Chapter 31
Almost everyone turned to look at Noelle, including Xenia, who looked especially tense.
Before anyone could speak, Xenia cut in. “Noelle Gwen and several others have accused you of cheating before, so you must understand how I feel right now. I know you’ve always hated me, but we’re family, aren’t we?”
Seeing how nervous Xenia was, Noelle realized that there were times when even she could feel fear.
Noelle said calmly, “I seem to recall Xenia turning her head.” She was simply stating the truth, yet Xenia’s eyes instantly went red with panic.
“How could you say that, Noelle? Earlier, you said Gwen was lying.”
Betty quickly agreed. “Yeah, we heard you earlier Who would believe you if you keep changing your story, Noelle?”
Noelle lazily said, “I wasn’t really thinking hard earlier, so it just came to my mind.”
Xenia was furious and cursed Noelle inwardly. She stared at Lionel pitifully and argued, “I really didn’t cheat. I only turned around because Gwen was calling me. I didn’t even know it was there. She must have tossed the note into my desk compartment when I wasn’t paying
attention.”
Lionel
had been buying Xenia’s story, suddenly thought of the incident where Noelle had been falsely accused of cheating. Now, he couldn’t help but question Xenia’s character.
Eventually, he ordered, “Xenia, Gwen, follow me to the office.”
Noelle stayed seated as her classmates began gossiping about the incident. Unbothered, she opened her textbook to gauge how she’d done on the exam.
Not long after, Sophia Miller approached her. “Mr. Kramer wants you in the office.”
Noelle had anticipated this to happen, so she got up and left. At the office, she noticed that Gwen was nowhere to be found. Instead, Frank was present. She figured that Xenia must have called in backup.
With tears churning in her eyes, Xenia glanced at Noelle and asked, “Do you hate me that much, Noelle? What do I have to do to get you to forgive me?”
Noelle remained calm. “I was just stating what I saw. If I really wanted to ruin you, I would’ve just said that I saw you cheating.”
Xenia’s face immediately flushed red.
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