Chapter 203 Where Did the Rumors Come From?
"Matty, what's this I've been hearing lately, about... about you not treating Sally and Nick well?"
Rose and Phoebe came over today to invite Matilda grocery shopping. After hesitating for a long time, Phoebe finally brought up the matter.
Matilda was completely in the dark about this. Taking care of two kids, she'd really been working hard lately, spending every day figuring out what delicious dinners to make for them, and checking their homework at night too.
"Who said that?" Matilda asked.
Phoebe said, "It's all over the neighborhood. I heard about it last night when I was hanging out with some people. No idea who started it, but they're saying some pretty nasty things."
Matilda asked, "What are they saying?"
"Are you making the two kids do chores, like taking out the trash and stuff?"
Matilda thought for a moment. "Yeah, that's true. But is there some rule saying I can't have the kids do chores? I think housework is something you need to learn from a young age. Nobody gets a free pass. Rose, Phoebe, you don't actually believe I'm the kind of person who would abuse children, do you?"
Rose quickly said, "Of course I don't believe it."
Phoebe added, "I don't believe it either."
But still, the neighborhood was buzzing with gossip.
Matilda wasn't in a hurry to get angry.
Actually, figuring out who started the rumor was easy. Just stay calm, and that person would soon reveal themselves.
Sure enough, that afternoon when Sally and Nick came home, Scarlet was following them from behind.
As soon as Scarlett arrived, she called out "Spencer."
Not "Matilda," not "Ms. Spencer," and not "Matty" like Rose and Phoebe did, but just "Spencer."
"Spencer, I'm here today to talk to you about the two children. As their homeroom teacher, I'd like to do a home visit to understand how the kids are doing at home."
Matilda was in the middle of cooking.
Scarlett looked at the eggs Matilda was making and immediately put on a surprised expression. "This is what you're feeding the kids? No meat?"
Matilda lifted the lid off the pot next to her, revealing a whole rack of lamb stewing inside.
Now Scarlett had nothing to criticize. There was meat, eggs, and plenty of freshly washed vegetables.
Matilda told Nick, "Nick, go take a shower first, then come eat."
Sally came over and said, "Ms. Spencer, let me help you serve the rice."
Then Sally went to get the bowls.
Matilda asked Scarlett, "Have you eaten? Why don't you join us?"
Scarlett glanced at the food on the table. "No need, they're already cooking at my place. I'll head home after the home visit."
"Ms. Scarlett, do you often do home visits with students?" Matilda asked.
"No, not often. It's mainly because Sally and Nick are quite special."
Matilda smiled. "So will you be doing home visits with them every month?"
Scarlett paused again. "No, it's mainly because I heard some things about them staying at your place. Spencer, why don't we go outside to talk?"
Matilda knew exactly what was going on.
But she still wanted to see what Scarlett was really trying to say.
She took off her apron and told Sally, "Sally, after your brother finishes his shower, you two go ahead and eat, okay? I'm going to chat with Ms. Scarlett for a bit."
Sally obediently agreed.
Matilda and Scarlett walked out to the garden.
"Spencer, I've heard some rumors that you often make the siblings do housework at home. While I agree that kids should learn to do chores from a young age, they're still quite young, and they have homework to do after school, so they don't really have that much time."
Matilda crossed her arms and asked with a smile, "What do you think I should do?"
"Just lighten up on the chores a bit. Otherwise, people outside are talking about you, and it's not good for your reputation."
Matilda stared at Scarlett. Scarlett felt a bit guilty at first but quickly pretended to be calm.
Matilda smiled and asked Scarlett, "Are rumors always true? Why don't you ask the two kids if their chores are too heavy?"
"The kids are living under someone else's roof, so there are many things they can't say."
"So you're saying I have to take the blame whether I like it or not?"
"No, no, I don't mean it like that. It's just about avoiding problems, right?"
Matilda continued, "Thank you for caring so much about the kids. But this is a military compound. It's easy to find out who started spreading rumors. I just need to have Wentworth send a few people to investigate, and they'll definitely find out. Then I won't have to take the blame, right?"
Scarlett's face showed a guilty expression. "There's no need to bother the military with this, is there? The army isn't for doing these kinds of things."
"The military is responsible for protecting our safety. Haven't you seen those news stories about people driven to suicide by rumors?"
Scarlett became even more flustered, her face turning red.
"Spencer, why don't we just drop this? If I hear anyone saying this again, I'll go talk to them. I'll say I came for a home visit and that you treat the kids really well."
Matilda smiled. "Well, thank you for that. You'd better hurry home for dinner. Take care."
Scarlett left awkwardly.
After leaving, she was furious with herself for being so incompetent, getting scared off by just a few words from Matilda.
And from the look in Matilda's eyes, she seemed to know that Scarlett was the one who started it all.
She didn't dare let the rumor spread any further.
Before today's home visit, she had deliberately come during dinnertime when all the families would be home, specifically so that the other idle families would know she was doing a home visit.
A teacher doing a home visit was a serious matter.
It would confirm the rumors from the past few days.
It seemed that after this home visit, she had no choice but to spread the news that Matilda treated the two children well.
...
"Ms. Spencer, what did Ms. Scarlett say to you?" Nick asked nervously during dinner.
He was worried it was about being naughty at school. During PE class assembly today, he hadn't arrived on time because he was having too much fun playing soccer with his classmates.
Matilda tapped his forehead. "Ms. Scarlett? She came to praise you guys. She said you've made great progress recently and wanted to ask what methods I used. I told her it was all because of your own efforts and had nothing to do with me."
Nick breathed a sigh of relief.
Sally said to her brother, "You had a guilty conscience, didn't you?"
"I did not! But I really have improved lately. I got an A in math twice in a row."
Matilda couldn't help but praise him again.
However, regarding the rumor situation, she still needed to take some remedial measures to change the neighbors' impression of her.
"Sally, aren't you about to have your birthday? Why don't you invite some of your close classmates to come over? I'll throw you a birthday party."