Chapter 175
Hearing the question, Leila quickly retorted, “No, that’s not true! Stop spreading rumors.”
The girl just smirked. “I’m not making stuff up. It’s all over the school, and I heard it straight from a cop!”
The truth is something the police keep close to their chest, but a slice of it, just enough to ensure justice, is often shared with the public. So, the word on the street was that Leila had set up Merry
Now, the whole school was buzzing.
Merry had become the hero who exposed the shady dealings at Elite Future Academy, and Leila was cast as the villain who tried to bring her down,
Suddenly, all of Leila’s past misdeeds–like stealing money and framing Merry–were dug up, tarnishing her reputation overnight.
Someone shouted, “You’re still denying it? Then why were you called out by the principal yesterday? And why do you have to stand up during the assembly this morning and apologize in front of everyone?”
Leila’s brow furrowed. She didn’t say anything, just lowered her head.
When the first class started, the homeroom teacher walked in, saw Leila, and told her to stand at the back of the room to write an apology before the lesson began.
Leila had been a front–row student, one of the teacher’s favorite student.
As she made her way to the back, someone deliberately tripped her. She stumbled and fell, grazing her palm in the process. Even so, the eyes of her classmates and teacher were filled with disdain.
Standing at the back, she leaned her notebook against the wall and began to write her apology.
During the big break, she was called on to the stage for the first time to make her public confession. She had been on that stage before, but always for awards or performances–now, it was for shame.
Facing a sea of students, she bowed her head.
At lunchtime, Paulina brought over a meal and called Merry to pick it up. Merry refused, so Paulina found someone else to deliver it. The fact that the Jordans had prepared lunch for Merry and Cordelia, but not for Leila, spread like wildfire through the school.
Leila became the pariah, the one everyone loved to hate.
Walking to the cafeteria, she could hear the whispers:
“That girl plays the innocent, but she’s rotten to the core! Even her own mom won’t bring her lunch, only to Merry!”
“How frightening. Merry might seem loud and brash, but when you think about it, she’s never really done anything wrong.”
Leila kept her head down as she passed the whispering students. She got her food and looked for a seat, but as soon as she spotted an open spot, someone else took it.
The cafeteria was crowded, and every seat was taken. Usually, friends would gather to eat together, but there wasn’t a single empty table.
Leila, holding her food, was told, “Sorry, this seat’s taken,” wherever she went.
Frustrated and on the verge of tears, she wandered the cafeteria without finding a place to sit
Angry, she dumped her food in the trash and stormed out.
to sit
Just as she left-
“Splash!”
Someone spilled a drink all over her, feigning shock, “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! It was an accident–please don’t post this online and ruin my life like you did to Merry!”
The others burst into laughter.
Seething. Leila kept her head down and walked away, towards the sports field. Then, a basketball flew straight at her head!
Dazed and seeing stars, she fell to the ground. When she got up, she saw Daniel, the class president and math representative, with no hint of remorse. “Whoops, my bad! Didn’t see you there. You okay? Want me to take you to the nurse?”
The surrounding students, all from his class, chimed in, “It’s just a bump. Merry got hit before and she was fine. What’s her problem?”
Daniel then turned and walked back to the game with his friends.
Leila, barely on her feet, and those people were already gone.
Biting her lip and feeling the throbbing pain in her head, she ran to the teacher’s office.
Knocking on the door, she was greeted with a “Come in.” She entered, finding only Latham inside.
Latham’s face fell when he saw her, but his professionalism prevented him from being outright rude. He asked, “What’s up? Your teacher isn’t here.”
Leila burst out, “Mr. Latham, I was looking for you. Daniel from your class intentionally hit me in the head with a basketball…”
Tears started streaming down her face.
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