Chapter 1 My daughter locked herself in her room , sobbing until her whole body shook . I pried open the door and found her clutching a test paper that had been ripped apart and pieced back together with tape . It was her MATHCOUNTS qualifier . All the right answers , but a big fat zero scrawled across the top . " Mom , " she choked out through her tears , " Ms. Rodriguez said 3 × 5 isn't the same as 5 × 3 , that I was just trying to show off . She tore up my test right in front of everyone , kicked me out of the competition , and told the whole class to ignore me ... " I saw the angry red marks on my daughter's wrist where she'd been scratching at her skin , grabbed my phone , and dialed the principal . " I've got one question , " I said when he picked up . " What exactly does breaking a kid who loves math do for this school's reputation ? " The line went dead . He hung up on me . Just that annoying beeping sound . My daughter stopped sobbing . She just looked at me with these empty , hollow eyes . I threw her hoodie on , grabbed her freezing hand , and we were out the door heading straight to school . The second I walked into the math office , all the chattering stopped cold . A bunch of teachers looked up from their coffee cups . Ms. Rodriguez was kicked back in her chair , eyeing me up down before rolling her eyes . " Excuse me ? Office hours are over . " I didn't say jack . Just marched right up to her desk and slammed down that pathetic taped - up test . Paper scraps went flying everywhere . That big red zero was like a neon sign under those crappy office lights . She laughed - actually laughed - and pinched one of the pieces between her fingers , waving it around . " Oh , this little masterpiece . What , you gonna tell me I graded it wrong ? " " Does 3 times 5 equal 15 ? Same as 5 times 3 ? " I locked eyes with her . " Uh , yeah . Obviously . " and lac Times Oranges " -Come Now ! 0.096 Chapter 1 She flicked the paper back at the desk . " But she didn't follow directions , so she gets squat ! This is MATHCOUNTS prep , not some kiddie math class ! She cuts corners today , what's next ? I trashed that test so she'd learn - and so would every other kid watching ! " She jumped up , getting all in my face , her voice going full - on shrill . " Oh , I know your type ! Think you're smarter than the teachers , always butting in where you don't belong ! Your kid's messed up because of parents like you ! Lazy , always looking for the easy way out - wonder where she gets that from ? And now you storm in here like I'm the bad guy ?! " She kept stabbing her finger at the desk , practically spitting with every word . My daughter was trembling behind me , her little hand clutching my jacket so tight I could feel her nails through the fabric . " Run that by me again , " I said , my voice deadly quiet . " What , you didn't hear me the first time ? " She stepped even closer , close enough that I could smell her stale coffee breath . " Your kid's problems start at home ! You treat her like some show pony , teaching her all these stupid shortcuts , and then you waltz in here questioning me ? You're everything that's wrong with parents today ! Get the hell out before you make this even more embarrassing ! " I looked her dead in the eye , my words coming out ice - cold and crystal clear . " Ms. Rodriguez , you humiliated my daughter in front of her entire class by ripping up her perfect test . You turned every single kid against her . You physically grabbed her and left marks on her arm . And now you're standing here trash - talking her mom while she's right here listening . " I took a breath , letting that hang in the air . " So tell me - what exactly qualifies you to be around kids ? " " Physically grabbed her ? " She burst out laughing like I'd just told the funniest joke ever . " Lady , teachers are supposed to correct students when they screw up - it's called doing my job ! No wonder your kid's such a little smartass with you for a mom ! " And then - she actually stepped around her desk and lunged for my daughter's wrist : " You know what ? Let me show you how discipline actually works . Maybe she'll finally learn some respect ! " I jerked my daughter behind me so fast I nearly knocked her over , blocking Rodriguez with my whole body . She grabbed nothing but air and went absolutely ballistic . " Move ! Don't you dare get in my way when I'm dealing with a student ! You're the worst kind of helicopter parent ! Get the hell out of my classroom before you make an even bigger fool of yourself ! " Camo Now ! 0.2 % Chapter 1 Her face was bright red , veins popping in her neck as she raised her hand- " STOP IT RIGHT NOW ! " The voice boomed from the doorway , making everyone freeze .