Chapter 34

Sophia tapped her pen against the edge of her notebook, half listening to the teacher’s lecture while her mind drifted away. It wasn’t that the topic was boring, it was actually something she found interesting but after the whole issues from the party, her brain refused to focus.

Everything had gone so fast since the party, two days ago. The confrontation with Allison, the way Caleb had stepped in to defend her, the rumours that had followed about both of them, and about what she had to hide, she wondered if she could ever keep her name out of people’s mouths.

If only she could be as unaffected as Caleb with the gossip going on.

She sighed and looked around the classroom. Everything seemed normal. The students who always paid attention were still scribbling notes furiously, while the ones who didn’t care were either doodling or resting their chins in their palms, while playing almost silent beats with their fingers, waiting for the bell to ring.

She felt a nudge on her arm.

“Hey!” Caleb whispered from beside her. “You’re zoning out again. Thinking about ice cream?”

Sophia rolled her eyes but smiled.

“Maybe.”

“You know…” He continued to speak in a low voice, “If you ever need an excuse to leave class, just say the word. I’m pretty sure I could fake a seizure or something like that.”

She let out a quiet laugh and shook her head.

“That’s the worst plan ever.”

Caleb shrugged.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

Before she could respond, the teacher turned, and looked at her.

“Sophia, Caleb, do you have something to share with the class?”

“No.” Sophia shook her head.

“Just giving Sophia my notes to copy from.” Caleb said, giving a thumbs up.

The teacher raised a disbelieving brow before turning back to continue with teaching. Less than a few minutes later, class ended. Sophia was lost in thought when someone walked up to her.

“Sophia!”

Sophia turned at the familiar voice, blinking in surprise.

“Paige?”

Sophia was surprised to see her. It had been a while since she last saw her, and Sophia had assumed that maybe he changed schools or something.

Sophia grinned.

“Where have you been? I thought you left!”

Paige shrugged as she pulled up a chair and sat on the desk in front of Sophia.

“I did leave, for a trip with my mum. She wanted a change of scenery, so I tagged along to hang.”

“Well, it’s good to see you. I hope you enjoyed your trip.”

“Yeah, we went to China.” Paige nodded. “It was fun, and I got to meet cool people like my mum.”

Sophia turned to Caleb and gestured between them.

“Caleb, this is Paige. She once gave my bullies a taste of their own medicine, and we automatically became friends. She’s really cool. Paige, this is Caleb, my best friend who now plays my bodyguard plus Ice cream feeder.”

Paige and Caleb exchanged awkward waves.

“I know Paige.” Caleb said, raising a brow.

Paige nodded.

“Yeah, Caleb used to hang out with my brother.”

Sophia tilted her head.

“Oh? I didn’t know that. Who’s your brother?” I asked. “Is he in our class too?”

“He’s Raymond, he’s one class ahead of us.” Paige turned to him.

“I would’ve been one class ahead, but I had to stay back because I had an illness. My parents then made me stay the whole semester and join the next batch.” Caleb explained.

“That’s nice, I’ve not met Raymond before, and I thought you have introduced me to all your friends.”

“I have.” Caleb said simply.

Neither of them looked eager to continue the conversation. Caleb shifted in his seat, suddenly interested in his textbook, and Paige looked towards the door as if debating whether she should be here.

Sophia frowned but decided not to push.

“Well, I’m glad you’re back, baby girl.”

Paige smirked.

“Me too. And congrats on your win against Firefly. Beauty with brains is a mad combo.”

Sophia beamed.

“Thanks! It was a team effort, couldn’t have done it alone.”

“You’re very modest. I watched the replay and you have some of the maddest hits.”

“Eh…” Sophia looked away, still not very comfortable with praise. Plus, she kept on looking back at her so-called sister. Why had she not done anything yet?

Paige watched her for a moment before leaning in slightly.

“You keep looking back at Allison. Is she still bothering you?”

Sophia let out a slow breath, unsure of how to answer.

“She hasn’t tried anything today… yet.”

Paige crossed her arms.

“That’s rare.”

As if on cue, a voice interrupted them and they saw Allison walking up to their seats.

“I hope you don’t think you’re getting away with what you did.”

Sophia’s entire body tensed. She turned to see Allison standing beside her desk, her arms folded and eyes full of bitter venom.

Caleb immediately stiffened, his posture shifting like a guard dog on high alert. His jaw clenched, and he looked ready to throw her off before he let out a sound.

Sophia glanced at him and frowned. Was that a growl?

Allison smirked.

“Oh, calm down, Caleb. You can’t throw me out of school, you don’t own this place. Sophia, leash your dog before he bites someone.”

Sophia could see Caleb’s fingers twitch slightly, but he stayed quiet.

Paige leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand.

“Allison, don’t you get tired of acting like a cartoon villain? It’s pathetic.”

“And who are you?” Allison shot her a glare. “Stay out of this anyway, you don’t know anything.”

Paige raised her brows in mock surprise.

“Wow, pretending not to know me? Guess I must’ve really struck a nerve. I pathetic how every time I see you, you’re always trying to attack Sophia. You and your friends.”

Caleb let out a snort, and Sophia almost laughed, but she kept her expression straight. She didn’t want to give Allison another reason to crash out.

Allison huffed and turned around to leave, but just as she took a step, her foot caught on Paige’s outstretched leg.

The next thing everyone heard was a loud scream as Allison dropped like dead weight. She barely managed to catch herself with her hands before she hit the floor face-first. The students in the classroom gasped as some turned and got up to see what had happened.

Paige sat back casually, inspecting her nails like nothing had happened.

Allison got up with a red face.

“You, bitch! You did that on purpose!” Allison screeched.

“What are you even talking about?” Paige had an irritated look on her face. “If you can’t walk straight, that’s your issue, don’t blame me for your misfortune.”

Allison looked at her like she wanted to say something more, but she turned around and stormed out of class.

Caleb smirked, turning to Paige.

“Well, it’s good to see that you’re still as daring as ever.”

Paige arched a brow at him.

“And you? You seem a little daring yourself. What did Allison mean by you not being able to throw her out of school because you didn’t own the place?”

“What?” Caleb raised a brow.

“Don’t act dumb, there were undertones to it. I want to know the story!”

Sophia wasn’t focused on them. All she could think about was Allison, as she wasn’t the type to let something like that slide. If she had been planning something before, now she was definitely going to escalate it.

How on earth would she handle that now?