars!”
Ms. Garcia looked at her coldly: “Right, so Ms. Sterling is just there to be bullied, huh? Your son will still be in Ms. Sterling’s class, I’d like to see how he dares to face her again!” I remained expressionless: “Ms. Garcia, you’re joking. I wouldn’t dare provoke her child again. Who knows when I’d have to pay more money?” Caleb’s mom’s face instantly turned sour. “You still want to bully my son? You…” She suddenly rolled her eyes, as if another idea had struck her, and then turned and walked away. At that moment, the emergency room doors opened. I disregarded everything else and rushed to my mom’s stretcher. “Family, don’t worry, the surgery was successful. There’s a 24-hour critical period; as long as there are no complications during this time, the patient will be safe.” I stayed by my mom’s bedside for a day and a night, refusing even to eat. During this time, colleagues visited me several times, but Caleb’s family never showed their faces. “That Caleb is truly a piece of work! I just saw him gnawing on the ribs your mom left for you, saying something like ‘no one else is eating them anyway’… Back where I’m from, people would spit on a heartless family like theirs until they drowned!” I scoffed, not feeling surprised in the slightest. His whole family was utterly selfish; of course, they’d take every advantage they could. I only hoped that my past good deed would save my mom’s life. But from now on, I would never be so foolishly kind again.
My husband, Liam, heard that both my mom and I were hospitalized. He canceled a long-planned project out of town and took an extended leave to be with us. I was already weak, and worrying about my mom’s condition dragged me down for nearly two months before I finally started to recover. Today, I reported back to school. The kids in my class saw me from a distance, cheering and running to surround me, asking how I was. “Teacher, teacher, are you feeling better? We missed you so much!” “Caleb is so mean! Ms. Sterling sacrificed so much for him, and he still had the nerve to try and report her!” All the teachers and students at school had donated money for Caleb, and they had seen the posters in the display area. But those posters were taken down a few days later, and when colleagues returned to school, they all talked about the drama they’d witnessed at the hospital. Gossip always spreads fastest at school, especially such a bizarre story. So, everyone knew about the ungrateful student in sophomore year (Class 3). He’d received a free bone marrow transplant from his teacher, then blackmailed her for “hush money” by threatening to report her. I patted the students’ heads, feeling a warmth in my heart, when suddenly Sarah, the class monitor, rushed over. “Teacher, you need to go to Principal Harrison’s office, fast!” “Caleb’s mom is causing a scene, saying you’re not allowed to teach our class anymore!” When I arrived at the office, Caleb’s mom was yelling. Several other parents from the class stood beside her. “Ms. Sterling has been hospitalized for two months; she’s already fallen behind the school’s schedule. Why should she still teach my child?” A colleague tried to reason with her: “Mrs. Hayes, Ms. Sterling is a highly capable teacher. Besides, it’s only been two months; Ms. Sterling can easily catch up with the class’s progress.” “No way!” Caleb’s mom was aggressive: “With her body so weak after two months in the hospital, how can she have the energy to manage a whole class?” “Besides, she even dared to donate bone marrow for an award. Who knows what she’ll do next, or what award she’ll try to get, forcing kids in the class to do things? If she bullies my child again, I won’t even know!” “You must fire her! At the very least, transfer her! I absolutely won’t let Avery Sterling mess with my son again!” Caleb’s mom could twist white into black with just her mouth! My fists clenched in anger. And some of the student parents nodded along: “We’re not questioning Ms. Sterling’s ability, but she was hospitalized for so long. It did delay our children’s studies. Plus, we heard bone marrow donation has many side effects. Who knows if she’ll need to be hospitalized again?” “That’s right, Ms. Sterling, please understand us. High school academics are already tough; missing even one day means falling far behind!” So, this was *my* fault now? A chill ran through my heart. Sarah, the class monitor, suddenly ran over and stood by my side, absolutely furious: “Mom! Are you also ganging up with Caleb’s mom to bully Ms. Sterling?” A whole crowd of students surged in: “Ms. Sterling is a great teacher! We don’t want a new teacher!” The parents looked embarrassed, unsure how to respond. Caleb’s mom, however, showed no shame at all. “I knew this Sterling woman wasn’t any good! She’s only been teaching for so long, and she’s already brainwashed you brats into disrespecting your own mothers? If she taught you for three years, what would you even become?” “If you don’t transfer her today, I’ll cause trouble until the end! I absolutely will not let my son be corrupted by you black-hearted wretches!”
Several student parents didn’t say anything, but their stance was clear. Principal Harrison’s face was grim, but after much hesitation, he turned to me. “How about this, Ms. Sterling, I’ll transfer you to be a subject teacher for the freshman class? You won’t have to be a homeroom teacher anymore, and it might be easier on you.” Was he asking me to back down to these parents? I looked up, scanning the crowd, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a contemptuous look. It was Caleb, hiding behind the adults. When our eyes met, he instinctively tried to look away, but then, as if realizing something, he nonchalantly met my gaze. In that moment, I understood his thought— “I don’t want you to teach me, so what are you going to do about it?” His despicable character was laid bare. I was fed up with this utterly selfish family; being in the same room with them made me sick. “Fine, I’ll go with your suggestion, Principal. I won’t be the homeroom teacher for sophomore year (Class 3) anymore.” Principal Harrison breathed a sigh of relief and turned to discuss which class to assign me to. Caleb’s mom looked triumphant: “Ms. Sterling, you should actually thank me! You just had surgery, and your body’s probably too weak to even teach. I’m being very generous by not letting the school fire you!” The students in the class were so angry their eyes were red: “Ms. Sterling was hospitalized because she donated bone marrow to Caleb! Without Ms. Sterling, Caleb might not even be alive!” “Why should Ms. Sterling be transferred? Why don’t you transfer Caleb instead?” Caleb’s mom exploded: “My son’s recovery is because he’s blessed! Ms. Sterling is as skinny as a stick, what good was her bone marrow anyway?” “Even without Ms. Sterling, there were plenty of people who would’ve donated bone marrow to my son!” The surrounding teachers let out faint sneers: “Yes, your son truly is blessed. Where else would you find someone like Ms. Sterling these days? From now on, I guarantee no one will ever be kind to your son again!” The sarcasm made Caleb’s mom’s face turn even greener. But I was done arguing with them. I led my students back to the classroom. Before I could say anything, one girl started tearing up: “Ms. Sterling, I don’t want you to go!” “Caleb is a jerk!” They were my students, after all—kind-hearted and righteous. Kids are the least tolerant of injustice. With such a group of indignant students, I knew very well that Caleb’s days ahead wouldn’t be easy.
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