pjbooks Chapter 190 You've been hiding it quite well.
Chapter 190 You've been hiding it quite well.
Chapter 190 You've been hiding it quite well.
Like most elementary schools in California, Jefferson Elementary School, located in the Crown District, dismisses students at 3 p.m.
When Ma Jie arrived by car, it was just 3:05. Although he did not achieve the desired effect, it was not too late.
Right now, the children are lining up to walk out of the school, and under the escort of teachers and armed guards, they are boarding all sorts of luxury cars.
"Shit, this is the last thing I want to see!" Sandy, sitting in the passenger seat of the pickup truck, seemed to have been provoked. "When I was in elementary school, no one ever picked me up. I always rode home on a stolen scooter. Once, an uncle who claimed to be my dad's friend came to me and said he would take me to get pizza. I stupidly went with him. If my neighbor's aunt hadn't seen me while walking her dog, I would probably be imprisoned in the basement of some house right now, just like in the movie 'Room'."
Listening to her harrowing childhood memories, Ma Jieke sighed, "I've seen that movie. It's about a girl who was imprisoned by a psychopath for seven years and even had a child."
“That’s right,” Sandy said, shaking his head with his arms crossed. “Look at these well-dressed little princesses and young masters. They don’t go home after school. Instead, their family drivers take them to various after-school tutoring institutions until it gets dark. Meanwhile, kids like me who can only afford to go to free public elementary schools can only run around the streets after school or sneak into classmates’ houses to watch adult films.”
"When I get home, no one will put hot food on the table because most of the time, the only place I can see my dad is in prison, and my mom will only be in the iron cage used for strip club performances at that time every day. She spends all the money she earns on hemp and painkillers and doesn't put any food in the refrigerator. Sometimes when I'm so hungry that I have no other choice, I go to a nearby restaurant to help mop the floor in exchange for a staff meal."
"Anyway, the only people who truly cared about me during my childhood were human traffickers and perverts. I'm actually quite grateful to them now; at least it's better than having nothing at all."
Finally, Sandy lit a cigarette, her hand trembling slightly as she did so. Ma Jie gently put his arm around her shoulder and said, "Don't think about those things, darling. You always have to look forward. At least you still have me, and many friends with you..."
Just as someone was trying to play the role of a close companion, Sandy suddenly straightened up excitedly, quickly pulled out her phone to check her photo album, and fixed her gaze on a female teacher who had just walked out of the school gate: "Quickly help me confirm, is that woman in khaki pants and high heels at the school gate Miranda?"
"Don't worry." Ma Jie looked at the photo and then at the person. "It's definitely her. She has the same figure and looks the same. Unless she has a twin sister, there's no mistake."
"Oh no, she's getting on the bus and leaving! Quick, follow her!"
Miranda got into a silver-gray Tesla Model I and drove north along Kinclay Street.
Before setting off, Ma Jie thoughtfully activated [Quantum Tracking] to mark her with a unique tag, so that even if an accident occurred along the way, he wouldn't lose track of her.
After all, the success or failure of this mission directly determines whether Sandy can be promoted to a permanent position, and also whether he can get an invitation code.
Following at a moderate distance, passing through three traffic lights, the Tesla turned right at the intersection and finally parked in front of an office building.
Judging from the prominent GG sign on the building, it's easy to tell that this is an after-school education institution, commonly known as a tutoring center.
Although this thing is a key target of crackdown in China, it is rampant in free America.
Happy education? Think again. That's just self-comfort for the poor at the bottom of society, and it only applies to most African Americans and white trash.
Families with even a little bit of means will not let their children grow up wildly; at the very least, they will send them to learn music, painting, or participate in sports activities such as baseball or rugby.
Of course, these are all things that require money to enjoy, which poor people simply cannot afford. So are there any projects that can be enjoyed for free?
The answer is yes. After all, the "after-school program" in the United States is an important part of its education and social services system, which aims to solve the problem of the "care gap" when elementary and middle school students are dismissed early in the afternoon and their parents are still at work, especially during the afternoon from 3 pm to 6 pm on weekdays and during winter and summer vacations.
Simply put, even public elementary schools with the lowest overall rankings will offer after-school interest training programs, and parents can apply to enroll their children if they wish.
As for the training content, it generally involved an elderly school janitor leading a group of children to watch soap operas that had been replayed countless times, or digging holes and playing in the mud on the playground.
Children who attend expensive private schools take a completely different path, facing academic pressure and stringent requirements that far exceed what most people can imagine.
Not only do students have to study hard at school, they also can't be idle after school. They either need to hire a tutor for one-on-one tutoring or attend elite study classes, which require the instructor to teach only 5 or even fewer students at a time.
The curriculum is also quite demanding; some students have to take AP (Advanced Placement) courses as early as middle school.
After taking exams, by the time they entered high school, they had already begun to delve into the research and writing of academic papers.
In short, some are suffering from drought while others are suffering from floods.
So here's the question: since I wasn't born into a good family, why don't I just stop complaining about my circumstances and work hard myself?
To be honest, it's very difficult, because even if you want to study hard, the teacher may not be willing to teach you well.
The reason is that, according to the labor agreement drafted by the teachers' union, public school teachers will automatically receive lifetime tenure after two years of teaching, and the agreement stipulates that schools must treat all teachers equally and cannot introduce performance appraisal systems.
In other words, being a teacher in a public school is like having a secure job; it doesn't matter how well you do or how badly you do, you'll just get a fixed salary anyway.
The school cannot reward you materially just because you have good teaching quality, nor can it punish you for being passive or lazy.
A principal once tried to fire a teacher who played teaching videos in class while sitting on the podium reading a newspaper, but with the intervention of the teachers' union, he had to pay the teacher a year's salary to rehire him.
The reason why teachers' unions have such great power is because they are so rich. Their annual political donations to both parties' congressional elections exceed those of the National Truckers Union and the National Rifle Association.
As for the specific source of income for the teachers' union, it is quite simple and straightforward: every public school teacher must pay a membership fee of 1% of their annual salary.
This means that the union has an extremely large and stable cash flow, and by using this money to operate the fund, it can make money from money.
At the same time, if a teacher who has joined a union makes a mistake, the union will stand up for him, making teaching the hardest profession to be fired in the United States.
According to incomplete statistics, on average, one in every 57 doctors will have their medical license revoked.
On average, one in every 97 lawyers will have their license revoked.
On average, only one in every 2500 teachers will be dismissed and have their teaching certificate revoked.
In this way, even those good teachers who have good intentions and want to teach well can only struggle in the cesspool of survival of the fittest, and their original passion and ideals will be worn away.
The increasing number of bad teachers exacerbates the teaching burden on good teachers, thus creating a vicious cycle for schools.
Although a politician once proposed a bill that would include student performance as a factor in teacher evaluation and require teachers to pass subject certification exams, it ultimately failed due to the unions' all-out efforts to lobby heavily.
Anyway, since you're from a poor family, there's no way for you to get promoted; they'll cut off your hopes from the very beginning.
Clearly, Sandy is a victim of this malicious system, or rather, most people at the bottom of society go through the most important educational stage of their lives in this way.
This is also the difference between public and private schools. Teachers in private schools are more like company employees. Whether you do a good job or not, the boss can see it all and will not tolerate any mistakes.
Driven by market demand, many private school teachers take on part-time jobs at off-campus organizations after school to increase their personal income.
Miranda was clearly one of those people. Once she entered the office building, Ma Jie casually checked out the institution online and found that the tuition fee was as high as $50 per hour. Calculated at two hours a day, it would cost at least three thousand dollars a month, not including the cost of textbooks. You should know that for Niu Ma, who works in basic service industries, after deducting taxes and health insurance, he only gets a little over two thousand dollars.
There's nothing we can do but wait.
As a result, half an afternoon passed, and just as the two were getting drowsy, the target reappeared and walked out of the office building.
Urged on by Sandy, Ma Jie calmly drove after them, and when night fell, they arrived at the parking lot of a high-end hotel.
The question is obvious: what could a 42-year-old woman be doing after work, instead of going home, going to a hotel?
Click...click...Sandy secretly took photos in the car with her phone. After all, isn't this the kind of photo that the sugar daddy wants?
Although there's no concrete evidence yet, the fact that she's in a place like this suggests that it's very likely the case.
"Wait a minute, ma'am, please wait a minute." Just as the elevator doors were about to close, someone boldly chased after them and used their arm to forcefully block the door from closing.
In order not to arouse the other party's suspicion, Ma Jieke decided to do the opposite. Rather than sneaking behind, it would be safer to take the initiative.
Following their pre-arranged strategy, the two entered the elevator, immediately knocked down to the top floor, and then embraced and kissed passionately.
Miranda looked away with disgust at the shameless "little couple".
About 20 seconds later, with a "ding-dong" sound, the elevator stopped on the 11th floor, and the woman stepped out of the elevator carrying her bag.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, Ma Jieke decisively pressed the open button.
Upon exiting, they discovered that this floor was not the guest room area, but rather an entertainment center.
Miranda's destination was a small bar tucked away in a corner, which didn't even have a name; it was simply a place for the hotel's guests to relax.
"Good evening, gentlemen. What would you like to drink?" The female bartender, wearing a white shirt and vest, came over with the drinks menu as soon as we sat down in the corner.
Jack glanced at the prices and found them ridiculously expensive, but he still gritted his teeth and ordered two of the cheapest sparkling waters.
Miranda sat at the front, closest to the stage, where several black men in performance costumes were tuning their instruments.
"No way, she came all this way just to listen to music?" Sandy rested her chin on her hand, looking very disappointed. "Jack, looks like we've wasted our time today. Do you think the person who posted the bounty might be paranoid?"
"That possibility cannot be ruled out." Ma Jie took a sip of his tasteless sparkling water and replied, "But there's no use thinking too much about it. Let's wait and see. It's too early to draw conclusions now."
While the two were chatting and joking, the performance on stage had already begun; it was the kind of common retro jazz music.
After the piece was finished, Miranda stood up excitedly and applauded, as if she were a long-time fan of this unknown band.
At this moment, a black man playing the banjo came down from the stage and invited her to come up and dance a jazz dance. They had a great time.
She spent the whole night in the bar, and only left reluctantly when the place was about to close.
To avoid being discovered, MaJack and Sandy returned to the parking lot early, ready to lie in wait.
A short while later, the target reappeared, but unlike before, she was accompanied by a male companion!
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the banjo player who had invited Miranda to dance on stage earlier.
The two appeared to be quite close, not like they were meeting for the first time, and they put their arms around each other as they got into the Tesla.
"Miranda, thank you for coming to my show. You always come to support me, and I don't know how to thank you enough."
"What are you saying, sweetheart?" Miranda looked at the black man in front of her with affection: "You know, Tom, in my eyes, you are a true artist. Every time I watch you perform, I think of my unromantic husband. He understands neither art nor women. In all these years of marriage, I have never felt the happiness of being a wife. If this continues, I feel like I will go crazy."
"Don't say that, darling. Don't you have me here with you?"
The two exchanged shameless sweet nothings while staring at each other with fiery eyes, and then uncontrollably embraced and kissed passionately.
Unfortunately, from the perspective of the observer, only a rough outline of the person could be captured.
Click...click...Sandy excitedly pressed the camera button on his phone: "My God, I knew this old slut was up to something. Her husband is working hard outside, and he's been cheating on her with a black musician. Hurry, the car's leaving, let's follow it."