Winning Her Heart Back (Emelie and William) novel Chapter 800

At that time, Emelie was a freshman in high school.

It was a stage in high school where the academic pressure and the looming anxiety of college entrance exams hadn't yet fully taken hold.

As such, she would often find herself indulging in little moments of joy, like leaning out the window during evening study sessions to watch the sunset.

She believed that studying hard and enjoying youth didn't have to be mutually exclusive. However, not everyone shared her optimistic outlook.

There was a girl in her class who was always a top student, but she put immense pressure on herself. She was constantly doing practice tests, and even the slightest drop in her rank sent her into a panic.

The high pressure that she gave herself kept her grades fairly stable. It was until one time, during a major exam, something unexpected happened.

Everyone was shocked to see that her rank had plummeted by more than twenty spots. The day the results were posted, she broke down in tears right there in the classroom.

Emelie didn't know her well enough to comfort her properly, so she just handed her some tissues.

She couldn't help but wonder what had gone wrong. Dropping a few spots was normal, but to drop that many, something must have seriously gone wrong. Had something happened to her?

Later, during a break, Emelie ran into the girl in the restroom. She saw her frantically pumping out soap and scrubbing her hands as if she were trying to wash off something filthy, all the while crying.

Emelie and a few other girls who were there asked her what was wrong. She seemed to find it difficult to speak, only sobbing quietly.

Then, a senior student who happened to be there blurted out, "I just saw you coming out of the teacher's office. Did Baldy bully you?"

"Baldy" was their math teacher and also the grade-level coordinator. The girl was his class representative.

Emelie felt a chill run down her spine when she realized what the senior student meant by "bully".

The girl broke down completely, crouching down and crying as she said, "He threatened me. He said if I didn't do what he wanted, he'd make sure that I got a demerit. If I get a demerit, I'll lose ten points and get expelled. I'm only able to attend school because of a scholarship. I don't want to get expelled, I just want to go to college—"

They were attending the best high school in Coastalburg. Most of the students there either came from wealthy families or were top academic performers.