Chapter 24: Welcome to the Debate Club

VANESSA'S POV

My room felt like a small cage. I was lying on my back, staring at a tiny crack in the ceiling and wondering if this was how it all ended for me. Banned from the library. Restricted. Basically a nobody again, but this time with a big target on my back. My parents' voices kept playing in my head, telling me how proud they were. If they saw me now, they wouldn't be proud. They'd be crying.

Lena came in first, like a storm. She didn't even greet me properly. She just looked at me lying on the bed and clicked her tongue.

"Ah ah, Vanessa. So this is how you're doing?"

I sat up slowly. "What do you want me to do, Lena? Jump around? I'm on probation."

"That probation is not a death sentence," she said, throwing her hands up. "You're acting like they jailed you."

"They basically did," I muttered.

Lena opened her mouth to say something else, but she stopped when Chloe stepped in. Chloe didn't rush. She closed the door behind her gently, like noise itself was disrespectful. She looked as calm and clean as ever. Her hair was perfect, her blazer was sharp, and she just stood there looking graceful while my whole world was falling apart.

“Hi, Vanessa,” Chloe said softly as she stepped in. She paused for a second, looking around the room. “I understand why you’re staying here… but this is exactly what they want.”

I frowned. "Who is 'they'?"

"Administration. Melissa. Everyone feeding on this story," Chloe said. "Right now, you are out of sight. Out of influence. That is dangerous for someone in your position."

I almost laughed. "My position? I'm a scholarship student. I don't have a position."

Chloe shook her head slightly. "That is where you're wrong. You just got flagged by the school. That means every move you make now is being watched. Sitting here quietly makes you look guilty, even if you're not."

Lena jumped in quickly. "And Melissa is already using it! She's in Debate Club right now telling everyone you're a fraud. Like she's the one defending the truth."

My chest tightened. I could already imagine Melissa's voice, acting like a saint in front of everyone while she twisted the knife in my back.

Chloe reached into her folder and placed a paper on my desk. I looked at it. It had the school letterhead and my name was written on it in bold letters.

"Vanessa Vance is requested to join the Elite Debate Club as part of academic review participation during probation period."

I blinked. "Probation punishment is… debate club?"

“It’s not punishment,” Chloe said. “It’s supervision. They want people to see you. They want you active. Somewhere controlled, so they can say you’re fitting in properly.”

Lena nodded fast. "And guess where Melissa controls everything? Debate Club."

Silence. That part landed hard. I slowly looked up at them.

"So basically," I said, "they are putting me inside her territory so they can watch me?"

Chloe didn't deny it. "That is one way to see it."

Lena stepped closer. "No, no, Vanessa. Don’t see it like that. See it like this, you’re not running away anymore. You’re walking into the same room she’s been using to lie about you. You’re going to sit there and show them you’re not scared.”

Chloe softened her tone just a little. "Also, if you refuse, they will assume you're hiding. And that will make your probation worse. The Dean needs to see you being a 'model student' right now."

I exhaled slowly. The air in the room felt different now. Less like a cage and more like a starting line.

"So I don't have a choice," I said.

Lena grinned. "You do. But this one… is the better one."

"I don't have the right clothes," I said, looking at my hoodie. "Everyone there looks like they are going for a bank interview."

"I have a blazer in my locker you can use," Chloe offered.

"No," I said, standing up and pulling my shoulders back. I felt a cold kind of energy moving through me. "I'm not wearing your clothes, Chloe. I'm wearing mine. I want her to see exactly who she tried to finish."

Lena let out a loud shout. "That's what I'm talking about! Let's go. Melissa is about to have a very long afternoon."

We left the room, walking fast down the quiet hallway of the scholarship wing. I felt the pressure of the school's eyes on me as soon as we reached the main building, but I didn't look down. Not this time. My fear was gone, replaced by a kind of anger that felt like a low flame.

When we got to the doors of the Debate Hall, I could hear Melissa's voice from inside. She was talking about "truth" and "integrity." It was so fake it made my stomach turn. I knew the girl was a snake, and here she was acting like she was the one who discovered honesty.

I looked at Lena and Chloe. Lena gave me a thumbs up. Chloe just nodded, her face calm and graceful as usual.

"Go in," Chloe whispered. "She isn't expecting you at all."

I took a deep breath, grabbed the handle, and pushed the doors open.

The room went completely silent. About fifty students turned their heads to look at the door. Melissa was standing at the podium, her mouth open in the middle of a sentence. She looked like she had seen her worst nightmare.

I didn't wait for her to speak. I walked right down the center aisle. My boots were making a loud sound on the floor, and I didn't care. I sat in the very front row, right where she had to look at me.

"Sorry I'm late," I said. My voice was clear and loud. I made sure everyone heard me. "I heard we were talking about integrity today. I thought I should come and learn from the expert."

Melissa's face went from pale to a very dark, angry red. The silence in the room was so heavy you could almost touch it. Students were looking at each other, then at me, then back at Melissa.

Lena and Chloe slipped in and sat a few rows back, watching. Melissa was still standing there, gripping the sides of the podium so hard her knuckles were turning white. She looked like she wanted to scream, but she couldn't. Not in front of all these people.

I just leaned back and looked at her. I wasn't the scared girl from the Dean's office anymore. I wasn't the girl who did homework for bullies so they would leave her alone.

The war was just starting, and for the first time, I was the one holding the cards.

Melissa finally tried to clear her throat. "This is a private meeting for members, Vanessa. You aren't supposed to be here. You're on probation."

"Actually," I said, pulling the paper Chloe gave me out of my pocket and holding it up. "Mr. Harrison requested my presence personally. It's part of my 'academic review.' He thinks the club needs some fresh blood. And since I have so much free time now that I'm banned from the library, he thought I should spend it here."

I gave her a small smile. It wasn't a nice one.

"Unless you have a problem with the administration's decision?" I added.

Melissa looked like she had just swallowed a stone. She couldn't say anything. If she argued with me now, she was arguing with the teachers. She just stood there, shaking slightly, while the rest of the club whispered about how the scholarship girl just walked into the lion's den and sat down.

I looked at my notebook and opened it. I was ready.