Chapter 92

Claire picked up on what Edison really meant. “Okay,” she said.

Edison handed her the backpack at last.

Claire and Sophia walked into the classroom together. Outside, Edison and Cicely headed off campus.

As soon as they sat down, Sophia leaned over, grinning. “Claire, your uncle is seriously amazing. If he’d actually kicked Jasper, that guy would never walk the same again p>

Claire smiled at the memory. “My uncle’s not reckless. He just wanted to scare Jasper. He was never planning to actually hurt him p>

Sophia nodded, her eyes shining. “That was a warning. Telling Jasper not to go around thinking with… you know p>

“And the way he talked to me today? He could easily say the same thing to someone else tomorrow. Jasper’s parents really dropped the ball with him p>

Sophia agreed without hesitation.

Cindy, spotting them back in class, let out a breath of relief.

“Claire, are you two alright?” she asked softly. “Did the teachers give you any trouble p>

Molly turned around too. She wasn’t worried about Claire at all—she just wanted the gossip on how the school planned to punish them. Fighting in the cafeteria was a big deal, and with Claire’s family background gone and Jasper obviously coming from money, Molly wondered if Jasper’s parents would push for Claire to be expelled.

She watched Claire with eager eyes, hoping for some drama.

But she was about to be disappointed.

“We’re fine. Jasper has to write a self-reflection,” Claire said.

“And he has to apologize to us in front of the whole school,” Sophia added, unable to hide her satisfaction.

Molly stared at them, completely shocked. “Wait, what? You guys beat him up, and he’s the one who has to apologize p>

All around them, classmates who

had been pretending not to listen perked up. They wanted to know how the school would handle Claire, too. When they heard Jasper was the one being punished, some nodded as it was just what they expected, while others looked like they couldn’t believe it.

Suddenly, everyone was whispering.

“No way, I saw Claire and Sophia really do a number on him p>

“Yeah, with the black eyes he’s got, even his parents wouldn’t recognize him p>

“Guess the school still wants Claire around. Whether or not she’s the James family heiress, her grades speak for themselves p>

“They’re probably hoping she’ll be the top scorer in the college entrance exam. Everyone knows how smart she is p>

Cindy seemed almost stunned by the result.

“Did Lance help you?” she suddenly blurted out.

“What? You think Lance stepped in for me?” Claire picked up on what Cindy was

really hinting at. “Wait, did you tell him about the fight p>

Cindy looked a little guilty. “I was just

worried you couldn’t handle it on

your own Claire, you didn’t want

me to tell Lance? But, even if you’re

not part of the James family anymore, Lance and my parents are stiffyour family. They’d definitely help if you needed it p>

Claire raised her eyebrows, not sure what Cindy was really after. Did Cindy even realize that saying this made it look like the James family. still cared

bout her? That wasn’t

what Cindy wanted at all.

“Claire, don’t be so stubborn with Mom and Dad,” Cindy went on. “They only sent

you to the countryside so you could spend time with Grandma p>

“After all, she’s your family too. We can’t just leave her behind p>