Chapter 3

I didn't speak fast, but every single word was a slap to her face.

Her mouth hung open, unable to find a comeback. She looked at Principal White for help.

Disappointment flashed across Principal White's face, and he raised his voice at me.

"Elena! Watch your mouth! This is an elite preparatory academy, not a flea market. You don't get to yell at people here!"

"Don't think that just because you won a few awards for the school in the past, you can look down on everyone. This is a meritocracy. You need to accept being replaced by someone more capable. Stop making a scene!"

All eyes turned to me. Everyone was waiting to see me ruin my reputation over a fifty-thousand-dollar scholarship grant.

Fifty thousand?

I wouldn't care if it were five hundred thousand. What I wanted was justice.

I didn't scream, and I didn't argue. I just gave them a sarcastic smile.

"Fine. I accept it. The Best Capstone Project award should indeed go to the 'more capable' student."

The moment I got back to my seat, two school-wide email notifications popped up on everyone’s phones.

[Student Elena Vance is suspected of academic dishonesty and has severely violated the honor code. Elena Vance's academic awards for this semester are officially revoked, and she is placed on immediate suspension.]

[Transfer student Chloe Miller, who bravely defended academic integrity and demonstrated outstanding performance, has brought great honor to our school. She is now awarded the research grant, replacing Elena Vance on all scholarship rosters.]

Immediately after, Principal White's voice blared through the school's PA system.

[Elena Vance, for violating school rules and showing disrespect to faculty, you are required to submit a five-thousand-word apology letter to the Dean of Students' office. Let this be a warning to all students!]

This was too much.

They stripped me of my project, turned me into a villain, put me on a public stage of shame, and used my humiliation to build up her authority.

The classroom fell dead silent. Even the hallway outside was quiet.

Everyone was looking at me with mixed emotions—some with pity, some with anger, and others with sheer amusement.

The notification remained pinned at the top of the student portal, as if waiting for me to bow my head in shame.

Principal White spoke through the PA again. [Elena Vance, did you hear me?]

I still didn't respond.

They kept repeating the announcement like crazy.

Lily sent me a Snapchat message: [Elena, don't be stubborn. Just apologize. Your graduation is on the line.]

I smiled at her, but tears welled up in my eyes.

I didn't reply. I turned off my phone, opened an elective textbook, and calmly started reading.

I went ahead and deactivated all my school portal accounts, fully accepting the suspension.

Principal White, claiming that a suspended student shouldn't occupy prime classroom space, moved my desk to the very back corner.

I was forced to endure the daily pitying and condescending stares of classmates walking by.

During lunch, the girls I used to eat with stopped inviting me. When Chloe walked past my desk, she tilted her cup, letting a few drops of her boba tea splash onto my notebook.

"Oh, my bad," she giggled, her eyes completely devoid of apology.

Chloe proudly sat in my former seat, ordering everyone in class around.

But my seat wasn't that easy to sit in.

Every step of that capstone project, from topic selection to data analysis, from literature review to final conclusion, was done entirely by me.

But Chloe knew absolutely nothing. Within days, several professors from the review board began questioning the authenticity of her project, demanding to see the raw sampling records and lab data.

The school was suddenly facing a major academic scandal.

Principal White finally couldn't take the pressure anymore. Swallowing his pride, he walked over to my desk in the corner.

"Elena, you were the one who collected the raw data for this project. The review board wants to verify the sources. Hand over the raw sampling logs and lab records to Chloe so she can submit them."