Chapter 3

The scholarship selection went as planned. My results were excellent, and I was almost always first in the year. The scholarship usually went according to academic merit, so I was always a shoo-in for it.

My high school was the best in the state. If I received the scholarship for two years in a row, I could guarantee entry into an Ivy League university.

When I walked into the room, the loud conversations among the students instantly died down. I could hear their whispers, which included some absurd rumors.

Some said I was a serial liar who stole the class funds because my family was poor. Some said prostitution was my family business.

There were some brave souls who defended me, too. “Didn’t Mrs. Smith say it wasn’t Cheryl? Besides, she isn’t that type of girl!”

However, they were quickly refuted with sarcasm and rolling eyes. “Are you really going to believe everything she says? Some people are just two-faced like that. You’ll get betrayed without even knowing it someday.”

The students needed some scandalous gossip to ease their academic stress, and what could be better than “the valedictorian’s shameful secret”? In comparison to the juicy rumors, did the truth really matter?

Before the selection began, I exchanged a few words with Mrs. Smith and headed onto the stage in advance. The crowd erupted.

“Hey, Cheryl! What a great figure!”

Some of the boys suddenly shouted in unison, grinning. Chavonne sat in the candidates’ seat, looking at me with a smirk.

I just smiled back at them calmly, beckoning the police who had been waiting outside to come in. “They’re the ones, officer.”

After recording my statement last time, the police agreed to collect evidence here at school. Now, there was a fresh batch ready for them.

I stared back at the raucous boys without a hint of fear. “What did you say? Say that again.”

The boys who were all red-faced and worked up instantly cowered. “N-Nothing. It was… just a joke.”

“Really? And here I thought you were harassing me.”

They remained silent. Amused, I turned to look at the others. The ones who were happily slandering me seconds ago now evaded my gaze like it was toxic.

Unfortunately for them, I had an excellent memory.

I stopped in front of a bespectacled boy. “Didn’t you say I stole the class funds because my family was poor?”

He hastily denied it. “I didn’t say that! You heard wrongly.”

“I’m sure I didn’t. You sounded so convinced.”

The officer chipped in. “Young man, if Miss Summers did do such a thing, you can just come out and say it. However, you must take responsibility for your words.”

The boy gulped, looking paler than a sheet. “No, I… I just made it up.”

I smiled and turned to another boy with a crew cut. “And you said prostitution is my family business?”

The officer turned stern. “Young man, if you know the local prostitution ring that well, I may have reason to suspect you of…”

The boy was begging for mercy before he could finish that sentence. “No, I don’t know anything about it! I was just joking, officer!

“I don’t know what Cheryl’s family does for a living, I only said that because I was jealous of her results! Cheryl, please forgive me. I won’t lie like that ever again!”

He slapped himself in the mouth as he pleaded, nearly bursting into tears.

The other students who had been slandering me all lowered their heads, terrified that I would call them out next. Finally, I stopped in front of Chavonne.

“Chavonne, you had the most to say after the pictures came out. You insisted the girl in the picture was me. Why were you so sure, hmm? Do you know something we don’t?”

Everyone turned to look at her in an instant. She began to tremble, her face pale. She suddenly pinched her thigh and burst out crying.

“Everyone was saying it! Why are you singling me out?

“Cheryl, I know you always hated me, but I didn’t know you would think that lowly of me. What do you think you’re doing, asking me that in front of all these people? Are you trying to bully me?”

Her sobs echoed around the room. Mrs. Smith immediately rushed over and shielded her with her body. “That’s enough, Cheryl. How long are you going to hold on to such a trivial matter?”

A trivial matter? I scoffed. In my previous life, this “trivial matter” destroyed my family and ruined my reputation.

“Chavonne has always been a bit proud and stubborn, but she means well. If you keep hounding her like this, how is she going to show her face around her friends from now on?”

How hypocritical.

I immediately burst into tears, my knees buckling under me as I collapsed to the floor. I hugged the officer’s leg, refusing to let go.

“You have to get to the bottom of this and clear my name, sir! I can’t eat or sleep well these days, and the doctor said I have depression. These rumors have caused me a ton of psychological damage. If the matter isn’t resolved convincingly, I… I…

“I’ll just jump from the school rooftop!”

I looked at Chavonne and her mother with tears in my eyes. They were both stunned.

“Chavonne, if there’s anything else you know about the photo, you have to tell everybody! Since you’re so honest and kind, I’m sure you’ll help me discover the truth, right?”

She was not the only one who could move crowds with her tears!

Chavonne gritted her teeth, sounding flustered. “D-Don’t pin it all on me! You know what nasty things you’ve done in secret. That has nothing to do with me!”

I wiped my tears and slowly looked around at the other students and teachers.

The cops are right here. If I did anything wrong, you’re free to stand out right now and accuse me. However, you have to take responsibility for your words.

“Also… I’m sure you know where those rumors originated from now, and whether they’re true or not.”

The entire hall was quiet. I handed the podium back to Mrs. Smith.

She cleared her throat. “And the scholarship goes to…”

I took a deep breath, looking at the screen with my head held high.

“...Jason Golde.”