Tiffany told the same story she told Chad.
The reporters were already angry.
“We found out that Violet and Tiffany were
friends at the orphanage.”
“Then, Violet got adopted by the Garretts, and Tiffany’s adopted parents were just school employees.”
“Violet, just because you’re rich, does that
mean you can bully your old friend and take away her chance?”
It was silent.
The reporters stared at me, their cameras
flashing.
They wanted a juicy story.
L
This was a touchy subject the rich taking
advantage of the poor. It was a huge issue.
And the main characters were me and Tiffany.
In the silence, I laughed.
Chapter 2
The reporters just stared at each other,
looking like they’d swallowed a lemon. “Hey, professor… I mean, reporter,” I
drawled, dripping sarcasm, “last time I
checked my journalism textbook, it said
you’re supposed to, like, cross–check and
fact–check your info. What’s up with skipping
steps just to break a scandal?”
Her face flushed crimson.
I stood up, my voice like ice, and pointed a
finger at Ashley Coleman. “Right now, she’s
your only source. It’s all her version of the
story and it sounds like a soan
an operal”
I zeroed in on Ashley, her face pale and
streaked with tears.
I actually thought we were friends.
But last time, you stabbed me in the back…
literally.
And this time, you’re trying to climb the
ladder by burying me.
If I destroy you, it’s your own damn fault. “Since the reporters are so interested in my side of things,” I said, letting my voice drip with venom, “let me tell you what I know.
Ashley Coleman is jealous of me! She thinks
we started out in the same place–hell, she
thinks she’s prettier and smarter–so why am
I living the high life while she’s wallowing in
misery?”
“She’s twisted with envy, so she made up this
whole damn story to take me down!”
Before I could fully savor the moment, Gavin
Peterson jumped in to defend his precious
L
damsel. “But that’s…”
He was gonna say that Ashley CHOSE to be a
saintly poor girl, not that she was some gold
digger. I was turning the truth upside down!
But BAM! The principal’s office door flew
open like it was in an action movie.
Standing there was this skinny little thing,
short hair, quiet. She looked like a weed you
wouldn’t even bother pulling.
Our homeroom teacher recognized her.
“Sophie Baker? What are you doing here?”
In the last lifetime, Sophie Baker had already
killed herself.
But this time, she was alive.
She walked in, one step at a time, and stood
beside me.
She whispered, “I’m here to testify.”
It was so sudden, the reporters were
speechless.
One of them finally stammered, “Are you here
L
to confirm that Blair Davies bullied Ashley
Coleman?”
I mean, judging by her clothes, Sophie Baker
definitely wasn’t rolling in dough. She looked
like Ashley’s twin.
Sophie glanced at the reporter, then shook
her head.
“I’m here to testify for Blair Davies.”
I gaped at her.
Honestly, I’d pulled out all the stops to prep
for this showdown.
But Sophie Baker wasn’t one of my backup
dancers.
We weren’t exactly BFFs, you know?
After I gave her that cash, she looked up
tutoring rates, calculated it by the hour, and
gave me back the extra.
She tutored me in math, one hour on the dot,
then bolted with her backpack, like a freakin‘
robot.
Last time around, Sophie Baker jumped off a
building before graduation.
Her whole life was riding on getting into
college and pulling her grandma out of
poverty.
Then, a month before the big test, her
deadbeat dad lost it all gambling, drank a
bottle of cheap crap, and beat the ever-
loving hell out of her.
He broke her right hand.
The one she used to write.
Nobody knows what else that bastard did.
They found Sophie up on that roof, broken
and scarred, and she just jumped.
This time, even though we weren’t exactly
buddies, I had to save her.
So, I hired a couple of thugs to rough up her
dad.
That way, at least until graduation, he
couldn’t lay a hand on her.
<
To make it happen, I skipped my study hall
session.
When I got back, Sophie, who kept the attendance records, caught me red–handed. “Why were you skipping?” she asked.
I stammered, trying to think of something.
I couldn’t just say I paid some guys to beat up
her dad, you know?
Just then, the office called Sophie out.
“Sophie, you have a call.”
It was about her dad.
Five minutes later, she came back, same
blank look on her face.
She picked up the attendance sheet, then set
it down.
“I won’t mark you down this time,” she said
quietly. “Don’t skip again.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and scurried back.
to my seat.
And now, here was Sophie, saying “I’m here
く
tone.
It hit me. Maybe she knew.
Under the gaze of everyone in the room,
Sophie pulled out a stack of forms and
slapped them down on the table.
Ashley Coleman’s face went white as a ghost.
School rules said you had to fill out a form to
use the dance studio. Time, date, who was
there.
But nobody bothered. It was a hassle, so
people just told the dance teacher.
But Sophie had meticulously filled out those
damn forms, every single time, and kept them
all.
Now, everyone could see there were thirty-
plus forms, and Ashley’s name was on two.
Two out of thirty times, she’d shown up.
After making damn sure everyone saw,
Sophie spoke in that slow, steady voice.
“Ashley Coleman said Blair Davies mocked
<
her for not being able to afford the dance
outfits, so she couldn’t be in the show.”
“When I told Blair Davies that I couldn’t afford
them and didn’t want to participate, Blair Davies told me to keep rehearsing.”
“The next day, I found out she bought the
outfits for everyone.”
“Ashley also said that Blair Davies bullied her
because her dad was a janitor and her mom
was a cleaner.”
Sophie looked at me. “If you bully poor
people, why didn’t you bully me? My dad
doesn’t even have a job. My whole family lives
off my grandma’s social security checks.”
Her words just shut everyone up.
I sighed, pulled out my phone, and blasted a
video.
Everyone could see Ashley missed the beat,
forgot the steps, couldn’t keep up.
It was obvious she was the weak link.
く
She had been too busy stargazing with Gavin
Peterson to rehearse.
Ashley never wanted to be in the show
anyway. She just wanted to cry about it in
front of Gavin so he would hate me.
She didn’t think it would blow up like this, or
that I’d have so much damn evidence.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have cut Ashley from the
show,” I said.
“But these dance performances were for
extra credit. Two of our girls were counting on it for college.”
“If Ashley messed it up, it would ruin their
chances. So, I had to do it.”
After the interview, the tables turned on
Ashley and me.
Now, people said she was a paranoid drama
queen.
“Don’t get too close to Ashley. She’ll say you’re bullying her for being poor.”
L
“I mean, her family isn’t that poor. Both her
parents have jobs. There are tons of kids
getting student loans, and they aren’t crying about being bullied.”
“Yeah, some people just blame fate instead
of trying.”
Ashley was weirdly quiet through it all.
She just sat tight until graduation, not making
a peep.
Sophie warned me, “Watch yourself. She’s
planning something.”
I smiled. “She can be patient. So can I.
وو
I could feel Ashley was plotting something.
Gavin’s attitude toward me was getting worse
by the day.
He used to at least wait until his parents
weren’t around.
Now, the whole family could be eating, and he
would slam his soup bowl on the table,
splashing hot broth all over my face.
The maid gasped and rushed over with ice
and burn cream.
Gavin’s mom just kept eating.
His dad looked up and told Gavin, “Be
careful. Don’t let people think our kid has no
manners.”
They didn’t give a damn about me.
I was just a charity case, brought home
because some psychic said I was good luck.
Last time, Ashley tried to kiss ass.
It didn’t work.
When they were busy, they left their own son
with the maid. They weren’t going to bond
with a foster kid.
In this world, emotions don’t matter. Money
does.
I put down the ice pack and said, “Mom,
Dad.”
“I have something to tell you.”
“I got a perfect score on my SATs. I’m a
<
National Merit Scholar.”
They both looked up, eyes wide.
Even Gavin looked surprised.
I took a bite of broccoli and met their
shocked stares.
“You always said school was up to me, so I didn’t want to bother you,” I said.
“But my teachers called. They want to
O
interview you about parenting, so I thought I’d ask if you were free.”
In the last lifetime, I juggled work and school,
and I still did well.
This time, without the obstacles, my scores
were off the charts.
They looked at each other.
They hadn’t been following the college stuff.
Gavin was already set to go to college in
Switzerland as soon as he graduated.
They didn’t care about me.
Nobody thought I would do this well.
“I’m thinking of applying to business school at Princeton,” I told his dad. “And interning with your investment team as a freshman.” He was quiet for a second, then smiled. “That’s great, Blair.”
“Congratulations. Linda, get the wine from the trunk. Blair is eighteen, right? Let’s
celebrate.”
I ignored Gavin’s glare, raised my glass, and thanked them for their support.
I was right.
They didn’t care about an ordinary foster kid.
But a straight–A student?
That’s a point of pride, a sign of good
parenting, a ray of hope.
They were thrilled. They popped a few bottles
and set up the interview.
I had nailed it.
There was just me and Gavin at the table.
The crystal light bounced off Gavin’s face.
く
He had his mom’s looks, with a chiseled nose
and intense eyes.
But his eyes were cold.
“You don’t think this makes you one of us, do
you?” he said.
I stood up, put the chair back in place, leaned
in, and whispered in his ear, “Honey, get your
head out of your ass.
وو
“They want me to be one of them.”
I saw Ashley when I went back to school to
get my report card.
She was in the shadows, looking at me.
I knew she had seen the video of me and his
parents.
In the video, his mom had her arm around me,
and his dad was talking to the reporters.
At the end, we took a family photo, looking
like a damn commercial.
Ashley never had that.
She looked at me and hissed, “What did you
<
do?”
I shrugged. “Studying hard. Believing in
myself.”
I turned and walked away.
Ashley didn’t believe me.
But it was the only way.
I heard her say, “Even if you get his parents
to love you, it won’t matter.”
“Gavin loves me.”
وو
Great. She was a soap opera cliche. Even if
their parents hated it, they would stay
together.
I wished her luck.
Ten minutes later, I ran into Gavin.
He and his crew cornered me in the hall.
The teachers and students were gone.
I looked up.
The security cameras were busted.
It was a setup.
Gavin stood in front of me and said, “Blair
L
Davies, wake up.”
“Today, you’re going to see what happens to
fake bitches.”
His crew grabbed my hair and slammed my
head against the wall.
I saw stars, but I kicked the guy in the balls.
He went down screaming.
Gavin’s face changed. He was about to sic
the rest of them on me when I pulled out a
wine bottle.
It was the one his dad gave me for my party.
I smashed it against the wall, showering the
hall with red wine and shards of glass.
Then, I held the jagged edge out in front of
- me.
“Come on!” I yelled.
My hair was a mess, covered in dust.
Warm blood was running down my face.
I don’t know how crazy I looked, but it scared
the shit out of them.
<
the shit out of them.
I wiped the blood off my face and laughed.
“Fake? You’re one to talk, Gavin.‘
99
“Fine. I’m fake. You’re real. Who has your
realness helped?”
“Oh, right. Just your little flower.”
I saw Ashley shrinking into the shadows.
She didn’t have to hide. I saw her.
Gavin was going to teach me a lesson for her.
Why would she miss it?
The blood kept flowing. I gave up wiping it
off.
I looked at Gavin, then his crew, and smiled.
“If you bring
