Chapter 172

Charlotte was honestly scary.
What kind of person was she, really?
“If you stick your nose in our business again, I’ll rip out your tongue and feed it to the dogs. Now scram.”
The girl’s legs nearly gave out. She stumbled back, then bolted out of the C-Class classroom.
Everyone else quickly dropped into their seats and clammed up. The exam rankings weren’t even posted yet and nobody actually knew what happened. Maybe they shouldn’t have jumped to trash-talk Shirley like that. In the few days since she joined C-Class, Shirley was always the first one in and the last one to leave. Everyone saw how hard she worked. She used to be a national competition champion. Was it really that wild for her to take first place?
But honestly, what everyone wanted to know now was… how did Charlotte do on the exam?
Just as things were calming down, Eleanor walked in, holding a sheet of paper. Her face was serious.
“Charlotte, Shirley, Andrew. Come to the office.”
A student in the front row caught a glimpse of the results.
Shirley: First place.
Olivia: Second.
They scanned all fifty names on the first page. Charlotte wasn’t on it.
“Charlotte didn’t even make the top fifty,” someone whispered. They turned to look at Charlotte, who was lounging in the back row, looking as chill as ever. There was a bit of sympathy in their eyes.
Honestly, Charlotte was the most righteous girl they’d ever met. It sucked that she lost her bet with Ronald and was about to get kicked out of Vanguard High.
“What are we going to do? Charlotte’s leaving.”
“I’ll actually miss her. Ever since she got here, nobody’s dared to pick a fight with C- Class.”
“Same. Maybe we can all sign something and ask the school to let her stay?”
“So Shirley’s being called in because people think she cheated by getting first, and Charlotte’s going because she failed. But what about Andrew? Why’s he going?”
Everyone looked confused. Did he cheat? With Andrew’s laid-back attitude, he wouldn’t even bother to copy answers if you handed them to Him. No way he’d go to the trouble of cheating. The idea was just O ridiculous.
“Let’s go,” Eleanor called again.
Shirley and Andrew stood up first. They shared a glance, then both looked at Charlotte, who still seemed completely unfazed.
Neither Shirley nor Andrew had cheated or done anything wrong They had nothing to worry about. But Charlotte? She didn’t even place second this time she’d definitely have to leave.
“Charlotte, don’t worry. If someone has to take the fall, I’ll do it,” Andrew said, suddenly serious.
Charlotte lifted her eyes, a slight smile tugging at her lips. She stood up, hands in her pockets, chin tipped up. “You’re taking the fall, right? Then you go first.”
Andrew shot Parrish a look, then strolled toward the door, acting like he didn’t have a care in the world.
Shirley grabbed Charlotte’s sleeve, pouting and trailing behind, clearly upset. Meanwhile, Charlotte herself didn’t look the least bit shaken.
In the office, Mr. Baker and Ronald were already waiting. Mr. Baker looked grim,
while Ronald grinned like he’d just won the lottery. The tension was thick.
As Eleanor brought the three of
them in, Ronald sat up straighter, eyes fixed on Charlotte. He couldn’t stop himself from smirking. t waited so long for this. Finally, the troublemaker was about to get what she deserved.