{"id":284,"date":"2026-06-11T08:28:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T08:28:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/?p=284"},"modified":"2026-06-11T08:28:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T08:28:38","slug":"i-dreamed-i-scored-the-winning-goal-what-the-boy-said-next-broke-his-teachers-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/?p=284","title":{"rendered":"\u201cI Dreamed I Scored the Winning Goal.\u201d What the Boy Said Next Broke His Teacher\u2019s Heart."},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"\"<\/p>\n

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\u201cWhy are you late again, Ethan?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Carter stood at the front of the classroom with her arms crossed.<\/p>\n

It was the third time that month.<\/p>\n

The other students turned to look at him as he hurried through the door, backpack hanging from one shoulder.<\/p>\n

Ethan was fifteen.<\/p>\n

Bright.<\/p>\n

Funny.<\/p>\n

And constantly late.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSorry, Ma\u2019am,\u201d he said, trying to catch his breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a dream I was playing in a football championship.\u201d<\/p>\n

The class chuckled.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Carter raised an eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh really?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAnd that made you late?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI scored the winning goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The room burst into laughter.<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter shook her head.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s not an excuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ethan grinned.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI know.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThen why didn’t you wake up?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The grin slowly faded.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBecause it was the first time my dad was in the stands.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The classroom fell silent.<\/p>\n

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Ethan looked down at his desk.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIn the dream, he was cheering for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nobody laughed anymore.<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter felt something twist inside her chest.<\/p>\n

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She knew Ethan’s father.<\/p>\n

Or at least she knew of him.<\/p>\n

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The man had never attended a single parent-teacher conference.<\/p>\n

Never showed up at school events.<\/p>\n

Never came to football games.<\/p>\n

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Whenever Ethan talked about sports, his father’s response was always the same.<\/p>\n

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“Stop wasting time and focus on something useful.”<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter cleared her throat.<\/p>\n

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\u201cTake your seat, Ethan.\u201d<\/p>\n

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He nodded quietly.<\/p>\n

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For the rest of the lesson, she couldn’t stop thinking about what he’d said.<\/p>\n

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The first time my dad was in the stands.<\/p>\n

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That afternoon, while grading papers, she noticed something.<\/p>\n

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Ethan’s assignments had changed.<\/p>\n

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His grades were slipping.<\/p>\n

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His usually neat handwriting looked rushed.<\/p>\n

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Something wasn’t right.<\/p>\n

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The next day, she asked him to stay after class.<\/p>\n

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\u201cIs everything okay at home?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ethan shrugged.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFine.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAre you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cYep.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The answer came too quickly.<\/p>\n

\n

Mrs. Carter waited.<\/p>\n

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Sometimes silence says more than questions.<\/p>\n

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After a moment, Ethan sighed.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMy dad lost his job.\u201d<\/p>\n

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She stayed quiet.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe\u2019s angry all the time now.\u201d<\/p>\n

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His eyes stayed fixed on the floor.<\/p>\n

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\u201cMom works nights.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Another pause.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSo I’ve been getting my little sister ready for school every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter blinked.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHow old is she?\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cSeven.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Suddenly the lateness made sense.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou take her to school?\u201d<\/p>\n

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He nodded.<\/p>\n

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\u201cEvery day.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cBy yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Another nod.<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter felt her heart sink.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDoes anyone help you?\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ethan laughed softly.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNot really.\u201d<\/p>\n

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For weeks, she’d assumed he was irresponsible.<\/p>\n

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In reality, he was carrying responsibilities most adults struggled with.<\/p>\n

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The following Friday was the school’s annual football match.<\/p>\n

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Ethan was the team’s captain.<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter noticed something immediately.<\/p>\n

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Every player’s family filled the bleachers.<\/p>\n

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Except Ethan’s section.<\/p>\n

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Three empty seats.<\/p>\n

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One for his mom.<\/p>\n

One for his dad.<\/p>\n

One for his sister.<\/p>\n

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All empty.<\/p>\n

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Ethan kept glancing toward them during warmups.<\/p>\n

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Then looking away.<\/p>\n

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As if he already knew.<\/p>\n

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The game began.<\/p>\n

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The opposing team was stronger.<\/p>\n

Faster.<\/p>\n

More experienced.<\/p>\n

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By halftime, Ethan’s team was losing 2\u20130.<\/p>\n

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Many students had already given up hope.<\/p>\n

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But Ethan didn’t.<\/p>\n

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He ran harder.<\/p>\n

Passed smarter.<\/p>\n

Encouraged every teammate.<\/p>\n

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Late in the second half, they scored.<\/p>\n

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2\u20131.<\/p>\n

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Then another.<\/p>\n

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2\u20132.<\/p>\n

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The crowd exploded.<\/p>\n

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Only minutes remained.<\/p>\n

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One final attack.<\/p>\n

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The ball landed at Ethan’s feet.<\/p>\n

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He sprinted.<\/p>\n

Dodged one defender.<\/p>\n

Then another.<\/p>\n

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The goalkeeper rushed forward.<\/p>\n

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Ethan struck the ball.<\/p>\n

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The stadium held its breath.<\/p>\n

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GOAL.<\/p>\n

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The whistle blew.<\/p>\n

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They had won.<\/p>\n

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Students stormed the field.<\/p>\n

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Teammates lifted Ethan onto their shoulders.<\/p>\n

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Everyone was cheering.<\/p>\n

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Everyone except Ethan.<\/p>\n

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Because even in that moment, his eyes searched the crowd.<\/p>\n

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Searching for someone.<\/p>\n

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Someone who wasn’t there.<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter saw it.<\/p>\n

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The disappointment.<\/p>\n

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The heartbreak.<\/p>\n

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The hope slowly fading.<\/p>\n

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After the celebration ended, she walked over.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou played beautifully.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cThanks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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But he didn’t sound happy.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYour dad would’ve been proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ethan laughed.<\/p>\n

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A sad laugh.<\/p>\n

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\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter didn’t know what to say.<\/p>\n

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Then a voice echoed from behind them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cYou’re wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

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They both turned.<\/p>\n

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A man stood near the fence.<\/p>\n

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Disheveled.<\/p>\n

Nervous.<\/p>\n

Holding a folded jacket.<\/p>\n

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Ethan froze.<\/p>\n

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\u201cDad?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The man swallowed hard.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI got here late.\u201d<\/p>\n

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His voice cracked.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut I saw the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ethan stared.<\/p>\n

Unable to speak.<\/p>\n

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For a moment, nobody moved.<\/p>\n

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Then his father walked forward.<\/p>\n

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Slowly.<\/p>\n

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Like a man carrying years of regret.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI haven’t been a very good father.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Tears filled Ethan’s eyes.<\/p>\n

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His father continued.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI kept waiting until I had money.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cUntil I had success.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cUntil I felt worthy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut all I did was miss your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The football field fell silent around them.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI’m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Those two words hit Ethan harder than any tackle ever could.<\/p>\n

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Because they were the words he’d waited years to hear.<\/p>\n

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His father opened his arms.<\/p>\n

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For a second, Ethan just stood there.<\/p>\n

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Then he ran forward.<\/p>\n

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And hugged him.<\/p>\n

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The crowd around them began clapping.<\/p>\n

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Mrs. Carter wiped tears from her eyes.<\/p>\n

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Later, as the sun set over the field, Ethan’s father sat beside him in the bleachers.<\/p>\n

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For the first time.<\/p>\n

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Not because of a dream.<\/p>\n

Not because of a wish.<\/p>\n

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But because he was finally there.<\/p>\n

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And as they watched the empty field together, Ethan smiled.<\/p>\n

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The dream that had made him late that morning?<\/p>\n

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It hadn’t come true exactly the way he imagined.<\/p>\n

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But in the end…<\/p>\n

He got something even better.<\/p>\n

\n

His father finally showed up. \u2764\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhy are you late again, Ethan?\u201d Mrs. Carter stood at the front of the classroom with her arms crossed. It was the third time that month. The other students turned … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":285,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=284"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":286,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/284\/revisions\/286"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/readrealstory.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}