Chapter 166

A world-class foodie, indeed!
Shanley stared at her for a second before a deep, melodious laugh escaped him, filling the car.
From the driver’s seat, Flint glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes widening. His boss was laughing. Actually, genuinely laughing. He never thought he’d live to see the day. It was… unsettling.
…
Meanwhile, the moment the final bell rang, Qadir and Queenie turned in their exams and bolted from the classroom.
“Juniper still isn’t back. I wonder what’s happening,” Qadir said, his face grim as he hurried down the hall.
“Mr. Schwartz should be here by now, right?” Queenie added, jogging to keep up. Her eyes were red-rimmed with worry. “Do you think she’s cleared her name?”
As they reached the stairwell, they saw the dean leading a group of senior-year teachers across the courtyard.
“Looks like they’re done dealing with Juniper’s cheating incident,” a student nearby whispered. “I wonder what the verdict was.”
“The verdict?” Jolene sneered, emerging from her classroom with a triumphant smirk. “Just look at the teachers’ faces. Does that look like good news to you? Juniper isn’t in the office and she isn’t back in class. There’s only one explanation.”
“What?” another student asked eagerly.
“Her parents obviously came and picked her up,” Jolene said, letting out a smug laugh. “Fighting, cheating on exams… What school would keep a student like that?!”
“That’s bullshit!” Qadir roared, spinning around to face her. “My friend Juniper would never cheat!”
Jolene’s face paled at his outburst, and she bit her lip, looking wounded. “But she—”
“Shut up,” Queenie cut her off coldly. “If I hear you say one more bad word about Juniper, I swear I’ll slap you.”
She had a strong suspicion Jolene was the one who reported Juniper in the first place.
“You don’t believe me?” Jolene retorted with a cold smile. “Just wait and see.”
Right on cue, Dolce, the class president, came panting up to them. “Queenie! Qadir!”
“Dolce!” they cried, rushing over to her. “Where’s Juniper?”
“Juniper’s gone,” Dolce gasped, bending over to catch her breath.
Gone? As in, expelled?
Qadir and Queenie’s faces went white This couldn’t be happening.
There had to be a mistake. Seer Actions speak louder than words,” Jolene gloated.
“I’m going to see Principal Salma,” Qadir said, ready to storm the principal’s office to demand justice for his friend.
“I’m coming with you,” Queenie declared.
“No, wait
Dolce grabbed Qadir’s
arm, finally catching her breath,
You’ve got it all wrong. Cathet
wasn’t expelled.”
“What?” Qadir and Queenie froze, while the smile on Jolene’s face vanished.
“Nope,” Dolce said, a huge grin
spreading across her face. “I just ran
into the physics teacher. He said
Juniper took the retest
and got perfect scores on both subjects.
Again.”
A stunned silence fell over the hallway.
Perfect scores? Again?