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AN:

Hi guys, I'm sorry for making you wait for the updates. There was an emergency. My Mom was admitted into the hospital and I was taking care of her. Thank God she has been discharged, but I got so tired because I didn't have a proper sleep, hence the delayed update.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

I'm walking down the hallway of my school with a heavy heart, still remembering the incident with Mikaela and Tyler yesterday. The conversation with the vice principal yesterday afternoon keeps playing in my head, and I hope that I'll get an update about the issue this morning.

While I'm heading toward my classroom as usual with my backpack slung across my shoulders, the sight before me suddenly makes me halt.

There in front of the principal's office, many students have gathered, whispering to each other. Some look angry, some have sympathy crossing their expression, while some others look bloody curious.

My heart thumping hard, I rush there, making my way through a bunch of people with difficulty. When I finally come face to face with the door to the principal's office, which is closed, I hear a heated argument from the room. The voices sound like they belong to parents, frantic and furious.

"Are you aware of the accusation you just threw at my son?" a man shouts inside the principal's office. "The CCTV recording didn't even do any justice. My son was just at the wrong place and the wrong time."

"We have investigated that, and there were many witnesses." Now, it's the principal's voice. "It is clear that your son intended to harm Ms. Klein. That goes to your daughter too, Mrs. Frost. She was the one who pushed her in the first place."

"Mikaela would never do something like that." A woman's voice, a high-pitched one, echoes from inside the room, followed by Mikaela's sobs.

The woman's voice then softens, whispering something to her daughter -- it seems that she's hugging Mikaela, trying to soothe her.

"My beautiful and kind-hearted Mikaela would never harm any person. The angle of the camera made it seem like she was at fault, while it's clear that the girl threatened and pushed my daughter first," she yells. "My daughter was just trying to protect herself."

"It is crystal clear that your daughter was at fault," the principal says firmly, now sounding impatient. "If Mr. Cooper hadn't saved Ms. Klein on time, this school might have had its first murder case."

Silence fills the principal's room, and I can hear the students' whispers around me getting louder.

"That's nonsense," Mikaela's mother yells again. "This is such an insult to our family, and we will sue you and this school for defamation."

"Are you suggesting that we call the cops instead, Mrs. Frost?" the principal's voice becomes menacing, and a deadly silence creeps in again.

"Are you threatening us?" Tyler's father lashes out. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr. Anderson." His voice turns icy and low, sending chills through my body. "Do you not know how close I am to the person who--"

"Mr. Gates," the principal cuts him off, just when I start to feel nauseous.

This conversation of threatening someone by misusing one's power and authority makes me feel sick in my stomach.

"We both know that neither of us would want to expose this incident to the cops and media." The principal's voice is deadly. "Have you ever thought about what would happen if I let your son exposed to the media? I'm sure that it wouldn't be good for your next election, Mr. Gates. You should be grateful that I'm doing my best to not let this incident reach the media, which would be impossible if Mr. Lucas Klein hears about this."

Another silence falls, and I shut my eyes in frustration. Knowing Dad, he wouldn't hesitate to destroy Tyler's father's career as a politician -- Dad would even try his best to put Tyler and Mikaela in jail.

Tyler's father's election to be the next governor is coming up, and this incident would blow up the country if it were exposed -- oh God, would the president know too? Of course, he would, Luna.

I prefer a peaceful resolution. It's better for Tyler's and Mikaela's families, for this school, and me. But peaceful would not be in Dad's dictionary if he knew about the incident.

I don't want the world to know that I'm the girl who got bullied in school.

While the eyes of everyone in the hallway are on me, my gaze darts on Rory and Nadine, who are standing near the door to the principal's office.

Nadine is crying softly, while Rory wraps her arms around her, looking as pale as a white paper.

Whispers around me fill my ears.

"They're expelled. It's the final decision."

"They're guilty, and it was proven by the CCTV. I never thought that Mikaela would do something like that. Love made you do crazy things."

"Tyler too. Did you hear what he said to Max? Do you think that it's true?"

My heart is beating so fast from knowing that Tyler and Mikaela got this punishment because of what they did to me. Even though they are horrible, I can't help but feel restless.

Sighing, I turn around, only to collide with someone's chest. When I look up, I see Max staring at the door to the principal's office, like he just arrived and is now adsorbing the situation too.

"Max." My voice is shaking as I whisper to him, and when his gaze darts on my face, his eyes soften. It feels like magic that I don't have to say it out loud to make him understand what I feel.

"They deserve it," he says, dead serious.


As the break between classes comes, I find myself sitting inside the vice principal's office again. He has called me here to update me about what happened earlier this morning, and I can't help but ask him to confirm the school's decision.

"Expelled?"

"Yes, expelled," the vice-principal says. "Both Ms. Frost and Mr. Gates are now expelled from this school."

"But you said that they would be suspended until further notice," I blurt out.

"We have made our final decision based on our emergency internal meeting yesterday evening."

"So soon?" I echo. I've never thought that they would declare their final decision so soon, considering the fact that Tyler's and Mikaela's families have quite an influence, especially Tyler's.

The vice-principal sighs, looking at me with sympathy, just like yesterday when I was crying in front of him.

Yes, I was crying, begging him to not involve my parents in this.

Even though that might not be the entire reason why they don't let my parents know, I'm still grateful for that.

"We understand that you don't want your parents to know about this," the vice-principal says. "But there's a possibility that your father would eventually know." His voice softens, and I can hear how he's very much ashamed about the decision that the school has made. "When that happens, I'm sure that your father will be livid if he knows that Mikaela and Tyler still study in the same school as yours. We wouldn't want to cross him, Ms. Klein, and we're very sorry that it's the least we could do."


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