Chapter 107 Pretending
Chapter 107 Pretending
ZOE'S POINT OF VIEW
"The BBC girls have been expelled."My eyes widened.
“What?”Maya immediately grabbed my arm before I could raise my voice any louder.
“Shh!”
“What do you mean they were expelled?” I whispered, staring at her in disbelief.
“All three of them?”She nodded.
“Bianca, Blair and Claire. All three.”I sat upright so quickly that my chair almost scraped against the floor.
“I don’t understand.” My voice came out barely above a whisper.
“I thought…”I stopped.
There were so many things I had thought would happen after yesterday.
I had expected them to get punished. Maybe detention. Maybe suspension. Maybe a warning from the principal.
But expelled?That was something else entirely.
Maya glanced around the classroom before leaning closer to me.
“Come on. Look around.”I slowly turned my head.
That was when I started noticing it.Almost everyone had their phones out.
The classroom was filled with whispers, overlapping voices and shocked reactions.
“Wait, Bianca was actually expelled?”
“All three of them?”
“No way.”
“I heard their parents were called.”
“Apparently the principal didn't even listen to them.”
“My goodness…”
“I never thought the school would actually do it.”
“I thought Bianca's father would stop it.”Another student shook his head.
“Same. Her dad is practically best friends with Mr. Charles.”My eyes returned to Maya.
“But Bianca's dad is close to Andy's dad,” I whispered.
“Everyone knows that.”Maya nodded.
“Exactly. That's why I was surprised too.”She lowered her voice even further.
“I actually heard that their parents came to the school.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Apparently, there was a whole scene in the principal's office.”I stared at her.
“What happened?”
“I don't know everything,” she admitted.
“But apparently their parents were furious. Especially Bianca's father. He apparently wanted to know why his daughter was being expelled.”My stomach twisted slightly.
“And?”Maya shrugged.
“Mrs. Carter didn't back down.”I blinked.
“She didn't?”
“Nope. From what I heard, she was completely adamant. She said the school had evidence and that what they did couldn't be ignored.”I looked down at my hands.
Evidence.....For a moment, my mind flashed back to yesterday.
I swallowed and pushed the memories away.
Maya was still talking.
“Apparently, their parents tried everything. They argued. They threatened to take the matter further. I don't know what exactly happened, but Mrs. Carter apparently refused to change her decision.”She paused.
“And now they're gone.”I stared at her.
“Gone?”
“Gone.”A strange silence settled between us.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved, shocked or simply numb.
Part of me had wanted them to face consequences but I hadn't expected the consequences to be this severe.
Maya suddenly leaned closer.
“And there's something else.”I looked at her.
“What?”She hesitated.
“I don't know if it's true, so don't take it as fact.”
“Okay.”
“You remember that rumor from last semester?”I frowned.
“What rumor?”
“That this school…”She glanced around before continuing.
“…isn't actually owned by Andy's dad.”My eyebrows pulled together.
“What?”Maya nodded.
“I know it sounds crazy. But there was a rumor going around last year that the school actually belongs to Andy.”I stared at her.
“What are you talking about?”
“I don't know!”She raised both hands defensively.
“I'm just telling you what I heard.”I shook my head slowly.
“But his dad owns the school.”
“That's what everyone thinks.”
“So what are you saying?”Maya shrugged.
“Apparently, Andy's father is involved in the school, but the rumor was that the actual ownership was transferred to Andy.”I let out a quiet laugh of disbelief.
“That makes no sense.”
“I know.”
“Then why would people say it?”
“Because people at this school love gossip.”I couldn't help but smile slightly.
That was true.....Maya leaned back in her chair.
“Honestly, I don't even care whether Andy owns the school or his father owns it. I'm just glad those three are finally out of our lives.”She paused.
“And hopefully, permanently.”I looked toward the classroom door.
For the first time since I had stepped into school that morning, I felt like I could breathe a little easier.
Bianca wasn't going to walk through that door.....Neither were Blair and Claire.
They wouldn't corner me in the hallway,They couldn't come to my desk,They wouldn't show up at my house again......They were gone.
And somehow, that thought brought a tiny sense of peace but something about it still bothered me.
“How did they even get expelled so quickly?.....I mean I thought it usually takes time” I murmured.Maya shrugged.
“Maybe the school finally decided enough was enough.”
“Maybe.”I looked down at my fingers.Something inside me still felt unsettled.
I couldn't explain it.....Yesterday, I had been the girl everyone thought they could walk over.
Today, I had walked into school with my head held high and now the three girls who had made my life miserable were expelled.
It felt almost too sudden...Too convenient.
I glanced toward the classroom door again then I shook the thought away.
Maybe I was simply overthinking.For once, perhaps things were finally going my way.
Maya nudged my shoulder.
“Hey.”I looked at her.
“Hmm?”
“Smile.”I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because those witches are finally gone.”I laughed softly.
“You're impossible.”
“And you're finally free.”She grinned.
I smiled back....For the first time that morning, I allowed myself to believe that maybe she was right.
Maybe I really was free.....Maybe this was the beginning of something new.
Maya's words stayed in my mind even after the conversation slowly died down.
I was just about to turn back to my desk when a familiar voice came from behind me.
“Hey.”I turned.
Vanessa stood there with a smile on her face.
“You're finally awake.”I blinked.
“Yeah.”
“I actually came earlier,” she said, pulling out the empty chair beside us.
“You were sleeping so peacefully that I didn't want to disturb you.”I glanced at Maya.
She gave Vanessa a look that said she still wasn't convinced by any of this.
Vanessa didn't seem bothered.Instead, she smiled at me again.
“Are you feeling okay?”
“I'm fine.”She nodded.
“That's good.”Then her face suddenly brightened.
“Have you heard?”
“Heard what?” I asked.
“The BBC girls.”Maya folded her arms.
“What about them?”
“They were expelled!”Vanessa let out a small laugh.
“I am honestly so happy for you, Zoe.”I raised an eyebrow slightly.
“For me?”
“Yes.” Her smile widened.
“I'm not even just happy for you. I'm happy they're going to be out of this school and out of our lives.”Our lives.
The words sounded strange coming from her.Maya gave a quiet scoff but Vanessa ignored it.
“I can't believe they could do something like that to you,” she continued.
“Especially what happened at your house. That's just horrible.”I didn't know what to say.
“Thank you.”She reached out and hugged me.I stiffened for half a second before slowly returning the hug.
“I'm really sorry, Zoe,” she murmured.
“You didn't deserve any of that.”When she pulled away, she gave my shoulder a gentle pat.
“I'll let you guys rest.”She started to walk away then she stopped.
“Oh!”She turned around.
“I almost forgot.”Vanessa reached into her bag and pulled out a small paper food bag.
“I brought you something.”Maya raised an eyebrow.
“For Zoe?”Vanessa nodded.
“I thought she might be hungry when she woke up.”She pulled out a sandwich and a small milkshake and held them toward me.
“Here.”I stared at the food for a moment before accepting it.
“Thank you.”
“You're welcome.”Maya looked at the food, then at Vanessa.
“Since when were you allowed to bring food to people?”Vanessa laughed.
“I was only allowed to take one.”She shrugged apologetically.
“Sorry, Maya.....i couldn't bring yours.”Maya rolled her eyes.
“Since when were you permitted to do things before you do them?”Vanessa laughed again.
I couldn't help smiling,I looked down at the sandwich but then I noticed one of the ingredients.
“Oh.”Vanessa immediately noticed my expression.
“What?”I pointed at it.
“This has peanuts.”Her face fell.
“Oh my God.”I shook my head quickly.
“It's okay.”
“No, I'm so sorry!”She looked genuinely horrified.
“I didn't know you're allergic to peanuts.”
“It's fine, Vanessa. You couldn't have known.”
“But what if you had eaten it?”
“I noticed.”She still looked upset.
“I'm really sorry.”
“It's okay.”She nodded.
“Do you want me to go get you something else?”
“No, really. There's no need.”
“Are you sure?”
“I'm sure.”She smiled hesitantly.
“Okay.”She looked at me for another moment before turning toward the empty seat beside us.
“I'll just sit here for a little while.”She dropped into Axel's empty seat.
Maya glanced at me.I could almost hear what she was thinking .....I gave her a tiny shrug.
Before either of us could say anything else, the classroom door opened and Miss Gloria walked in carrying a few books.
Everyone immediately began returning to their seats.I frowned and looked at Maya.
“I thought you said we were on free period.”Maya looked at me as though I'd forgotten something obvious.
“We were.”She pointed toward the teacher.
“Apparently we're not anymore.”I sighed and reached for my books.
As I opened my notebook, I noticed Vanessa was still sitting in Axel's seat.
“Vanessa.”She looked up.
“Hmm?”
“The teacher is about to start.”
“I know.”
“Aren't you going back to your seat?”She smiled.
“No.”I blinked.
“No?”She shook her head.
“I'm staying here.”Maya stared at her.
“Why?”Vanessa shrugged.
“Because I really want to be your friend.”She looked between the two of us.
“And I hope you guys eventually see that I'm sincere.”Maya shook her head slowly.
I could tell she wasn't buying it.....I forced a small smile.
“Okay.”I turned toward the board.The teacher cleared his throat.
“Everyone, settle down.”The classroom gradually became quiet.
I opened my notebook and as the lesson began, I couldn't shake the feeling that something about this new version of her didn't quite fit.
She was too nice......Too suddenly nice.And yet, every time I looked at her, she wore the same innocent smile.
Maybe Maya was right.....Maybe I shouldn't trust people so easily but for some reason, I still couldn't convince myself that Vanessa was pretending.