Chapter 21: Turning The Tables
"Someone switched out my exam paper last semester and I almost failed. And when I reported it... the professor said I was making it up."
Anita picked up a napkin, quietly wiping the knife over it and setting it aside as she listened without interrupting.
"But they didn’t stop there." Lilly continue, her fingers tightening around the hem of her hospital gown. She was not supposed to be admitted, but when Anita brought her to the hospital last night, it was discovered that she was physically assaulted and needed proper care.
"What else did they do to you?"
"They framed me for examination malpractice," Lilly whispered, her voice cracking at the edges. "They planted a micro earpiece in my collar in the just concluded examination. I didn’t even know it was there until the invigilator pulled me aside and accused me in front of everyone."
Anita’s jaw clenched. Her hands curled into fists over her knees, and for the first time, she wished Charlotte were in the room—so she could look her dead in the eye and ask why.
Lilly laughed bitterly. "I kept saying I didn’t do it. That I’d never cheat. But no one believed me. I was suspended for two weeks. My scholarship was frozen. And while I was trying to appeal the decision, someone hacked into my school portal and changed my grades to all F’s."
Anita looked at her then, really looked at her.... At the girl who had done nothing but existed. Who had dared to walk in a hallway, smile at a boy, and breathe in the same air as the school’s golden queen. A queen turned thorn she raised.
"And Charlotte was behind it?" Anita asked, already knowing the answer.
Lilly hesitated. "Maybe not all of it directly, but... her clique brags about the things they’ve done. They laugh about it in the cafeteria. I’ve heard them. And Charlotte just watches. Sometimes she smiles. Sometimes she doesn’t even bother pretending to care."
Anita nodded slowly, her expression unreadable. "And last night...?"