From Bullets To Billions novel Chapter 46

Chapter 46: The Chair

The principal reached out to his phone slowly, his hand hesitant. He wondered who could be calling him at a time like this, perhaps it was just a coincidence.

But when he looked at the name on the screen, his heart sank. He immediately answered.

"Ah, Chair Runstun! What a surprise to have you on the line," the principal said, his voice already shaky and pitched higher than usual.

Because the person he was speaking to... was none other than the Chair of the National Teaching Board.

The governing body responsible for overseeing all public schools across the country, the board ensured that institutions adhered to proper standards and discipline. When disciplinary actions were required against staff, teachers, or even headmasters, it was the board that made the final decisions.

In the case of public schools, they were also responsible for issuing funding, performance bonuses, and determining administrative placements.

And the Chair, Runstun, was the head of that very board. As far as education went, there was no one higher up the ladder.

Which explained why the principal’s tone had changed so dramatically the second he picked up the call.

But what truly unsettled him, what sent a chill down his spine, was the fact that this incident hadn’t even been made public yet. The students hadn’t been dismissed. The investigation was still internal.

The parents had no idea what had occurred. The entire matter was still very much being kept within the school, so why was the Chair calling now?

"Yes, sir... yes, sir..." Only the principal’s voice could be heard as he spoke into the phone, and several times, he audibly gulped.

"But sir, we’ve yet to run a full investigation on the matter... and we have... yes, sir... yes, sir..." he continued, nodding nervously until the call finally ended.

Slowly, the principal placed his phone back on the desk, his hands trembling slightly.

"What... what was that about? Why did the Chair call?" Mr. Macenzie asked, his voice confused and uneasy.

But the principal didn’t respond. Instead, he moved out from behind his chair, walked to Max’s side, and after a moment of hesitation, he dropped to his knees and lowered his head firmly onto the floor.

"I apologize for everything I said! I apologize for it all!" the principal shouted. "Please, forget everything that happened and allow me to keep my job! I promise, no matter what, anything you want done at this school, it will be yours!"

Mr. Macenzie was left speechless. His mouth hung open wide, stunned. Never in his entire career had he seen the principal on his knees like this.

He was the one who used to make other faculty members apologize to him, and now here he was, doing this in front of a student.

"Sir, you can’t be doing that!" Mr. Macenzie said in a panic.

"Shut up!" the principal snapped. "If you want to keep your job and not end up plastered all over the news, then I suggest you get down here as well... Now!"

Mr. Macenzie wasn’t sure what was going on, but he quickly dropped to his knees, mimicking the principal’s posture as he bowed beside him.

Seeing the two of them like this, groveling, after having been so smug, could only bring a smile to Max’s face. Just then, he felt his phone vibrate. Glancing at the notification, he saw the message:

-500,000

’I wonder what he did with that amount of money to get this kind of reaction,’ Max thought. ’One thing’s for sure, Aron is certainly proving himself useful.’

As the principal and the teacher nervously looked up at Max, too many thoughts swirled in their minds.

’Who is this kid... How did he manage to get the Chair on his side?’ the principal thought, his forehead still pressed to the floor. ’No, not just on his side... it was almost as if the Chair worked for him. But he’s just a regular student... right? He has to be... Who is this kid?’

Mr. Macenzie couldn’t believe what he was witnessing. This is insane, he thought. No student should be able to harm a teacher like this. How is this even happening?