00:06mom stop please do not hit mrs brown you are just a piano teacher focus on your classes and do
00:15not
00:15ask too much i do not care teaching piano is just my passion if i want i could even make
00:23this whole
00:23school carry the brown name last week after i find a student's mother's affair she says she will get me
00:31kicked out of the school mrs brown did you give this grade are you deaf i listened to last week's
00:41recording over 20 times my son's touch was at least 15 weaker than it should be and you still dare
00:47give
00:47him an a she pulls out her phone music reflects a person's character if the touch wrong the character
00:54goes soft do you want to turn jake into a useless man this piece has 24 sections three hits per
01:02section
01:02i will hit you 72 times today as punishment i let out a laugh from anger and take out my
01:09phone
01:09i call vice principal mr ashford since when does our school allow parents to punish teachers
01:16no one answers i lower my phone and look straight at her mrs mercer this is class time
01:22leave my classroom now
01:35not putting your hand out how does that feel
01:40there is a camera here you should think this through
01:45i do not care about it put your hand out right now if you still refuse i will hit you
01:50150 times
01:51today
01:55shit b this level deserves a b plus i just heard her at the door she missed several notes and
02:01the
02:01touch of both hands is different and you dare give a b plus you are ruining these kids 150 hits
02:08is too
02:08light i will hit you 300 times before you learn your lesson mom stop please do not hit mrs brown
02:22you dare stop me
02:31play this piece again if your touch is uneven again even by one degree i will hit you 100 times
02:38only then do i
02:40realize jake the child who never even dares to lift his head in my class is not born timid living
02:46with a mother like this
02:48he must be trapped in fear from morning to night
02:53mrs mercer music is art for a child what matters most is feeling and expression it should not be measured
03:00by machine and self-experience
03:02a teacher like you encouraging this kind of nonsense shut up
03:07notes must be perfect down to the smallest detail in the mercer family anything less than precise means shame
03:15you turn my son into a useless child can you take responsibility for that
03:21she actually pulls out her phone again and opens the same audio analysis app
03:27she points it at the piano and watches the real-time waveform on the screen while she keeps cursing
03:33at that moment mr ashford rushes in out of breath
03:37what what is going on here
03:42i step forward and explain everything from beginning to end
03:49lena
03:51go back to your office first
03:55i will handle this here
03:58i stand there stunned watching as mr ashford turns around to face mrs mercer
04:04who is standing there with her arms crossed his posture looks more like he is trying to calm her down
04:09than hold her accountable i have no choice but to turn and leave
04:14i sit in the office for two full classes
04:17the burning pain on my face comes back again and again
04:21and the more i think about it the more unfair it feels
04:24by lunch break mr ashford finally pushes the door open slow and casual
04:31it's settled mrs mercer has already left
04:35how was it handled she hit me in front of everyone
04:40insulted me and abused a child you are
04:43just a piano teacher focus on your classes and do not ask too much
04:51just remember this when it comes to jake in the future don't take it too seriously
04:56just tolerate it and it will pass i almost laugh from anger
05:01this is his solution but looking at his face i know arguing is useless
05:07i swallow my frustration tomorrow is saturday i decide i will wait until monday to find jake
05:13and ask how he is doing but i never expect this early saturday morning while i am still asleep
05:20my phone keeps ringing non-stop i hang up several times but the caller keeps dialing again and again
05:27without giving up it is jake's mother again i have no choice but to answer the moment i pick up
05:34she starts yelling miss brown you were pretty busy last night huh still sleeping at this hour
05:42what do you want tell me who put chocolate in my son's school bag yesterday chocolate i am still
05:49half asleep stop pretending i checked his bag this morning and found two pieces of chocolate
05:57explain yourself what is your intention are you trying to poison my son
06:04only then do i remember jake plays piano quite well i did give a small piece of chocolate to a
06:11few kids as a reward for good performance my son has never had a single bite of junk food since
06:15he
06:15was born do you even know how much sugar that is i am taking him to have his stomach pump
06:19right now
06:19all medical bills nutrition costs my lost work time and mental damages you will pay for everything
06:25right
06:28oh i see now see what exactly you filthy woman are you trying to scheme against my son
06:36otherwise why give chocolate to him and not the other kids do you think he is handsome are you
06:41trying to use this cheap trick to seduce him you shameless thing
06:46mrs mercer show some respect your son is only nine i am his teacher what you are saying is ridiculous
06:53so what if he is nine is he not a man at nine my son looks like his father he
06:57is naturally attractive
06:58women like you old and child are all mentally sick who knows what you are planning i warn you stay
07:03away
07:03from my son or i will rip your face apart
07:06shit blocking a parent like this would normally mean a teacher is done for in this job but i do
07:12not care
07:15teaching piano is just my passion if i want i could even make this whole school carry the brown name
07:24as expected on monday morning during p.e class she shows up again i am there helping the p.e
07:31teacher
07:31with the stopwatch recording sprint times a girl sprains her ankle and the teacher gives her permission
07:37to rest on the side then that familiar voice suddenly explodes from the edge of the field what is going
07:45on why is she not running the p.e teacher is about to step forward to explain but i stop
07:51him i already
07:52know there is no reasoning with this woman she twisted her ankle last week that is why she is resting
07:59here
07:59so what if she twisted her ankle she still cannot skip running if jake sees this what then
08:07if he also learns not to run who is going to take responsibility you little brat already learning
08:13to slack off at this age get up run
08:20why are you everywhere are you just determined to go against me is it because you cannot have children
08:28yourself so you are jealous of me and afraid my son will succeed mind your language so what
08:37i treat you how you look you are nothing but a disgrace ruining these kids stop it stop it
08:53can you stop embarrassing me it's all because of you nobody in class wants to play with me anymore
09:02last time i had one bite of tylie's birthday cake you made tylie's mom pay you money they all say
09:08you are a crazy woman
09:10nobody wants to be friends with me stop coming to school
09:19who dares to isolate my son you bunch of bastards i am not finished with you yet
09:26it must be you you filthy woman you are turning the students against me aren't you
09:33i am going to mr ashford and get you fired go ahead
09:47mrs brown
09:48mrs brown will my mom make you lose your job
09:51no i will not lose my job but this woman she is very likely going to end up in jail
10:03after the
10:03class i am called into mr ashford's office the board just held a meeting some course arrangements
10:10have been adjusted the piano class will be suspended for now you should take a break
10:17so you are suspending my class before he can answer mrs mercer walks in again oh my
10:24i heard miss brown is being suspended but if you do not want that it is also fine
10:29i am a very reasonable person after all
10:38sign this and i will be generous and forgive you i pick it up and take one look ms brown
10:45must provide
10:46jake with one-on-one piano tutoring after school every day at least two hours each time if jake is
10:53bullied at school ms brown must immediately punish the offending student and demand compensation from
10:59their parents ms brown must pick jake up for school 30 minutes early every morning if the parent calls
11:06ms brown must answer within one second if not 10 strikes with the wooden board will be given
11:23you are dreaming
11:27you ungrateful trash stop it i think he is stopping mrs mercer but instead he grabs me and holds me
11:36back so i
11:36cannot fight back he locks my arms tightly i cannot move at all mrs mercer takes the chance and slaps
11:44me
11:44again and again lena you are really being unreasonable here mrs mercer is willing to settle this privately
11:51that is giving you a chance you do not appreciate it and you turn it into a scene and do
11:56you even know
11:57who mrs mercer is nora mercer is the wife of our school's biggest donor mr mercer you are just
12:05a piano teacher know your place very soon they will all find out who does not know their place tell
12:14me then what is the name of this biggest donor
12:17you are scared yet my husband is warren mercer
12:25i already called him he is on his way right now
12:33warren mercer that scholar kid who only finished school because he got a full ride
12:37from my father-in-law's foundation now he is playing the role of the ultimate power
12:45he used to pursue me back then he said as long as i give him three sons he would let
12:51me take his
12:51last name and become mrs mercer turns out he really did find someone willing to accept that offer
12:58i calmly dial a number hello honey i am being bullied at school oh calling your husband now
13:07what is he some security guard you called in to back you up come on i really want to see
13:14what kind
13:15of loser would marry a woman like you i am telling you the board of directors has already been handled
13:21by my husband you are never coming back to teach piano again a woman like you who cannot even have
13:28children nobody wants you anywhere i stay silent the call is still connected every insult nora throws is
13:36clearly heard on the other end lena hang up the phone do you even think your husband can be
13:42compared to mr mercer i look out the window my husband ethan's lamborghini is already parked
13:47downstairs at the same time another car pulls in next to it a porsche series warrants now this is
13:56getting interesting my husband's voice comes through the phone baby i am here
14:04oh isn't that my husband's porsche and what is that junk next to it looks all dusty
14:13don't tell me it is some construction contractor's car i almost laugh out loud she does not even
14:19recognize a lamborghini at that moment mr ashford's office door is pushed open and warren walks in after
14:27so many years his hair is still perfectly combed and he carries himself like he looks down on everyone
14:33what is going on now you make a scene over every little thing honey you are finally here
14:43this teacher bullied our son you must stand up for me warren turns to look at me with a cold
14:51face
14:52clearly he does not recognize me it has been six years since he last tried to pursue me
14:58and in his current imagined social class someone like me just a piano teacher is not even worth
15:05remembering you are mrs brown i have heard about your disrespectful behavior recently
15:13my time is valuable i will not waste words on you i will ask you one thing
15:23do you know who jake is i say nothing i just look at him quietly seeing my silence he thinks
15:30i am
15:31intimidated he gets even more confident and continues my son jake is going to inherit a billion dollar
15:38fortune he will manage a public company he will be the one ringing the bell at the new york stock
15:43so every single note he plays is not just music it is discipline training for a future ceo it is
15:51the
15:51foundation of a billion dollar legacy do you understand nora nods hard beside him warren continues
15:58do you even realize that the grade you casually give him could destroy the discipline of a future
16:04business leader a small difference in touch to you may seems minor but in his future trillion dollar
16:10contracts that could be a fatal flaw can you take responsibility for that i listen to this ridiculous
16:17speech and cannot help but laugh trillion dollar contracts looks like my husband really has been
16:23making this man live well i will give his imagination an a plus his face darkens what are you laughing
16:30i look up at him calmly nothing i just think mr mercer is very imaginative my reaction clearly irritates him
16:42mrs brown i suggest you face reality right now apologize to my wife
16:50then accept whatever arrangement the school gives you otherwise i can guarantee you will have no place
16:56not just in this school but in the entire education field facing his barking threats i still just smile
17:04faintly at that moment the office door is suddenly pushed open a young female teacher rushes in her face
17:11it's pale it's bad jake is missing after p.e class he did not return to the classroom with the
17:22group we checked the
17:23playground and everywhere around but we cannot find him
17:26oh my son my baby what are you all doing mrs brown what are you standing there for go find
17:38him now
17:43you cannot even keep track of one child
17:49if anything happens to my son i will make sure you all pay for it
17:55i follow them and rush out of the office
17:58This is a production of WGBH.
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