Chapter 63 Are You Also Worried About Isabella
Early the next morning, when Isabella returned to the classroom, she found that the desk next to hers was already empty.
She glanced around and saw that Violet had moved to sit next to Juniper. The seat had originally belonged to a boy, though she had no idea where he'd been moved to.
Isabella was now sitting alone.
"Isabella, come here for a moment."
Hannah entered through the back door and gently tapped her shoulder.
Isabella got up and followed her out.
At the homeroom teacher's office, Hannah looked at her. "Violet came to me this morning asking to change seats. I couldn't refuse because she was very firm about it, insisting she wouldn't sit with you. I was afraid that forcing her to stay would trigger a rebellious reaction and make things worse."
Isabella nodded. "I understand."
Hannah sighed and said earnestly, "I saw the post on the school forum. Isabella, even though everyone's saying this is your fault, I still need to tell you—don't worry about what others say. As your teacher, I don't think you did anything wrong."
"Ms. Nguyen, I know. I don't care about these things."
Having died once already, why would she care about gossip from a few middle school students?
Isabella only wanted to change her own fate and Violet's fate. For that, she would pay any price.
Nothing was more terrifying than death.
Hannah talked to her for a while longer, mostly words of comfort. She was probably worried that Isabella would feel down about being isolated, so she wanted to have a heart-to-heart talk.
Isabella understood Hannah's good intentions. Hannah had always been a dedicated and responsible teacher.
When Isabella left Hannah's office and returned to Class 11's classroom, several people looked at her as soon as she walked in.
"Look, she's back!"
"I bet Ms. Nguyen praised her again. After all, she scored points with Ms. Nguyen!"
"Did Isabella snitch just to get on the teacher's good side?"
"What? Does she want to be Ms. Nguyen's favorite?"
"So what if she's the favorite? Who would dare be friends with someone like her? Didn't you see Violet changed seats to avoid her? They must have had a falling out."
Someone sighed. "She's a transfer student to begin with, and now no one wants to hang out with her. How pitiful."
"Pitiful? You won't think she's pitiful when she reports on you. She deserves this!"
Violet heard the surrounding chatter too.
She glanced back and saw Isabella sitting there all alone. She suddenly felt a bit regretful about her decision.
But...
Violet clenched her fists, pushing these messy thoughts out of her mind.
"Violet, I have good news for you," Juniper suddenly said beside her.
"What?"
Juniper opened a job posting that was recruiting bar singers.
"A friend recommended this bar. They're looking for part-time singers, and I think you'd be perfect for it."
Violet's eyes lit up. "Where is it?"
"It's a bit far from school, about an hour by bike. But that's actually perfect, right? Near school, Ms. Nguyen might find out, but if it's far away, she won't."
Violet was tempted.
She had already made arrangements with that previous bar, but after Ms. Nguyen went there, the bar manager refused to hire her. She didn't dare try nearby places either, afraid of being discovered.
Juniper's news came at just the right time.
"Thank you, Juniper. I'll call the number after school."
"..."
News of Isabella being isolated quickly reached Elizabeth and the others.
That evening, when Elizabeth returned to the dorm, she glanced at Isabella smugly. "Doesn't feel good to be excluded by everyone, does it?"
Isabella raised her eyelids and looked at her lazily, already having a certain suspicion. "You posted it?"
"So what if I did?" Elizabeth said contemptuously. "Who told you to go against me?"
"Look, just because everyone knows you betrayed Violet, who in class still talks to you? Even Scarlett won't speak up for you. So what good did it do you to help her before? Those people won't remember your kindness at all. Why do you even bother?"
"Everyone in that class is ungrateful. Isabella, they're not worth being friends with."
After rattling off all this, Elizabeth looked at her with interest. "If you ask me, just give me back the watch, join us, and be my bodyguard. How about it?"
Isabella raised an eyebrow. "Be your bodyguard?"
"Yes." Elizabeth said seriously. "You're so good at fighting, even Wren is no match for you. If you become my bodyguard and we become friends with you, what do you think?"
"Be friends with someone who loves to snitch like me?" Isabella asked back.
"I don't care," Elizabeth said. "What I value is your fighting skills."
Isabella sneered. "And this watch in my hand, right?"
"Just tell me, will you agree or not?" Elizabeth asked impatiently.
"No."
Elizabeth immediately snorted coldly. "Already in this situation and still so proud. Isabella, you'll regret this."
Isabella couldn't be bothered with her.
——
Before they knew it, two weeks had passed since Violet changed seats.
That day, when Violet came to the classroom with Scarlett and the others, Violet couldn't help glancing at Isabella's seat, only to find it empty.
Isabella didn't come to class all day.
Scarlett noticed Violet frequently looking back at the last row and asked, "Violet, are you worried about Isabella too?"
Isabella always attended classes on time. This was the first time she'd disappeared for an entire day.
Scarlett had been trying to persuade Violet all this time, but Violet still seemed angry and unwilling to make up with Isabella.
Violet paused at Scarlett's words and immediately denied it. "How could that be? Why would I worry about her?"
Scarlett didn't call out Violet's true feelings. She could tell that Violet was stubborn but soft-hearted—she was actually just waiting for an apology from Isabella.
Since the incident, Isabella still hadn't apologized to Violet.
Scarlett had tried to persuade Isabella to have a proper talk with Violet. She felt that as long as Isabella was willing to apologize to Violet, Violet would definitely forgive her.
But Isabella was stubborn too, believing that reporting Violet was for Violet's own good. She said that Violet would naturally understand later, that she wasn't wrong, and didn't need to apologize at all.
Scarlett had a headache over this.