My Classmate Once Mocked Me For Quitting School. Years Later, She Derided My Son As A Dropout Child.

Encounter at the Restaurant

From that day, we started a new life focusing on nurturing Ryan’s talents. Time passed, and as Ryan’s tenth birthday approached, we went to celebrate at a famous upscale restaurant known for its traditional dishes. After enjoying our meal, we were satisfied and just stepping out of the entrance when I noticed a familiar face.

Catherine. It was Catherine, an old acquaintance from elementary to high school. She was there dining with her boyfriend. Upon seeing us, the corner of her mouth twisted into a smirk.

“You dining in such a fancy restaurant even though you dropped out of middle school? Out of your league, don’t you think?”

“Middle school dropout or not, what’s that got to do with anything?”

I didn’t want to provoke Catherine, especially with Ryan around. I tried to leave quickly, but she kept on throwing jabs.

“You probably can’t even educate your child properly with your dropout status, can you?”

I had promised Kate to prioritize Ryan’s education, so this really got under my skin. Still, I tried to ignore her and started to leave with Ryan.

“Look at him, he’s got that clueless look just like a dropout’s child. I guess stupidity runs in the dropout family,” Catherine pushed further.

Although I could handle insults thrown at me, when she insulted Ryan, I lost it and snapped back.

“My educational background has nothing to do with this. Just because you went to Harvard doesn’t give you the right to talk that way about my son.”

“Oh come on, is it because you didn’t even finish high school?” Catherine continued to mock.

Ryan Speaks Up

Suddenly, Ryan said in a cold voice:

“Dad, this woman… it’s Miss Smith, right? Should we fire her?”

“What are you talking about, Ryan?”

Attempting to reprimand him, Ryan continued:

“She’s a business associate of my company. She might not know me, but I’ve seen her. She’s from the security firm we’ve outsourced to. So at the very least, I can have her removed from the current project, right Miss Smith?”

“Ryan, there’s no need to retaliate no matter how much one is mocked.”

That being said, I might have snapped back a bit earlier. I tried to silence Ryan’s harsh words.

“What? How can a kid like this be associated with my company? There’s no way you can fire me. Talk in your dreams.”

Clearly shaken by being addressed by Ryan, Catherine snapped back and disappeared into the restaurant with her partner.

“Ryan, you shouldn’t talk about firing someone like that,” I advised him.

But Ryan still looked discontent. Ryan can be a bit sharp-ended at times. Well, being acknowledged as a member in Kate’s lab researching robotics as an elementary schooler, and even doing system development, I can see why he might have become a bit assertive and outspoken. But kindness and relationships are the foundation for all. Just because he is a child doesn’t excuse everything he says, especially since he’s working with adults on system development. He needs to be careful with his words.

Ryan developed a digital photo album app. It became a massive hit. With the profits, we set up a company to develop the next app. On paper, I was listed as the CEO, but in reality, Ryan was the one pulling most of the strings.

The Truth Revealed

The security aspect of that album app was outsourced, and Catherine worked for the outsource company. When I reprimanded him for speaking rudely to an outsourcer, Ryan pouted for a while, but when I said, “Mom will cry,” he calmed down and muttered, “Sorry.”

It was a few days after the incident at the upscale restaurant. A data breach occurred at Catherine’s company. Fortunately, the information leaked wasn’t directly related to Ryan’s app, but we found ourselves dragged into the whole mess.

“You did it, didn’t you? Holding a grudge about that incident before?” Catherine accused Ryan of being the culprit.

Ryan was of course outraged. Feeling indignant, he was determined to find the real perpetrator. Fortunately, the method of the leak wasn’t too complicated. It seemed like he’d just have to decrypt some codes and trace back a few IP addresses. With the help of everyone in the lab, when they decrypted the code and tracked the address, it surprisingly led to the computer of Tom, the boyfriend who had accompanied her to that upscale restaurant that time.

When Catherine confronted him, Tom readily admitted that he had someone else do it for him.

“I was… I was just jealous of how capable Catherine seemed, able to do anything.”

Catherine had a flashback at those words. A time in the past when she felt inferior to her first love in math and acted mean out of frustration. She had intended to confess her real feelings and apologize for her past behavior when they graduated high school, but he dropped out and she never got the chance. Even though she was the one at fault, she harbored resentment and said hurtful things when they met again.

Catherine came to my house to apologize and shared the story. I was utterly shocked to see the proud Catherine almost as if bowing her head to the ground in remorse. Her confession that she once had feelings for me was even more startling. It made me realize anew how emotions can become so tangled that they’re hard to control.

Ryan didn’t say much, but he seemed to sense something in Catherine’s sincere apology and her vow to help Tom get back on the right track.