"Then what do you want?" I asked helplessly, knowing he wouldn't agree easily.
He raised an eyebrow, a mischievous smile on his face, "Repay with your body!"
I was speechless.
This was outright extortion!
Cunning!
Despite cursing him in my heart, I endured it for the sake of my life.
"Okay."
The next day, I dragged my exhausted body to school, feeling completely out of it. Just as I was about to step into the classroom, someone grabbed my arm from behind.
"Hey, Karena, have you had breakfast?" A familiar voice called out. I turned around to see Alice, smiling brightly like a blooming flower.
She was holding a delicate breakfast, looking at me with a friendly expression.
"What's up?" I asked bluntly.
Being so nice to me out of nowhere? Something was definitely up!
Her smile faltered slightly but quickly returned to normal. "Nothing, I just felt that what I did before was wrong, so I wanted to apologize and hope you don't hate me."
Her voice sounded a bit forced.
I was stunned; this was too outrageous.
Alice? Apologizing? Someone that stubborn actually apologizing to me?
At this moment, I noticed that many classmates were giving me strange looks.
I gently pulled my hand away from Alice's, trying to keep a polite smile, but my tone had a hint of coldness, "Just stop spreading rumors about me, and I'll be grateful."
Under everyone's gaze, I felt uneasy, like all eyes were focused on me like spotlights.
I tried to stay calm, walked back to my seat with firm steps, and then placed a stack of thick books in front of Wesley. "Mr. Martinez asked me to give these to you. Make sure to read them; we have a task in a few days."
Wesley glanced at me, replied nothing, and took the books.
"What's up with everyone today?" I couldn't help but pull Amelia over and ask in a low voice.
Amelia took out her phone from her pocket, scrolled a bit, and then handed it to me. "I knew you hadn't seen the school's announcement."
I took the phone and quickly scanned the text on the screen. While reading, I explained to Amelia, "Amelia, I have five books to read now, I'm swamped, no time to keep up with this stuff."
[Disciplinary Notice: Our students Casey and Jessa have been bullying classmates on campus, severely affecting the school's atmosphere. After a decision by the teachers, Casey and Jessa are expelled!]
Casey and Jessa got expelled? That serious?
If I'm not mistaken, the classmate mentioned in the notice refers to me, right?
I looked at Amelia beside me, and she nodded firmly. "Someone reported what happened that day. Casey and Jessa have been expelled, and the school's posts about it have been deleted."
"That serious? Since when did the school start dealing with stuff like this?" Every school has some bullying issues, but the school's usual attitude was to turn a blind eye. This heavy-handed approach was unexpected.
Amelia shrugged slightly, with a hint of helplessness on her face. "You didn't notice? The school is just making an example of them. Although I don't know why the school suddenly became so strict, at least this benefits us. Hopefully, this means similar things won't happen again."
My thoughts drifted back to the day before when Howard said he would handle it.
After all, besides Howard, I couldn't think of anyone else who could solve such a big problem at school so quickly and effectively.
The morning classes finally ended, and the classroom buzzed with activity as students packed up their books and stuff.
Amelia, while slowly tidying her desk, turned to me and asked, "By the way, did you tell Wesley about what Grandpa mentioned last night?"
I shook my head lightly, "I haven't had the chance to tell him yet."
Amelia asked, "This is our first solo mission, so it's crucial for us to cooperate and talk things through. How about we meet at a restaurant off-campus to discuss the upcoming task?"
"Sure, I don't mind," I replied. "You go tell him. He might not listen to me since we don't get along."
Although I had some unpleasant experiences with him, I didn't dislike him as much because he had spoken up for me before.
Plus, we have to work together on the mission, so we need to get past any conflicts.
"Okay, leave it to me," Amelia agreed.
Half an hour later, we arrived at a restaurant outside the school and found a quiet corner to sit.
Amelia, who had organized this meet-up, knew about the conflict between Wesley and me, so she took on the role of mediator.
"Since we have to complete this important task together, we can't act like enemies anymore," Amelia voiced, looking at us with her big eyes, seeking our agreement.
Faced with Amelia's sincere attitude, I still had some grudges but reluctantly nodded. "I have no objections."
Wesley glanced at me and agreed, "I have no objections either, but I need to ask, will Howard be joining us for this task?"
I immediately replied, "Of course, he will. Otherwise, with just the three of us, what can we accomplish?"
Wesley snorted, clearly unimpressed. "We haven't even started, and you're already being pessimistic. Even if we succeed with him, it won't be our achievement."
"Who knows how dangerous this task is? Having him ensures everything goes smoothly," I answered. Although I didn't know why Aiden trusted us with the task, considering we're still rookies, it could be a one-way trip.
"That's cheating," Wesley commented, crossing his arms and mocking.
"Whatever, if you don't want to join us, you can go alone. I'm not stopping you," I responded bluntly.
Honestly, if Aiden hadn't specifically instructed us to team up, I wouldn't want to work with Wesley. In a mission full of unknown dangers, not using a cheat would be foolish!