Chapter 20 Who Bullied You?

• Valerie caught the last bus back to the Horton’s home. The sky became darker. Jayvion was already waiting at the door. This time, he was really anxious. Today was utterly different from usual. Valerie was over an hour late! “Why isn’t Ms. Valerie back yet?” Jayvion muttered. Just as he was about to enter the room to tell Reese and Reyna about this, Valerie’s figure slowly appeared in the distance. “Ms. Valerie? Ms. Valerie!” Jayvion came forward with a happy smile and quickly took the bag in Valerie’s hands. “Ms. Valerie, why are you so late today? Did your teacher keep you back?” “No, Jayvion. My classmates wanted to ‘chat with me‘, so I missed the last usual bus and came back late.” Jayvion breathed a sigh of relief. Ms. Valerie, you must be starving. Come in, and I’ll get you dinner.”
• The door was open, and Reyna was smiling brightly as she walked out of the dining room with Zoe in her arms. Instantly, Valerie smelt the rich aroma of food. The sound of the door opening attracted both Reyna and Reese’s attention. “Valerie, how come your class ends so late?” Reyna thought, “It’s almost 7:00 p.m. Something was missing at dinner, but I just couldn’t remember. Now that I see Valerie, I realize why All of a sudden, her language skills began to deteriorate again. “Well, Valerie… Your sister had to eat at 5:30 p.m., so we ate. Are you hungry? I’ll ask Jayvion to fix you something.” “It’s fine. You don’t have to wait up. I think I’ll almost always be back late.”
• Valerie’s tone was cold and polite, but it was a little strange to those close to her. Reese was aside, and he pulled a long face. “You shouldn’t be talking to your mom like this.” “Shut up!” Reyna immediately turned to glare at him. Reyna then smiled and said to Valerie. “Ignore him. By the way, I’ll take you to school tomorrow morning, OK?” OK? Valerie thought, “Is she asking me whether I’ll be delighted?” She raised her head and looked at Reyna, who was taller than her. “OK. As long as you’re happy.” Valerie did not have the excited attitude and expression that Reyna had imagined. Reyna was very embarrassed. Also, she was upset and furious. Reyna thought, “What kind of attitude is that? She’s getting more arrogant, isn’t she? I’ve already tried my best to be nice and talk to her like that.