Chapter 6: School Leave

Driving his flashy Mustang sports car, accompanied by a glamorous and seductive lady, Carter once again became the most eye-catching guy on Douglas Road.

Amidst the playful whistling along the way, the Mustang careened into Elmont High School, executing a cool, elegant drift into the parking lot. Well, that's all just fantasy.

In reality, Carter drove his car into the parking lot in a rather ordinary manner, except for the lack of a fence, which made it seem a bit audacious. Most American schools don't have fences, not even some military bases, which is quite characteristic of the U.S.

"Let's go, we're here!"

Opening the car door, Carter leaned nonchalantly against it, lighting a cigarette. If it were possible, Carter would rather face the hundreds of protestors outside Blake Bank than confront Mrs. Mary on the office building.

Elmont High School, or more accurately, Elmont School. Besides the high school section, it also had an elementary and middle school section, one of the few schools in Douglas City. As a public school, many students here used to be the "bad kids" who smoked, fought, and had fancy hairstyles, but ever since Mrs. Mary arrived...

You can still have fancy hairstyles, but within certain limits; you can still smoke, but only outdoors; and you can still fight, as long as you don't get caught. If you do get caught, Mrs. Mary will throw you straight into the police station without a second thought.

Aside from reforming the school's culture and discipline, what bothered Carter the most was that Mrs. Mary was an absolute believer in grades. Whenever you wanted to talk to her about anything, you had to present your test scores first. If your scores were high, she would happily accommodate your requests, even if you wanted to take a leave to go on vacation. But if your scores weren't up to par, well, brace yourself for a scolding!

"Carter, what should I say when I meet Mrs. Mary later?"

Smoking in front of his mother without a care in the world. In China, Carter would have been scolded for this behavior, but instead of reprimanding him, Jenny, his mother, approached him nervously.

"Just say whatever you want to say, don't worry, leave it to me."

After flicking away the cigarette butt and stepping on it, Carter, with Jenny clinging to his arm, walked towards the office building. Knocking on the door of the principal's office, they were hit with an intense sense of tension, as expected.

Mrs. Mary, with her gray hair and age spots, had a stooped figure. After saying "come in," she remained silent until Carter and Jenny sat down, staring coldly at Jenny, resembling a witch from a fairy tale.

"Mrs. Blake, first of all, my condolences on Mr. Blake's passing. However..."

After a while, Mrs. Mary spoke up. And when she did, she didn't mince her words:

"I don't understand why he needs to take over Mr. Blake's business. Carter is only 16 years old, and you are still here, as is his sister Anna. You are an adult, you are a mother, and when a family tragedy strikes, it is unfortunate, but it's your responsibility to hold the family together, not his!"

"Secondly, even if it's not you, why not Anna? She has already explicitly given up the opportunity to go to college, and with her grades, she wouldn't even get into one. So why not entrust Mr. Blake's bank to her?"

Huh? Wait a minute!

Knowing that Mrs. Mary didn't want him to be away from school for too long was well-intentioned, Carter felt that the original intention was for him to succeed. Studying hard, getting into a prestigious university, and performing on the big stages of New York or Los Angeles were much better prospects than running a rural bank. But trying to strip away his bank? Wasn't that a bit too much? This was the foundation of his future financial freedom!

Feeling a little vexed, Carter glanced at Mrs. Mary. This was why he didn't want to see Mrs. Mary. He knew she meant well, but she didn't understand where his true interests lay.

Carter wouldn't give up his plans for Mrs. Mary, but how to refuse without hurting her feelings was a headache. Just as Carter was pondering, Jenny couldn't hold back.

"No, Mrs. Mary, that's not true. Carter is more suitable than any of us to take over Mr. Blake's business. The issues at the bank that left me and Anna at a loss, Carter solved in just two hours this morning. He's a born banker!"

"Humph, a born banker shouldn't be here, shouldn't be in Douglas, and shouldn't even be in Georgia! If you really think Carter has talent, you should let him study hard. His future should be on Wall Street, in those real big banks."

"Um... Mrs. Mary, I don't want to drop out of school. I just want to apply for leave to leave school early in the afternoon."

As Mrs. Mary and Jenny faced off, Carter had to speak up. If he didn't, even if they reached an agreement, it would take ages with his mother around. He had only called her because he needed her consent to leave school early.

"What about the afternoon study session? Are you also taking leave to go to the bank?"

Mrs. Mary's eyes narrowed, hitting the nail on the head of Carter's thoughts. While Elmont High School usually didn't have afternoon study sessions, it did have an 80-minute study session around five o'clock. Students were required to complete their assignments under the supervision of teachers. If not for this measure, just reforming the school's culture and discipline... the SAT scores of Elmont graduates wouldn't have improved so quickly in recent years.

"Yes, Mrs. Mary. I do want to apply to skip this study session, but please rest assured, I will hand in my homework to the teachers the next morning without fail!"

Carter nodded earnestly, feeling indifferent about the small amount of homework assigned after the 80-minute study session. As for the quality, well, it's not like it's particularly difficult... Sorry, but compared to China's compulsory education stage, no country in the world can match it!