Chapter
Hearing the question, Leila quickly retorted, âNo, thatâs not true! Stop spreading rumors.â
The girl just smirked. âIâm not making stuff up. Itâs all over the school, and I heard it straight from a cop!â
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 Leilaâs past misdeedsâlike stealing money and framing Merryâwere dug up, tarnishing her reputation overnight.
Someone shouted, âYouâre 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?â
Leilaâs brow furrowed. She didnât 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 frontârow student, one of the teacherâs 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 performancesânow, 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 .
Leila became the pariah, the one everyone loved to hate.
Walking to the cafeteria, she could hear the whispers:
âThat girl plays the innocent, but sheâs rotten to the core! Even her own mom wonât bring her lunch, only to Merry!â
âHow frightening. Merry might seem loud and brash, but when you think about it, sheâs 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 wasnât single empty table.
Leila, holding her food, was told, âSorry, this seatâs taken,â 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-
âSplash!â
Someone spilled a drink all over her, feigning shock, âOh my gosh, Iâm so sorry! It was an accidentâplease donât post this online and ruin my life like you did to Merry!â
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. âWhoops, my bad! Didnât see you there. You okay? Want me to take you to the nurse?â
The surrounding students, all from his class, chimed in, âItâs just a bump. Merry got hit before and she was fine. Whatâs her problem?â
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 teacherâs office.
Knocking on the door, she was greeted with a âCome in.â She entered, finding only Latham inside.
Lathamâs face fell when he saw her, but his professionalism prevented him from being outright rude. He asked, âWhatâs up? Your teacher isnât here.â
Leila burst out, âMr. Latham, I was looking for you. Daniel from your class intentionally hit me in the head with a basketballâ¦â
Tears started streaming down her face.
Latham, seeing her distress, handed her a tissue. After hearing the whole story, he stood up abruptly, saying sternly, âYou were hit? Letâs get you to the nurse! And Iâll talk to Daniel!â
Leila felt a brief moment of relief. They went to the nurse, and after being checked out and given an ointmentâpaid for by Latham himselfâhe escorted her back to class and returned to his own.
to hear Danielâs reprimand, Leila left the classroom and hid near the office door, overhearing Danielâs defiant voice, âShe had it coming for messing with Merry, I was just teaching her a lesson. Since when canât someone take a hit from a ball? Others have been hit before. Whyâs she so special? And you, taking her to the nurseâplease, I canât stand her act!â
Latham shot back, âYou canât go around hitting people with basketballs. Besides, itâs not for you to judge right from wrong!â
Daniel, indignant, replied, âI canât stand by and watch this happen!â
Latham retorted, âThen become a judge, and you can deal with these things properly!â
Daniel chuckled, a wry smile playing at the corners of his mouth. âAlright then, Latham. You just wait and
see.â
As fate would have it, Daniel did indeed go on to become a judge, but thatâs story for another day. At that moment, Latham was giving him a piece of his mind. âListen here, you rascal, thereâs a thing called , and âMr. Lathamâ is what you should be calling meânot just âLathamâ like weâre buddies at a ball game. And another thing, do you have any idea how inappropriate your actions were? Suppose Leila claims sheâs got a concussionâthat could be serious business. Youâve just gone and made a whole heap of trouble.
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Chapter 175