Chapter 6 A Good Deed

The next morning, the Hammond family was seated at the dining table enjoying their breakfast when Emberly descended the stairs and announced, "I'm off to school!" She then went out, sparing them no chance to say anything.

The weather in Bluabert was very good. It was like spring all year round. The air around the river was fresh. Emberly occasionally stopped to catch her breath as she ran.

"Hey, you old bat, are you trying to blackmail me? You look decent enough, but it appears you are actually a troublemaker. Let me tell you something. Those who blackmail others never end well. You all saw it, right? She fell before I even touched her."

At the end of the bridge, there was a crowd. Many pedestrians continued to join the crowd. In the middle was a middle-aged man, who was shouting at the top of his voice. He felt really wronged. He was on his way to work this morning when an old woman suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Fortunately, he was able to hit the brakes of his motorbike before he got to her. But she still fell to the tarred road, holding her chest.

The grey-haired woman was dressed decently, but her face was pale. She lay on the ground in a fetal position as she gasped for breath and desperately fumbled inside her bag.

Emberly quickly realized that the old woman was trying to take out her medication, so she walked up to her.

The middle-aged man tried to stop her. "Little girl, don't get too close to her. She might try to blackmail you, too."

Emberly knew that he meant well and was only trying to look out for her, so she said softly, "Mister, it's okay."

She squatted and ransacked the woman's bag until she found a small bottle of medicine. She quickly read the description on it and saw that they were Nitroglycerin tablets. It appeared that the old lady had a heart disease and was probably suffering from a heart attack now. She quickly took out a pill and feed it to her.

Afterward, Emberly turned to the man and shouted, "Call the ambulance right now! She's possibly having a heart attack and needs urgent medical attention!"

"What?!" The man was dazed by what he just heard. He took out his phone, intending to call 911, when he suddenly stopped and stared at Emberly with uncertainty.

"Come on, make the call! I don't have a phone. If anything goes wrong, I'll take full responsibility!" Emberly urged him once she sensed his fear.

"It's okay. We'll act as witnesses."

"That's right. This is a matter of life and death. If you don't make the call, the lady might die."

The crowd egged the man on.

In the end, he dialed 911 and told them what the emergency was.

Shortly after, the ambulance arrived and the woman was lifted into it. The chief paramedic asked, "Who made the call? Is there any of her relatives here? If no, the caller would have to come with us."

"She's the caller!" The middle-aged man pointed at Emberly in a hurry.

Emberly sighed and got into the ambulance. She wasn't afraid of getting roped into this matter. After all, she only lent a hand to someone in need.

Once they arrived at the nearest hospital, the old lady was wheeled into the operating room.

Emberly had no choice but to wait outside. Fortunately, the doctor came out soon. The operation was successful. The old lady would be admitted into the intensive care unit to be monitored in the upcoming days. The nurse then handed the bill to Emberly.

Emberly's mouth opened in surprise when she saw the figures on the bill. She was responsible for offsetting the bill since brought the woman here. Xavier had kept all his savings in her care. It wasn't a lot, but it was enough to sort the bill. She didn't have much left afterward.

Later, Emberly borrowed a pen and a piece of paper from the old lady's attending nurse. She wrote down something and asked her to give it to the lady after she woke up.

Fortunately for Emberly, she arrived at school just in time. After two periods, she went to the teachers' lounge and asked to sign up for the speech contest.

The English teacher for Class 14, Harlee Swain, was very strict. After hearing Emberly out, she frowned and said, "Do you have any idea what the contest entails? You were just transferred here, so I guess you don't know that the contest is not child's play. Based on what I have heard, the school you previously attended didn't even have qualified teachers. How do you intend to compete with the best of the best students all over the country when you didn't receive quality education until now? Friendly advice, forget about the contest and focus on your studies first. You have to catch up with other students if you don't want to repeat the class. Have I made myself clear?"

Emberly didn't back down despite the teacher's harsh words. Instead, she asked, "Ms. Swain, there will be an audition, right? Are there any restrictions on the quota?"

"No, it's just..." Harlee hesitated.

"Okay, I want to sign up then." Emberly insisted.

Harlee stared at her and finally compromised. "Since you insist, you have to be well-prepared. You can come to me for advice should you encounter any difficulties."

Emberly put down her name and thanked her. She then made her way to the door.

"Harlee, are you seriously going to allow her to do this? You will be her instructor. When she makes a fool of herself, you will also be criticized. Do you know that?" Dolores, the homeroom teacher of Key Class, gloated.

Harlee looked at her and said, "I'm a teacher, so it would be unprofessional of me to stand in the way of my students. Emberly seems like a determined girl. Since I'm her instructor, I will do my best to help her. It doesn't matter if she wins or loses. What matters is that every student is given a fair chance to compete."

Dolores pressed on, "Although I admire the fact that you take all the students seriously, I would like to remind you that the quarterly rating for teachers will soon be released. That dullard might ruin your records. You should—"

"That's not a nice thing to say, Dolores!" Harlee interrupted her angrily.

"Well, Ms. Cooper, you don't teach me, so I don't think it's your business that I want to take part in the contest. You should concern yourself with your own students. I'm very confident in my ability. And I'm thankful that Ms. Swain here has faith in me." Emberly, who heard it all, couldn't help chipping in. She was annoyed with Dolores, but happy that Harlee was defending her.

"Emberly, overconfidence without real intelligence will get you nowhere. You seem like a troublesome lass. It's really a blessing that you weren't admitted into my class."

This was news to Emberly. She smiled and said, "Oh, really? I think it's a blessing for me as well."

Dolores was well respected by both teachers and students in Maybourn High. This was the first time a student was arguing with her. She let out an evil laugh. "In that case, let's wait and see. I'll love to see how far you can go." She grabbed a few textbooks and left for her next class in a hurry.

Emberly bowed slightly to Harlee, who looked so worried, and left the teachers' lounge with her head held up high.

The news of Emberly signing up for the contest was met with mixed feelings by Class 14. While Ivanna gave her a thumbs up, the rest of the class looked at her as if she had gone cuckoo. Emberly ignored them all.

Back in the hospital, the old lady finally regained consciousness and rang the bell beside her bed. Her attending nurse came into the ward and explained to her that a high school girl was the one who sent her to the hospital. The nurse also handed her the note Emberly left behind. There were only two sentences on it, accompanied by some digits. "Glad you are awake. Please make the refund to this account." The lady praised the girl in her heart.

Looking at the numbers, she breathed a sigh of relief. She didn't like to be indebted to anyone. It was rather interesting that the girl who helped her was kind but not overly kind.

Emberly wouldn't have asked for a refund if the money was hers. However, it was Xavier's money. She knew how long it took him to save that much, so she couldn't just give it away.

After thinking for a while, the lady took out her phone and called her son.

"Hello, Mom. How are you? Is anything the matter?" A calm male's voice came from the other end of the line.

"I'm currently in the hospital. Come here now."

"What?" The young man uttered worriedly, "Why are you there? Did you have a relapse? Okay, I'll be right there."

In a matter of minutes, the old lady's son arrived at the hospital. If Emberly was there, she might have recognized him. He was a familiar face who frequently appeared on the local TV channel. He was the Secretary of Bluabert's Municipal Committee, Orlando McCoy.

Orlando bombarded his mother with questions once he arrived at her ward.

"Son, I'm fine now. I just got frightened and had a heart attack. Thanks to a little girl who sent me to the hospital, I was able to receive treatment in time. She sorted the bill and left this note. Please make a refund and send her a gift while at it," the old lady said, handing her son the note.

Orlando nodded immediately, his heart filled with gratitude to this anonymous girl who had helped his mother.