She attended the meeting and elegantly put everyone in their place.
As usual, Olya was putting her daughter, Oksana, to bed.
The girl tossed and turned, refusing to listen to a fairy tale.
Instead, she asked her mother to tell her something about her father, who had died a couple of years ago.
— Your dad was a very brave man, — Olya began in a soft voice.
— He worked as a mountaineer for a construction company.
He was entrusted with the most dangerous heights.
And you know, he loved you incredibly.
He always called you his princess, — she added with a slight sadness in her eyes.
Oksana finally calmed down and, falling asleep, no longer asked questions about how her father had died.
She didn’t even suspect that the cause of his death was a tragic workplace accident due to the lack of necessary equipment.
The management saved money on basic safety measures, and now Grisha was gone.
He had barely turned thirty, and his whole life was still ahead of him.
Olya tucked her daughter in and lay down herself.
However, sleep wouldn’t come.
Thoughts about the past uneasily swirled in her head.
In their small one-room apartment, where everything reminded her of family losses, the woman couldn’t distract herself from memories of her parents.
Both of them had died from alcohol addiction, despite all her attempts to help them.
They had long stopped paying attention to the feelings of their daughter, but the glass was always more important.
They didn’t even care about their granddaughter.
After their death, the apartment was inherited by Olya, but it didn’t bring her much joy.
Only bitterness and the pain of loss.
Only after an hour, shedding many tears, did Olya manage to calm down and fall asleep.
The morning began in a rush.
Mother and daughter nearly overslept for school and work.
Olya hurriedly put Oksana into her not-so-new school uniform.
She bought the clothes for the girl second-hand, from ads.
Fortunately, there was always the kind neighbor, Ekaterina Arkadyevna, nearby.
She helped with Oksana: took her to school, read fairy tales, and played with her.
Without this support, it would have been hard for Olya.
Her colleagues at the store, where she worked as a janitor, looked down on her.
Especially those who considered single mothers second-class citizens.
“Stupid failures,” — they would say behind her back, though Olya tried not to pay attention to their jabs.
Things at work weren’t going smoothly either.
Olya didn’t like the relationships between the salespeople.
For example, Nadya, who had recently arrived from the province, did everything to stand out.
She flirted with customers and deceived them during checkout.
Her dream was to find a rich husband and live a life of leisure.
The job at the store was just a temporary measure for her.
Another employee, Toma, was constantly jealous of Olya.
She was irritated by Olya’s long braid, slim figure, and even her soft character.
Jealousy was ruining her soul, and she found reasons to mock her.
The day started badly.
A regular “client” came into the store, who often picked on Olya.
This time, he managed to step on the freshly cleaned floor and smear dirt.
Then, he demanded the complaint book to write a complaint about the janitor.
— Here you go, — Nadya smirked, handing him the book.
Toma also didn’t hide her gloating.
Olya was deeply upset.
She understood that if the boss found out about the complaint, he might just fire her.
Then she’d have to look for another job, which in these times seemed almost impossible.
After work, Olya picked up her daughter from Ekaterina Arkadyevna.
Oksana came home crying.
— Everyone in class is laughing at me, — she sobbed.
— They’re calling me a beggar because of my clothes!
The neighbor, hearing these words, stood up for Olya:
— What are you talking about?
Oksana is always neatly dressed!
Don’t let anyone humiliate you!
Olya calmed down a little but decided that she would definitely talk to the class teacher the next day.
The situation required decisive action.
Besides, Ekaterina Arkadyevna noticed that she had seen the girl upset more than once.
The next morning, Olya went to the school.
Unfortunately, the teacher turned out to be ineffective.
She only complained about the new principal, Vyacheslav Ivanovich, and advised Olya to go directly to him.
The principal greeted her in an expensive suit that immediately revealed his attitude toward money.
The conversation started off poorly.
He didn’t even listen to Olya, but instead scolded her for not paying money for the school repairs on time.
— What does that have to do with my problem? — the woman was outraged.
— My daughter is suffering because she’s being bullied in class, while I’m doing everything I can to make sure she looks good!
— If you want your daughter to be respected, take an active part in the life of the school, — the principal replied coldly.
Olya left the school with a heavy heart.
When she got home, she told everything to the neighbor.
She listened to the story and offered her help.
— Take this, — said Ekaterina Arkadyevna, taking her piggy bank out of the closet.
— This is for healing your soul.
You can pay it back when you can.
— No, I can’t! — Olya protested, but the neighbor insisted.
Meanwhile, the situation at school was getting worse.
The teachers began lowering Oksana’s grades.
One day, on her way home, Olya saw a little puppy.
She decided to take it with her, and Oksana was beside herself with joy.
But in the evening, while browsing social media, Olya came across an ad about a lost dog.
She decided to call the owner, despite knowing it would upset her daughter.
A while later, a man in his sixties came to them.
His appearance spoke of wealth.
Olya invited him for tea, and he introduced himself as Eduard Borisovich.
— Thank you for finding Mukhtar, — he said.
— This is the last memory of my son.
Seeing how attached the girl had become to the puppy, he added:
— Let him stay with you for now.
Why are you so sad?
Unable to hold back, Olya told him about the problems with her daughter and the school.
The businessman promised to help.
The next day, he came to the parent-teacher meeting in Oksana’s class.
Right in front of the principal, he threw a bundle of money on the table and said:
— Is this enough?
Now leave the child alone.
The teachers fell silent, embarrassed.
The businessman took Olya by the arm, and they left the room.
This incident went viral online, and soon the principal was fired in disgrace.
Olya sincerely thanked Eduard Borisovich, who continued to keep in touch with them.
He admitted that he had always dreamed of having a granddaughter like Oksana.
The found puppy became a symbol of change for the family.
The businessman helped Olya get a good job with a decent salary.
Life began to improve, and the difficulties gradually became a thing of the past.
