Nicole watched as Mr. Kennedy shrieked like a butchered animal and said coldly, “Sorry, I didn’t see you walking here.”
“You didn’t see me? Where are your eyes?” Mr. Kennedy yelled out of embarrassment, looking like he wanted to eat her alive.
Nicole smiled instantly. Though it was just a faint smile, it was radiant. “What else could it be? Do I have to give you presents, Mr. Kennedy?” “What?” Mr. Kennedy was stunned as he had no idea what Nicole was talking about.
“Mr. Kennedy, you were so angry just now. Shouldn’t I give you presents as a token of apology?” Nicole’s words made the people around them think of Ms. Emerson, whom Mr. Kennedy had just scolded.
Everyone knew how the Director of the Department always had Ms. Emerson’s back against the wall, so she probably had no choice but to give the director presents. Then, all of them started to look at Ms. Emerson with sympathy.
Mr. Kennedy sensed what Nicole had implied and got livid. But he could not do anything to Nicole, so he just turned around and yelled at Ms. Emerson, “Look at the attitude of the student you teach!”
At that moment, Mr. Kennedy was not in the mood to mock Ms. Emerson anymore. He was so in pain that he had to look for some ointments back in the office.
It was Ms. Emerson’s first time seeing Mr. Kennedy getting so enraged by a student. She let out a laugh as she watched his disheveled self running away with tea leaves all over him. The sadness and grievance she got from his yelling had disappeared without a trace.
It seemed like Nicole had helped her just now.
Ms. Emerson felt a little guilty as she thought about how she did not like Nicole and was reluctant to have Nicole in her class last time.
However, Nicole had already turned around and left the office, ignoring everyone’s reaction.
Ms. Emerson watched Nicole leave as she felt warm inside. After the morning class ended, Nicole got up and walked to the cafeteria as it was now lunchtime.
She did not wait for Bradley and Lulu today. Though she was early, she could not help but knit her brows at the sight of the crowded cafeteria. Unbeknownst to her, a frown on her delicate face made her extra charming, awing many boys around her.
Norah was sitting with her classmates as Celia shot her a look. “Your sister from the countryside is here.”
Norah turned around and saw how much of an eyesore Nicole was. She could not help but feel
a little jealous.
In order to draw the attention to herself, she fought back the upset feeling she had yesterday and waved to Nicole with a smile on her face.
“Here, Sis!”
The word “sis” stunned numerous people in an instant.
“Is Norah calling Nicole sis?”
“No way; I heard that transfer student is from the countryside, no?”
“Is she from the Riddle family as well?”. When Norah heard the discussions about Nicole, she could not help but put her nose in the air while looking at Nicole arrogantly.
No matter how beautiful Nicole was, everyone would remember that she was from the countryside as long as they compared her to Norah.
Subsequently, when everyone thought they knew the relationship between Norah and Nicole, Nicole looked away as if she did not see Norah. She then sat on an empty seat.
Norah froze. ‘Did this country bumpkin just ignore me?!’
The people around them immediately said, “Nicole doesn’t seem to know Norah…”
“True. Nicole is so pretty, while Norah just looks average. How could they be sisters?”
These remarks drifted into Nicole’s ears, and her face started to burn with embarrassment.
‘I’m indeed not as pretty as Nicole. But how can they just ignore the fact that Nicole is a country bumpkin just because she’s pretty?’
Celia could not stand it anymore as well. “Don’t waste your energy calling her here. She’s just a country bumpkin. What right does she have to sit with us?”
That was when Norah started to feel better. She said pretentiously, “I’m just worried about her. Nobody wants to approach her after knowing she’s from the countryside.” While Norah spoke, the cafeteria door opened, and someone yelled, “Austin Woods is here!” Everyone threw their graze in Nicole’s direction as soon as they heard Austin was here. They all knew how Nicole had embarrassed Austin in the cafeteria last time, so they thought he wanted to make her pay today. Hence, they started to walk away, keeping a distance from Nicole.
The boys wanting to hit on her were also terrified. Like the crowd, they ran away from her when they heard Austin’s name.
It did not take long before the space around Nicole was emptied, which made her stand out even more in the cafeteria.
Norah was delighted when she saw that and thought, ‘This is how a country bumpkin should be treated!
‘Everyone should just treat her like a virus!
‘Nicole even bluffed about Austin asking her to be his boss back then. I would like to see if she was telling the truth!’
Austin strutted into the cafeteria with his followers under hundreds of eyes. His gaze swept across the cafeteria sharply as if he was looking for someone. Suddenly, he caught sight of Nicole, and his eyes sparkled. He then strode toward her. The people all thought that Austin was going to show Nicole who was the boss, so they got their popcorn ready. Norah was also waiting for Austin to slap Nicole’s face brutally.
However, Austin stopped next to Nicole and greeted her; “Hey, Boss!” Everyone was stunned as they thought he had misheard him! Eventually, Austin’s followers greeted her as well, “Hey Boss! We heard you were in the cafeteria, so we’re here to make way for you!”
At that moment, everyone was in shock. All they could do was stare at Nicole in a daze.
‘Did we hear it wrong? Did Austin address Nicole as his boss?!’
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: My Wife Act Differently Behind Me