No, that’s not what I meant,” Bruce muttered as he pushed up his sses and cleared his throat. He honestly didn’t know what to say anymore.
He could only give Nora a look of sympathy.
Nora took a shaky step back, feelingpletely hopeless. ‘Nobody here is on my side. If anyone’s going to help me, it’s Tiffany.‘ She thought back to Tiffany’s promise: if she took the fall, she could stay.
Her lips quivered <b>as </b>she asked, “I did do it. Can I go now?”
“Wait, there’s something else,” one of the school administrators spoke up. “Earlier, someone posted a blurry photo of President Lee and Alicia on the forum. The background was fuzzed out to stir up rumors and get everyone guessing the wrong thing. Was that your doing too?”
Nora parted her lips, speechless. ‘Seriously? Do I have to own up to this one as well?‘ she freaked out inside.
This was Derek they were talking about. If Nora admitted it, she’d be totally done for. She blurted, “No, not me. I didn’t post it–I didn’t even take that picture!”
“Call Tiffany, the one who took the photo, and have here to the Office of Student Conduct,” Derek ordered.
Bruce’s heart skipped a beat when he heard Tiffany was being summoned. He hurriedly texted Hugh: [Mr. Lawrence, President Lee wants Tiffany toe to the Office of Student Conduct. Please think of something- there’s really nothing else I can do for Miss Lawrence.]
Hugh replied: [Tiffany will handle it herself.]
This time, Hugh wasn’t going to step in. He wanted to see how Tiffany would handle things on her own. If she couldn’t even deal with something this small at school, she wouldn’t be worth his time or attention in the future.
Bruce stared at Hugh’s message, his expression slipping into shock. ‘What does Mr. Lawrence mean by that? Is he <b>really </b>just letting Tiffany fend for herself? Wasn’t she supposed to be the spoiled favorite of the Lawrence family now?‘ Bruce couldn’t help but feel confused.
He still couldn’t figure it out, but whatever–at least none of this mess was really his fault.
‘I mean, <b>sure</b>, I helped Tiffany before, but all I did was follow the school’s rules and look into the forum gossip. It’s not like I broke any regtions or did anything out of line,‘ he thought, trying to distance himself from the whole drama.
Now, he could only wait and see how Tiffany was going to handle it. <fn5806> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? Find1Novel</fn5806>
He decided to just stay out of it for good.
Jimmy Green, the school secretary, dialed Tiffany’s number, but she didn’t pick up until after a long pause.
“Tiffany, there are some things about the school forum we need your help with. Could youe by the <b>Office </b>
of Student Conduct? All the school administrators are waiting on you, Jimmy said.
Tiffany’s reply floated through the phone, sounding extra frail. “Sorry, I don’t think I cane. I’m sick right now. But about that situation, I…” She was suddenly overtaken by a rough bout of coughing.
Once she caught her breath, she added, “I recorded a video. I’ll upload it to the school forum soon, and I send a copy your way as well.”
Jimmy had Tiffany on speaker, <b>so </b>everyone in the office heard her words. He looked at Derek, who gave a nod of agreement.
“Take care, Tiffany. Hope you feel better soon,” Jimmy said.
After hanging up, it didn’t take long before Jimmy received a video on his phone–just like Tiffany promised.
He plugged his phone into theputer, hooked it up to the projector, and started the video.
In the video, Tiffany was standing there with tears brimming in her eyes, looking absolutely miserable and full of regret. She gave a deep bow to the camera before she spoke, her voice soft and delicate–anyone watching would just feel bad for her.
Her sobbing voice rang throughout the room. “I’m so sorry. I just saw the picture on the forum and only now realized it was the one I took. You all probably know, I’m new at school and I’d never even met President Lee before, but I’d heard all about his reputation.
“I knew he was someone amazing, and I was afraid I’d never get another chance to meet a principal like him, so I took a photo to keep as a memento.
“I saved it on my phone and honestly have no idea how someone else got it, or why they’d even maliciously alter it like that.”
Tiffany wiped her tears and went on, “I let my sister Alicia down, and I let President Lee down.
“I’m willing to ept whatever punishment the school gives, but I’m begging you, please investigate this properly–find out who posted that photo and who stole it from me.
“I want to ask them myself, why did they do this? Why would they drag me into such a mess and make me out to be the bad guy?”
After finishing, she bowed again. “I’m really, truly sorry.”
That <b>was </b>the end of the video.
After the video yed, all the school administrators looked at each other in shock, while Nora just let out a loud, bitterugh. ‘Seriously? Tiffany’s shoving everything onto me now?‘ Nora thought, feeling both angry and helpless.
The truth was, Tiffany took that photo, found someone to edit it, and then sent it straight to Nora, asking her to post it on the forum.
‘But now, it’s somehow turned into me ‘stealing‘ that photo from her? What a joke. Tiffany <b>really </b>is <b>savage</b>,
Nora thought, her mood sinking even further.
But <b>at </b>that point, the only person Nora could count on was Tiffany–if she wanted Tiffany to put in a good word with Hugh and save her, she first had to make sure Tiffany was safe.
Since she’d already admitted to everything else, she figured she might as well take the fall for this too.
When the school administrators saw Noraughing, they all frowned and shot her concerned nces.
Nora finally confessed, “That photo–I posted it too.”
She knew there <b>was </b>no point lying about it now; everyone would know the truth sooner orter anyway. ‘Might as well just own up before they drag it out even further, Nora thought, bracing herself for whatever
came next.
Derek looked at her, his tone serious. “Nora, do you have an issue with me? If you do, you can bring it up straight to me. But honestly, this isn’t the way to go about it at all.”
Nora shook her head. “No, President Lee, I don’t have a problem with you. You’re a great principal. The truth <b>is</b>–my problem’s with Alicia. I know you’re a really fair person, and honestly, I was scared you’d stick up for her. That’s why I made such a foolish move.”
Derek let out a long sigh, clearly done with the whole thing. He turned to Bruce and said, “Just handle it ording to school policy. That’s all. I’m leaving now.”
With that, Derek got up and walked out.
The other school administrators nced around and said, “Let’s call it here.”
Then one of them shot Bruce a stern look, “Nora really isn’t fit to be at this university. Get her expulsion paperwork started.”
Bruce frowned, but gave a reluctant nod.
Once all the school administrators had left, Bruce looked over at Nora and said, “You’re really lost, you know. Your parents deserved better.”
Nora kept her head down, fat tears dropping one by one onto the floor. She knew she’d disappointed her parents, but all she’d ever wanted was to keep them from having such a hard life–she just wanted to help
share their burdens<b>. </b>
“Go home for now. Wait until the school posts the announcement, thene back and finish your paperwork,” Bruce said, turning away with <b>a </b>sigh.
withdrawal
As soon as Nora stepped out of the Office of Student Conduct, she pulled out her phone. She saw Tiffany had called her several times and hurriedly called her back.
Tiffany picked up but didn’t say anything at first, so Nora asked, “Did you try calling me, Tiffany?”
Tiffany asked, “Where are you? <b>Is </b>this a good time to talk?<b>” </b>
Nora responded, “I’m still on campus, about to head home. You can talk, I’m listening.”
As soon as Tiffany realized Nora could talk, she snapped, “Where were you just now? I called you so many times–why didn’t you pick up?”
Nora pressed her lips together, took a shaky breath, and said, “I was at the Office of Student Conduct. President Lee and the other school administrators were talking to me.”
Tiffany’s heart skipped <i>a </i>beat as she hurried to ask, “What did they want? Was it about the forum stuff? What did you say?”
“I admitted to everything. I told them it was all me. I saw the video you recorded, Tiffany. I admitted to that too,” Nora said, bitterness in her voice.