Chapter 218: The Dark Alley Rumor
Elise Langdon continued to stick up for Cara Preston. "Vera Xavier, cut the crap! You’re obviously up to no good and just trying to frame Cara! Once this week’s mock exam results are out, we’ll see what a big cheater like you has to be so arrogant about!"
Just then, Juliana Taylor returned to the classroom. She took out a grade sheet and posted it on the wall next to the blackboard, announcing, "The results for the mock exam are out, and I have some good news for everyone. Vera Xavier is not only first in our class but also first in the entire school! All of you should try to learn from her!"
She looked at Vera Xavier with approval. Vera smiled and said, "It’s because the teachers taught me well!"
The corners of Juliana Taylor’s mouth turned up slightly. No student in her class had ever managed to take the top spot in the entire school before. This time, Vera Xavier had truly done her proud. When she had entered the staff room earlier, the other homeroom teachers had all come over to congratulate her, and to casually ask about Vera.
She looked at Vera and said, "Keep up the good work. Aim to be the city’s top scorer."
Vera chuckled and nodded. ’I actually want to be the *provincial* top scorer,’ she thought. However, First High had never produced a provincial top scorer in its entire history. Saying something like that now would sound a bit arrogant. ’Better to let my results do the talking later on!’
After Juliana Taylor left, Vera looked at Elise Langdon with a beaming smile. "So sorry," she said, "but it looks like I get to keep being arrogant after all."
Thoroughly put in her place, Elise’s expression turned utterly foul, yet she couldn’t manage a single word in response.
The first time Vera placed first in the class, Elise could claim she had cheated and even write an anonymous letter to report her. But after the investigation that followed, and with Vera now consistently taking the top spot, saying such things again would likely turn the whole class against her.
So, Elise attacked from a different angle. "Vera, were you in a dark alley last Sunday night?"
Vera’s eyes narrowed slightly. Elise sneered, "So it was you!"
Shane Caldwell, who sat beside Vera, went pale. He stared at her in disbelief. For the past two days, a rumor had been circulating around school that on Sunday night, a senior girl from First High had been gang-raped in a dark alley.
Of course, Cara Preston had put in considerable effort to start this rumor. Spread by the mouths of the school’s most Eight Diagrams girls, it was now common knowledge. The only thing was, everyone was still guessing who the girl was.
Cara Preston had been feeling quite wronged, but after hearing Elise’s words, she found herself inwardly praising her for once: ’That idiot was finally smart for a change!’
While their classmates were still looking on with suspicion, Cara Preston spoke up in an aggrieved tone. "Sis, you came back very late that night, and your clothes were all torn. Mom and I asked you what happened, but you just cried and wouldn’t say a word. Don’t tell me something really happened that night?"
As soon as she finished, she seemed to realize she’d misspoken. She clapped a hand over her mouth and said in a panic, "I was just spouting nonsense. Nothing happened! Don’t let your imaginations run wild!"
Originally, the students had only been about thirty percent suspicious. But now, with her saying one thing and then trying to take it back, she made it seem like the rumor was true. Instantly, the class was seventy percent convinced.
A cold glint appeared in Vera’s eyes. ’I have to hand it to her,’ she thought. ’Cara really understands human psychology. That was a beautiful move. In a situation like this, whether I try to deny it or get angry, I’ll just be falling right into her trap.’