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    “We are first graders–seniors, Mandy!” they bbered, one after another. “How could we let a kid pick on you?”


    “Yes! We will make her pay back. We will avenge you!”


    “Yes, we’ll avenge you!”


    Lydia raised her hand and took the initiative to say, “My sister is in the preschool ss. She is the most popr kid


    there. I’ll tell her so that the others will give her the cold shoulder. Then, no one will y with her!”


    Mandy nodded gratefully. “Thank you!”


    Pretending to cover her mouth out of sadness, she hid the slight smile that no one could see.


    She was worried that she wouldn’t get another chance to avenge herself.


    “And here we are,” she mused. “Laura has shown up herself. I’ll teach her a lesson.”


    Lydia’s sister, Julia, immediately released the message upon receiving her order.


    “I’m telling you. This new student is a horrible person. There are a lot of bad men in her family. If anyone ys with her, she will make their family go bankrupt. You must stay away from her!”


    rmed by the news, the group of five–year–old children passed it down.


    From a ce Laura was not aware of, a web of exclusion had been quietly weaved.


    Despite her nervousness, she stood on the steps with the most charming smile she could muster.


    However, she was sensitive to the atmosphere.


    “From the way they’re looking at me, these bigger children don’t seem to like me very much,” she thought. “They look like they’re looking at a murderer. Did I do something wrong?”


    “Introduce yourself, Laura,” the teacher suggested. “She’s going to be one of us from today onward. Laura here scored 130 points on the IQ test. She is a genius in our ss. Julia will no longer be the only one.”


    Julia’s expression shifted abruptly, and she shot Laura an incredulous look.


    “What?” she thought, scandalized. “A hundred and thirty? I only scored a hundred and ten! And Lydia told me that Laura is a bad apple. Is she here <i>to </i>steal my identity as the smartest girl in ss? How could she do that?”


    Beaming, the teacher gestured at her. “Come on! Let’s give our new ssmate a warm wee!”


    Julia looked around.


    The students wanted to apud, but they put down their hands at once and stared at Laura coldly when they


    caught her re.


    135 thu 21 100


    Upon seeing that, the teacher tilted her head in confusion. “I’ll ask you to apud again, students.”


    The students exchanged nces, then stared at Julia.


    Julia red at Laura. “It doesn’t matter whether we apud or not. You should have her return to her seat


    quickly!”


    The teacher frowned. She got the vague sensation that Julia was bullying Laura.


    However, the Lowery family was the most difficult family that she had to deal with in her ss. Their prestigious status was something she could not offend.


    She did not know who Laura was. She only knew that she was a little girl with a high IQ.


    “She probably isn’t a big deal,” she concluded to herself.


    Then, she sighed. “So, would anyone like to share a desk with Laura?”


    With a frown, Laura looked around.


    The students stared at her curiously. Although some of them looked heartbroken to do so, most of them stared at


    her coldly.


    Some even looked at her with mockery.


    After hesitating for a while, she looked at a boy.


    He was the only one sitting alone.


    He was chubby and cute, with round eyes.


    Laura stepped forward eagerly.


    The little fatty met her eyes, and his expression changed greatly. He covered his seat warily. “I don’t want her to sit


    next to me. She stinks!”


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