After perceiving the horrific scene inside Ms. Verinder's room, Claire was so shocked that she had to return to her seat on the coach.
"What's that woman doing to Eliza?" thought Claire. "I have to go and save her before she got brainwashed."
Just when Claire summoned up her courage to stop Ms. Verinder, the door of the little room opened and Eliza walked out of the room followed by the maths teacher.
"Clara, it's your turn," said Ms. Verinder.
"I'm so sorry, miss," replied Claire as her mind raced to think of an excuse to get both her and Eliza out of here before any more damage was done. "I....I don't feel very well. I have a horrible headache and I feel nauseous."
"Oh, do you?" answered Ms. Verinder, raising an eyebrow. "Well then, it seems like you're unfit for an extra lesson now."
"Yes, Ms. Verinder," responded Claire. "I'd better get home and take some medication immediately. I must have somehow caught a cold."
"Very well, then," said Ms. Verinder, looking unconvinced. "See you tomorrow, then."
"Goodbye Ms. Verinder," said Claire and Eliza as they walked out of the apartment.
On their way home, Claire and Eliza started discussing what happened inside Ms. Verinder's apartment.
"OMG, what was that woman doing to you in that room?" enquired Claire.
"What else? She was teaching me maths!" answered Eliza. "She teaches so well that I could grasp the concepts in seconds."
"Wait, what? I saw you with a helmet that was attached to some weird-looking machine," exclaimed Claire. "What was that all about?"
"Ms. V said that was just something to keep me focused," responded Eliza. "Indeed, I legit felt so calm and relaxed after putting that on, I could actually concentrate on what she was saying."
"But she was saying anything," cried Claire in bewilderment. "I was outside the door the whole time and I legit saw her tapping on her computer non-stop. How could she be teaching you whilst using that computer?"
"What're you talking about? Ms. V didn't even glance at her computer for one second," argued Eliza. "She was patiently teaching me about algebra and trigonometry!"
"She must have brainwashed you into believing all this!" exclaimed Claire in horror. "Oh no! We have to report this to Tom before....."
"Seriously, Claire, what's up with you today?" retorted Eliza, annoyed. "Stop over-reacting and calm down! There's nothing to report about Ms. V! What're you gonna report her for? For being such a good teacher?"
"No, you don't understand," elucidated Claire. "That's not what I saw from outside. She's controlling your mind using that weird machine!"
"You're just jealous that I got to have an extra lesson and you don't!" returned Eliza angrily. "You've always been better than me at Maths, so you won't understand what it's like to finally grasp such difficult concepts. Besides, who cares if she's actually brainwashing me? If she's helping her students to improve, who gives a damn what method she's using?"
"No, I'm not jealous of you. I'm just saying that this is inhumane," answered Claire. "Brainwashing students by forcing knowledge into their minds is not right! It's unfair to other students who've worked their ass off!"
"Well, what is fairness and equality, Claire?" replied Eliza. "Some people are born to be smarter than others? Is that fair? What if people use some little technology to boost their ability? This world is unequal to begin with. No one is born the same! You won't understand what it feels like to be bad at Maths because you're Asian! If I could start all over again from year 10 and be good at Maths, I won't have to study a boring subject that I don't even like at uni! My life would've turned out differently!"
"Being Asian has nothing to do with being good at Maths!" shouted Claire, frustrated. "Anyways, I'll report this to Tom. We have to put a stop to this!"
"How about let's bet?" said Eliza. "If I get higher than you in the maths test tomorrow, then we won't tell Tom. And if you get higher, it still won't be too late to report it."
~To be Continued~
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