At her words, the other teachers perked up. They were curious, too.


    "I finished the entire high school curriculum years ago," Juniper exined patiently. "So, whether I attended ss or not didn''t really matter."


    Years ago? She was only eighteen now. How early could she possibly mean? Her early teens? Or when she was just a child? The more they thought about it, the more their heads spun.


    "You finished... all of it?” Salma swallowed hard, struggling to get the words out.


    "Yes." Juniper gave a slight nod, her delicate features showing no trace of arrogance. It was as if mastering every subject was a trivial matter to her.


    The other teachers could only stare, utterly stunned.


    "I see." Salma was too shocked to say much else for a moment. Recovering, she continued, “Well, we clearly misjudged the situation and used you unfairly. Tell us what you want. You can ask for anything."


    An apology, for instance. The other teachers, especially the math teacher, grew tense. They had wronged her, after all, and an apology was only fair. But he had also furiously sworn that if Juniper got a perfect score, he''d call her ''Master.''


    The math teacher''s face fell. Could he perhaps do it privately? If he said it in front of everyone, Keith from the physics department would mock him for the rest of his life.


    Just as the math teacher was squirming in his seat, Juniper spoke up. "I do have one request." She tilted her head slightly, thinking for a second before saying calmly, "Now that we''ve cleared this up, can I go?"


    "What?" Salma froze, not quite processing it.


    "It''s almost lunchtime," Juniper said, pressing her lips together earnestly. "If I''mte to the cafeteria, it''ll be packed, and they''ll run out of the beef stir-fry."


    She was really looking forward to the beef stir-fry today.


    The other teachers could only stare at her, baffled. Had they heard her correctly? After being so wrongly used, all she could think about was lunch?


    It was true. The mind of a prodigy was simply beyond theprehension of ordinary people.


    "But you were treated unfairly..." Salma said, her brow furrowed with concern.


    "And now it''s been cleared up," Juniper said with a shrug, a faint smile ying on her lips as she looked directly at the bewildered Salma.


    "Oh." Salma was stunned for a moment before it dawned on her. Was she... letting them all off the hook? What a remarkably kind-hearted girl!


    "Well, the bell is about to ring.


    Salma smiled at Juniper, then turned to the dean and the other teachers. Her smile vanished, reced by a stern expression Do any of you have something to say?"


    So what if they were teachers? At Aurora High, students and faculty were equals. If


    they wronged a student, they owed her an apology.


    The teachers exchanged uneasy nces, the room falling silent. After a long moment, the dean stepped forward. He stood before Juniper his face etched with guilt.


    “Juniper, we used you without investigating the facts. I sincerely apologize. I hope you can forgive us."


    A secondter, the literature teacher followed, her face pale. “I need to apologize to you as well. I''m very sorry."


    Finally, it was the math teacher''s turn. He clenched his fists, stammering, "Juniper..."


    Before he could finish, Juniper cut


    ol


    him off with a strained smile. “I ept your apologies," she said quickly. "Alright, that''s settled Can we all go now? content


    She was really going to miss lunch at this rate!