My Fake Boyfriend Is the School Bad Boy novel Chapter 180

Chapter 180 Taking Off My School Uniform

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The blue Ford truck idled at the curb. The diesel engine rumbled, shaking the damp street.

“I can stay, Ryder offered. He kept his large hands gripped tight on the steering wheel. The knuckles on his right hand looked white from the pressure. “I can walk you inside and wait.”

“You need to face your father,” I told him. I reached across the center console and touched his leather sleeve. “If you hide here, his corporate security team will tear this street apart. They will drag my mother into the crossfire.

“Call me,” he demanded. His hazel eyes searched my pale face. The raw protective instinct burned in his stare. “The minute you lock the

door. Do not hesitate.”

“I will call you.”

I opened the passenger door. The cold spring rain hit my cheeks. I stepped out of the truck. I forced him to go. I needed to face the

silence.

The front door clicked shut behind me. The deadbolt slid into place with a heavy metal thud.

I pulled my cell phone from my uniform skirt. I found his contact name and pressed the call button. He answered on the first ring.

“Are the locks secured?” he asked. The roar of his truck engine filled the background noise.

“I locked the deadbolt, I confirmed. “I am safe.”

“Good. Keep the plastic blinds closed. Do not answer the door for anyone.”

“Ryder,” I breathed. My voice shook. The panic began to thaw, replaced by a deep, crushing reality. “What happens now?”

“I drive through the iron gates. I handle my father. You take a breath. We survive this.”

“Okay.”

“I have to hang up. The security vehicles are blocking the road ahead. I…” He stopped. A rough sigh filtered through the speaker. “I am sorry I failed to protect your record, Raisa.”

“You did not fail me, I insisted. “Go.”

The line went dead.

I stood in the center of the cramped living room. The plastic blinds remained closed, blocking the morning sun. Shadows stretched across the faded rug. The house felt empty. My mother worked her morning shift at the diner. She scrubbed dishes, ignorant of the fact the

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Chapter 180 Taking Off My School Uniform

Crestview administration just banished her daughter from the campus.

I walked down the narrow hallway. The old floorboards creaked beneath my sneakers. I pushed my bedroom door open.

The space looked the exact same way it did three hours ago. The bed remained unmade. The digital clock read nine in the morning.

At nine in the morning on a Monday, I belonged in AP Chemistry. Mr. Harrison handed out the weekly lab assignments right now. He expected me to sit in the front row, holding my yellow pencil, ready to balance complex equations.

Instead, I stood in my bedroom.

I dropped my heavy canvas backpack onto the floor. It hit the wood with a dull thud.

I reached up and unbuttoned my official Crestview Prep blazer. The dark navy fabric felt heavy. I slipped my arms out of the sleeves. I held the jacket in my hands. The embroidered school crest sat on the left breast pocket. A golden shield surrounded by laurel leaves. It represented honor. It represented academic excellence.

It felt like a lie.

I opened my closet. I reached for a plastic hanger. I draped the blazer over the plastic. I pushed it to the back of the closet, hiding the golden shield behind my faded gray sweaters.

I unbuttoned my crisp white blouse. I unzipped the pleated navy skirt. I stripped off the uniform. Every piece of clothing felt tainted. The affluent elite stared at this uniform today and saw a fraud. They saw a transaction. They looked at the fabric and believed I sold my dignity to a billionaire heir.

I pulled on a pair of loose gray sweatpants and an oversized black t-shirt. The cotton offered comfort, but the cold chill remained deep in

my bones.

I sat on the edge of my mattress.

I reached into the pocket of my discarded blazer. I pulled out the crisp white envelope Principal Miller handed me. The official suspension notice. The Crestview Prep return address sat stamped in the top left corner.

I stared at the thick paper.

I needed to call her. I picked up my cell phone and dialed the diner.

A loud crash of ceramic plates echoed through the receiver, followed by the chaotic noise of the morning rush.

“Pete’s Diner, my mother answered. Her voice sounded rushed and out of breath. “Hold on, I need to grab a pen for this order.”

“Mom, I said.

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Chapter 180 Taking Off My School Uniform

“Raisa?” The background noise muffled a bit. She covered the receiver with her hand. ‘Why are you calling me? You should be in

chemistry.”

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A massive lump formed in my throat. I looked at the white envelope on the desk. The Crestview Prep return address mocked my silence.

“I am not in chemistry, I confessed. ‘I am in my bedroom.

“Are you sick?” she asked. The maternal panic crept into her tone. ‘Do you have a fever? I can ask Pete to let me leave early.”

“No. I am not sick. Do not leave your shift.

“Then why are you home?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. I lacked the courage to drop the suspension notice on her while she stood in a greasy diner kitchen. She deserved a face-to-face conversation. She deserved the truth without the sound of screaming cooks in the background.

“Principal Miller let me go home early, I lied. The deception tasted like ash. “I had a headache. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

My mother let out a long sigh. Get some rest, Raisa. Drink a glass of water. I will be home at six. We will figure this school mess out

together.”

“I know. I love you.”

‘I love you too. Go to sleep.”

I ended the call. I dropped the phone onto the mattress.

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