He exhaled, long and shaky. “I could lose my job.”

The term is a fascinating neologism. It blends "pet" (a favored animal) with the Latin petr- meaning rock or stone, suggesting someone who is an immovable fixture of the classroom—a pillar of performative excellence. In the lifestyle domain, being a "Kristal Summers" is not about being a suck-up; it is about curating a reputation of irreplaceable reliability.

He didn’t look up from grading. “We separated last month.”