Telepathic Karma: Resurrected to Ruin Her

Freezing river water flooded my lungs as the classmates who had just reached out to save me suddenly froze, turned their backs, and left me to die.

All because Leighton's inner thoughts were broadcasting directly into everyone's heads like a live radio feed. [ She's totally hooking up with those street gang losers, and now she's making us part of her sick little game.

What a shameless bitch! ] In my past life, that bizarre telepathy—a broadcast the entire school could hear except me—was all she needed to fabricate lies and destroy my life.

Her random, malicious assumptions were enough to make the class president snatch away the cash I had scraped together for my mom's medical bills.

And now, with just a few toxic thoughts, she effortlessly snapped my last lifeline. … Blinding stage lights slammed into my eyes. The suffocating water vanished from my lungs.

I sucked in a sharp breath. I was back. My fingers were gripping the topoftheclass honor certificate. Down in the audience, Leighton stared right at me.

She sighed and shook her head. [ Should I expose her for cheating? The principal actually wants to give her the Ivy League recommendation letter.

When she shows her true colors to the admissions office, our school's Ivy League acceptance rate will be ruined. ] A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth.

This time, I could hear her toxic little broadcast too. I reached out and snatched the microphone right out of the principal's hands.

Chapter 1 "At today's allschool assembly, we want to give a special shoutout to Jade.

Not only did she score a perfect A+ on the midterms, but she crushed the secondplace student by a massive margin!" The gymnasium erupted into applause.

My pulse pounded against my ribs as I stepped up to the podium. But cutting through the cheers came a jarring, impossible sound: [ I'm so jealous of Jade.

She barely tries, cheats her way to the top, and still gets an A+. I should have reported her during the exam. ] [ Should I expose her for cheating?

The principal actually wants to give her the Ivy League recommendation letter.

When she shows her true colors to the admissions office, our school's Ivy League acceptance rate will be ruined. ] [ Ugh, whatever, I'll let it go.

Everyone knows she's a charity case. What if people accuse me of looking down on the poor? I just feel bad for the principal.

He's going to be so embarrassed. ] The applause died instantly.

The entire student body, the teachers, and even the principal beside me on the stage suddenly locked their eyes on me. Their gazes were heavy with suspicion.

The source of that voice was crystal clear. It was Leighton, the transfer student who had just slummed it down from an elite Upper East Side prep school to our public high school.

The supposed Manhattan socialite whose dad was a Wall Street hedge fund billionaire and whose mom was a Broadway principal dancer. But here was the catch: her lips weren't moving.

Not even a fraction of an inch. Where the hell was that voice coming from?

While I was still trying to process it, Leighton's voice echoed again. [ I heard officials from the State Board of Education are visiting today.

If they pick Jade as the student representative for the Governor's Scholarship, it won't just be the principal's reputation going down the drain—the entire school district will be ruined. ] [ Wait?

Why did everyone stop clapping? I was literally just venting in my head. I didn't say it out loud. ] It was Leighton's inner thoughts!

The principal's face drained of color, then flushed a furious, mottled red. He stomped over to me.

He snatched the certificate right out of my hands. "I am officially announcing that Jade cheated on the midterm!

She brought in cheat sheets, and her score is voided!" In my past life, I couldn't hear Leighton's thoughts. I had zero clue what was happening.

My brain still moved fast enough to demand the principal check the security footage. I had nothing to hide, so I wasn't scared of a playback. But the footage mysteriously vanished.

My counselor actually put her entire career on the line to beg for a makeup test for me. But on the day of the retake, I ate some bad fruit.

I spent the entire exam sprinting to the bathroom. I ended up dangerously dehydrated, and my score was an absolute disaster.

That just proved to the principal that my A+ was a fraud. He immediately handed the Ivy League recommendation over to Leighton.

Now, standing here with a second chance, I realized there was no magic trick to get out of this. Even if I called the cops, the missing footage was still missing.

What was I supposed to say? Forget it. I wasn't going to play the victim this time.

Under the burning stares of three thousand people, I snatched the microphone back, smacking it twice against my palm to send a piercing feedback screech through the speakers. "The principal is right," I announced into the mic. "My perfect A+ is totally fake.

I cheated." The bleachers exploded. "Holy shit, she actually admitted it?" "She's got some nerve.

Does she think the school won't expel her just because she's a charity case?" "So shameless.

If I were Jade, I would have dropped out by now." Leighton's smirk vanished, her lips parting as the microphone feedback echoed.

She gripped the edge of her seat, staring at me as if I had just grown a second head. While the whispers swelled into a roar, I brought the mic back to my lips. "Yeah, exactly.

I cheated to get straight A's for six years of elementary school. I cheated to be valedictorian for three years of middle school.

And I just kept cheating my way to the top of the class for the last two years of high school." I leaned forward, scanning the crowd. "So, guys, do me a favor and reflect on this for a second.

Why is it that all of you study your asses off, but you still can't beat a cheater like me?" I tilted my head. "Are you just really bad at copying?" A dead, heavy silence slammed down over the three thousand students.

They had seen arrogant before, but they had never seen anyone drop a nuclear bomb on their own reputation like this.

A beat of heavy silence hung in the air before the gymnasium erupted into chaos. "How is she bragging about cheating?" "Wait, hold up.

Cheating once is a fluke, but cheating for eight straight years? Are the proctors blind?" "That's what I'm saying. Jade's GPA has been a flawless 4.0 since day one.

You can't fake that." The principal just stood there, staring blankly at the microphone in my hand. Chapter 2 The principal was new. He didn't know the student body at all.

Hearing Leighton's thoughts, the principal had acted on reflex, prioritizing the school's reputation over protocol and rushing the cheating accusation.

I had zero interest in playing nice.

I stared him dead in the eye. "If I actually managed to cheat right under your noses for two straight years, then these proctors should just quit and go flip burgers at a fastfood joint!

Let's do this: you expel me, and you fire these incompetent teachers right along with me.

Then we can settle this in court!" The principal clamped his mouth shut, but the proctors immediately broke into an uproar. "Jade didn't cheat!

The students sitting next to her are pulling straight C's. She'd have to be insane to copy them!" "Exactly!

And who do you copy off of to get a flawless A+ that crushes the runnerup by a mile?" "Principal, there's obviously a massive misunderstanding here." The principal's face cycled through shades of sickly green and pale white.

His eyes darted between me and the teachers, searching for a way out.

He immediately scrambled to backtrack. "We will table this discussion until I review the security footage." Just as I was about to walk free, Leighton's mental broadcast cut through the tension again. [ Wow, the principal is such an idiot.

The security footage was already destroyed by Jade. He's not going to find anything. ] [ And who says you have to copy a classmate to cheat?

If you have the right connections, you can buy the test answers on Reddit beforehand.

Forget just getting straight A's, a flawless 4.0 GPA would be a piece of cake. ] The principal's eyes snapped back to me, narrowing with renewed suspicion.

But he didn't dare pull the trigger on an expulsion just yet.

Instead, he made a splitsecond decision that caused a restless ripple to sweep through the bleachers. "I am announcing a total lockdown! Nobody moves!

We are doing a comprehensive sweep for cell phones!" he bellowed. "Let's see who smuggled a phone into school to buy test answers online.

Anyone caught will be expelled immediately!" Leighton's face instantly drained of color. The student body erupted into terrified shouts. "I totally believe Jade didn't cheat!

Don't search our phones, we didn't bring anything!" "Yeah! We never accused her of cheating!

Why are we the ones paying the price?" Three thousand pairs of furious eyes locked onto Leighton. If it weren't for her, the principal wouldn't be launching a witch hunt.

Leighton swallowed hard, looking like she had choked on broken glass. If she spoke up, she'd have to admit she knew we could hear her thoughts.

But if she kept her mouth shut, she was about to become public enemy number one. The principal scoffed. "You're high school students.

You're here to learn, not scroll on your phones all day. Anyone caught will have their parents called immediately!" The crackdown was swift and brutal.

Teachers fanned out across the gymnasium, waving metal detectors over the students.

Teams of counselors marched into the empty classrooms and locker rooms, tearing through everything.

This carpetbombing search directly confiscated over five hundred of the latest smartphones and vapes from lockers and backpacks.

The principal locked the massive haul inside the school's main safe, announcing they wouldn't be returned until the end of the semester.

But out of those five hundred confiscated devices, not a single one belonged to me.

Right before the assembly was dismissed, I flashed a sweet, unapologetic smile at the crowd. "Sorry to disappoint, guys. I can't afford a smartphone.

My trailer park doesn't even have WiFi yet." As the furious student body filed out of the bleachers, the principal specifically stopped Leighton. "Miss," he said, his voice cold. "In the future, unless you have concrete evidence, refrain from throwing out baseless accusations.

It is highly inappropriate." Leighton blinked her big, innocent eyes. "Principal, I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't say a single word.

How did I accuse anyone?" She tilted her head. "You're the one who suddenly announced someone was cheating." The principal's jaw locked.

He had no way to explain the paranormal phenomenon he'd just witnessed. He had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill in silence.

After that disaster, a heavy layer of resentment settled over the student body toward the new Upper East Side transfer.

When the principal finally checked the security room, he found the server wiped clean—just like the voice had said.

But he wasn't about to blindly trust Leighton's telepathic broadcast again. Instead, he orchestrated a brutal, schoolwide standardized test.

Forcing everyone to sit for another exam barely two days later sparked a massive wave of fury across the campus. Chapter 3 Leighton panicked.

She waved her hands in protest. "Jade cheated! Why are you dragging all of us into a retest?

Just make her take it alone!" The classmates exchanged weary, resentful glances, silently agreeing.

But the counselor slammed her clipboard onto the desk. "Until this is fully investigated, Jade did not cheat.

Stop making baseless accusations against your classmates." She glared at the room. "And do you think I don't know you sneak your phones in? I usually turn a blind eye.

But I never expected you to go on Reddit and buy test answers!

If we really launch a cheating investigation, none of you are walking out of here clean!" She pointed at the clock. "Clear your desks.

The exam starts in thirty minutes." Terrified of the counselor's authority, the students scrambled to set up the testing rows. Only Leighton looked pale.

She muttered an excuse about needing the restroom and vanished. She didn't come back until a minute before the bell, looking terrible.

Endless standardized tests were the principal's ultimate obsession. But these questions were like drinking water to me. I could get an A with my eyes closed.

I finished fast and turned in my paper.

After the AP Literature exam, during lunch, I was sitting in the corner of the cafeteria biting into a sandwich when the counselor called me out. "Jade, your grandma dropped off some freshly baked cupcakes for you at the school's back door." In my past life, I ate them without a second thought.

The result? I practically dehydrated from the diarrhea. When my grandma found out, the guilt destroyed her.

A vendor had been desperately trying to clear out his stock of baking supplies for practically nothing.

She thought she scored a great deal, immediately baked a dozen, and had the counselor give them to me. It ended up making me fail my exam and labeling me a cheater.

The grief crushed her, and she passed away soon after. Thinking about it now, why would a random guy be selling deeply discounted baking supplies right there?

I turned around and met Leighton's expectant, plotting smile. Instantly, I knew exactly who the mastermind was.

In teen movies, the mean girl gives her rival weightgain nutrition bars. Now, we had Leighton handing out laxative cupcakes to the entire class.

Just as a triumphant smile crept onto her face, waiting for me to take a bite, I picked up the box of cupcakes and started passing them out down the aisle. "Hey guys, these are fresh cupcakes my grandma brought from the bakery.

Try them for free! Let's guarantee we all ace the AP Calculus exam this afternoon!" Leighton's hand froze over her desk.

She stared at the cupcakes being passed around, her eyes darting between me and the other students.

But a second later, she realized this was the perfect chance to turn the crowd against me.

She immediately started slinging mud in her head: [ I literally just saw Jade in the restroom picking up cupcakes that dropped right next to the toilet and putting them back in the box.

She wants the Ivy League spot so badly she's actually trying to drug the whole class with laxatives! ] [ No, I have to step up and stop them.

But what can I say to make everyone believe me? ] The students froze, their hands hovering over the cupcakes. They had just lost their phones that morning.

Nobody dared to blindly trust this phantom voice echoing in their heads.

Finally, the class president couldn't hold back anymore. "Jade, where did you wash these?" I shook my head. "My grandma baked them herself. They're perfectly clean.

Even if they did drop on the floor, the fivesecond rule means they are totally fine to eat." Now the entire class turned their heads to stare at Leighton.

The president cut straight to the point. "Leighton, you said these cupcakes dropped by the toilet.

Do you have any proof?" Leighton gripped the edge of her desk, pretending to be calm. "What are you talking about?

I literally didn't say a word." But once a secret rips open, it spills out everywhere. "Bullshit!

I clearly heard you say these cupcakes were dropped by the toilet!" Then, one by one, three, five, a dozen students stood up, backing the president's claim. They weren't idiots.

A random voice popping into their heads—who knew if it was real or a setup? Leighton bit her lip and refused to confess. I had watched enough of this circus.

I grabbed a cupcake and walked right up to Leighton's desk. "Wow, guys, we're all classmates here. What voice? I didn't hear anything." I held it out to her. "Here, Leighton.

Have a cupcake." Leighton shrank back in her chair, pulling her arms tight against her chest. "I'm not eating that! Get it away from me." "Relax, my grandma baked these herself.

They're absolutely poisonfree. If you don't believe me, watch." I ripped off the paper wrapper and took a massive bite. I chewed and swallowed.

Chapter 4 The entire class turned a deaf ear to the mental broadcast now. "And you still claim you didn't set her up?

If those cupcakes were really dropped by the toilet, why would Jade eat one?" "You're obviously framing her." "Yeah!

That's so messed up!" "Unless you eat one too, I'm calling bullshit on that whole voice thing!" The fury in the room spiked.

Leighton never expected her own trap to snap shut on her leg.

To prove she wasn't maliciously framing me, she grabbed a cupcake with the look of someone walking to the electric chair and took a desperate bite.

The afternoon exam turned into a disaster zone. Half the class, including me, doubled over and started throwing up, fighting over the bathroom stalls in pure chaos.

The counselor grabbed her phone with shaking hands and dialed 911. Four ambulances came screaming onto the campus, sirens blaring.

Once the ER doctors had hooked all the severely dehydrated students up to IV drips, Leighton finally snapped.

She was sobbing, screaming that she was going to have her Wall Street billionaire parents teach me a lesson for poisoning the class.

I lay in the hospital bed, my face pale against the white pillows. But deep down, a dark thrill curled in my chest.

In my past life, I was the only one writhing in pain until I almost passed out.

Now, she finally got to taste her own medicine. "Leighton," I said, my voice weak but steady. "If I spiked them, why would I be stupid enough to eat one myself?" Leighton clutched her stomach. "It was you!

You're just jealous of my grades!

You wanted to ruin my chances at the Ivy League recommendation!" She gasped through the pain. "When my parents get here, I am going to destroy you!" Even though the other students didn't believe I spiked the food, they were definitely holding onto some resentment toward me.

After all, I was the one who handed out the tainted cupcakes. I looked around the ward, offering a sincere apology. "Don't worry, guys. I actually called the cops two hours ago.

The police already caught the guy who sold the laced baking supplies. We'll get answers soon." I shifted my gaze to her. "So don't panic, Leighton.

Besides, there's absolutely no reason for someone with a flawless 4.0 GPA to be jealous of your barely passing Cminus.

Right?" Leighton's face contorted, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the hospital bedsheets.

But then realization hit her, and she immediately tried to backpedal. "You called the cops? That homeless guy barely survives on the streets!

His life is hard enough, and you're having an innocent man arrested just to dodge the blame? Drop the charges right now, do you hear me?" This time, I didn't even have to clap back.

The rest of the class instantly jumped down her throat. "Oh, totally.

We just almost died of dehydration, but poor him, right?" "The cupcakes were brought to the classroom door by the counselor, and Jade handed them straight out!

When would she have had time to mix in laxatives? It was obviously that homeless guy!" "Yeah! Do you really think the counselor poisoned us?

Use your Cminus brain!" Very soon, under police pressure, the homeless man from the street corner spilled everything.

He confessed that a rich girl with a designer bag shoved a hundreddollar bill into his hand.

She told him to sell a batch of baking mix laced with expired laxatives at a dirtcheap price to an old lady collecting cans by the road.

He told the cops he just thought it was a harmless prank. He sold the whole batch for practically nothing!

He never expected it to be a nightmare that almost sent fifty students to the morgue.

Escorted by two officers, the homeless man was brought right into the ER ward to identify the culprit. Leighton yanked her blanket up over her head, playing dead.

But he spotted her instantly. He pointed a grimy finger straight at her bed. "That's her! The one with the diamond necklace!

I thought she was just pulling a joke, I didn't know she was trying to kill people!" Leighton's teeth chattered.

She ripped the blanket down but flatout denied it. "Where's your proof? How can you prove I told you to poison anyone?" The police pulled the street corner security footage.

But here was the terrifying part: on the video, Leighton just walked by, holding the bag of laced baking mix, without moving her lips.

The homeless man just willingly walked up, took the bag, and nodded like he was promising to get the job done. They lacked the most critical piece of audio evidence.

Coupled with her Wall Street billionaire parents pulling major strings, Leighton dodged the legal consequences. The homeless man was forced to take the fall.

But a chilling realization swept through the hospital ward. The classmates all exchanged wideeyed glances. They had experienced that exact same bizarre telepathy.

They just knew nobody in the real world would ever believe them if they said it out loud.

Eventually, once everyone had recovered and hydrated, we returned to school to suffer through the rest of the exams. Chapter 5 Three days later, the results were posted.

I secured my spot at the top with a perfect A+.

Leighton, who used to always take second place, ended up with a massive pile of Fs, plummeting straight to the bottom ten of the class.

With these scores, the principal confidently sent me to the state academic decathlon. I didn't disappoint and brought home the firstplace trophy.

The school awarded me a fivethousanddollar scholarship.

Combined with the two thousand dollars my grandma and I had saved up from collecting scrap metal and cans, I finally had enough to cover my mom's massive medical insurance deductible.

Her lifesaving prescription meds were finally secured. I went back to school and buried myself in my books.

College application season was right around the corner, and the teachers were watching everyone's GPAs like hawks.

They essentially analyzed every student's test mistakes and broke down the reasons oneonone. Today, I gathered my assignments and headed to the faculty office.

The moment I pushed the door open, I heard the math teacher's deeply frustrated voice. "How could you mess up such a basic AP Calculus problem?

How many times have I told you to watch the rate of change for the derivatives! And the integral formulas, you've mixed them all up!

What were you even thinking during the exam?" Leighton leaned against the desk, checking her perfectly manicured nails.

But the second she spotted me, her jaw tightened and a flush crept up her neck. She cut right through the teacher's endless lecture. "Enough!

I bombed one test, do you have to keep nagging me about it? Back in Manhattan, all my tutors had Master's degrees from Ivy League schools. Who do you think you are?

You suck at teaching and blame it on the students. You're just lazy! You don't even deserve to be a teacher." With that, she spun around and marched right up to me.

She dropped her voice. "You just got lucky this time.

Next time, that top spot is mine." After Leighton stormed out, I quickly poured the math teacher a cup of water from the dispenser, genuinely afraid he might have a heart attack.

From that day on, he treated Leighton like she was invisible. He never called on her to answer a single question in class. For a few days, things were actually quiet.

Then came the time to collect the prom fund. Just like in my past life, the class president locked the envelope stuffed with cash in his locker.

But by the afternoon, a solid two thousand dollars had vanished into thin air.

The president was sweating bullets. "Who messed with my locker?" Everyone just shook their heads in confusion.

He laid it out plain and simple. "I wasn't here during the last period for PE. Whoever took the cash, if you put it back right now, I'll pretend this never happened.

But if you don't return it, don't blame me for calling the cops right now!" The classmates exchanged nervous glances. "Who the hell did it? Stealing the prom fund?

They deserve to rot." "Didn't a senior get expelled last year for stealing?" "Oh my god, I always thought people in our class were just a little slow, at least not malicious.

I can't believe someone actually stole the prom fund. Sharing a classroom with trash like that makes me sick." "Come on!

Own up to it and give it back already!" Everyone was on edge, pride on the line. Nobody wanted to be branded a thief.

Right at that moment, Leighton's mental broadcast echoed through the room again. [ Who else could it be? Jade is obviously the most desperate for cash in this class.

I literally just saw her digging through the president's locker. ] [ But I guess it makes sense, she's practically homeless. Stealing is probably second nature to her.

Maybe I should just pay out of pocket to cover the missing prom fund! ] [ I just hope she doesn't badmouth me to the teachers next time and get me yelled at. ] The faces of everyone in the room turned grim.

On one hand, Leighton had already played them twice. On the other hand, it was an undeniable fact that I was the poorest kid in the room. I had the biggest motive to steal.

Whispers started rippling through the desks. "Never thought the valedictorian would have sticky fingers." "Even if we tell the teacher, they'll just play favorites with her.

Why should she get a pass? That's my money!" "It's our money. Let's just take it back from her!" The bell rang, cutting the tension.

The history teacher walked in, instantly sensing the toxic atmosphere in the room, and demanded to know what was going on. The class president had no choice but to fill him in.

The history teacher exploded, slamming his lesson plan hard against the podium. "This is a crime!

If we don't drag this rat out today, I will personally have the campus security lock down this entire hallway! Nobody leaves!" Chapter 6 Another search?

A lot of students turned pale. They had just bought new burner phones or snuck in their backups to play on.

A guy in the back row shot out of his seat, knocking his desk forward. "I know who stole it! It was Jade! I've seen her and her grandma picking through trash on the street.

Nobody else is that desperate for cash!" "Yeah!" someone else chimed in. "Leighton even saw her do it with her own eyes.

Ask her if you don't believe me!" Leighton stood up, biting her lip in fake hesitation. "Mr. Davis, Jade is practically homeless. It makes sense she'd steal some money.

Why don't we just let this go?" But her mental broadcast told a different story: [ The history teacher is actually smart for catching the thief right away.

Too bad Jade probably already blew all the cash. He has no proof.

She might even flip the script and get his teaching license revoked. ] The history teacher had zero tolerance for this.

He marched over and slammed his lesson plan onto my desk. "You lack basic moral integrity. You don't deserve a frontrow seat.

Pack your stuff and move to the back row next to the trash can!" He pointed aggressively to the back of the room. "Trash belongs with trash.

And you don't deserve to be my Senior Teaching Assistant anymore. Starting today, Leighton will take over that position.

Everyone should learn from her example!" Losing the Senior TA title was the best news I had heard all week. Teachers loved exploiting the top students.

Since I got a flawless A+ in every subject except Geography, I was forced to be an unpaid TA and free errand runner for almost every teacher.

Now that I was finally off the hook as free labor, I had more time to review my AP courses. I stood up, genuinely thrilled. "Thank you, sir.

I'll move right now." Who wanted to choke on dryerase marker fumes in the front row anyway? The back row was way quieter. My response just set the history teacher off again.

His face turned purple. "What is that supposed to mean? You think I'm falsely accusing you?

Wipe that smirk off your face!" He slammed his fist on my desk. "Of course the money isn't on you anymore, you probably blew it all!

I've been teaching for thirty years, and I've never raised a thief. You are a disgrace to society!

You will confess right here, right now, that you stole that money!" Five minutes of class time were already gone. Arguing was just eating into my study schedule.

There were no security cameras in the classroom anyway, so anything I said was useless. I just rolled my eyes and gave him what he wanted. "Yeah, yeah, sure. I stole it.

Are you happy now, sir? Can we start the lesson? Our class is already a whole chapter behind the others.

If you don't start teaching, we aren't going to finish the textbook before finals." I quickly grabbed my desk and dragged it all the way to the back by the trash cans, not wanting to waste another second of precious review time.

The history teacher gasped for air, practically having a stroke, but he swallowed his rage and spent the rest of the period aggressively lecturing.

The second the bell rang, he cornered me again. "Where is the money? You are handing it over today." I was busy organizing my notes to prep for the next AP English Lit period.

I didn't even look up. "I'll have the whole class come to my place tonight to get it." The history teacher sneered. "Fine. Let's see how far you can push this charade.

I'm reporting this to the principal. Get ready for your expulsion!" On the walk home after school, the history teacher trailed right behind me, determined to make me pay.

The afternoon sun was perfect. It was the perfect time to recite advanced SAT vocab, saving time to prep for AP Calculus tomorrow.

Hearing me recite SAT vocab, the classmates tagging along exchanged weird looks. Leighton laughed mockingly. "Wow, you really are the valedictorian. Nothing phases you.

You steal two grand and still have the nerve to study." I acted like it was a genuine compliment. "Thanks.

That's why I'm number one." Leighton scowled, hitting a brick wall, and shut her mouth. Soon enough, I stopped right in front of the town's massive, rustedout auto salvage yard.

The classmates stared in confusion. "What is this? Are you planning to dig through scrap metal to pay us back?" "Holy shit, are you seriously making us dumpster dive with you?

How shameless are you?" The history teacher's face twisted, the realization that he might have been played finally sinking in. "Are you messing with me?" Chapter 7 I pointed at a rusted, deflated RV parked right next to the town's massive, abandoned auto salvage yard. "We're here." The classmates finally peeled their eyes away from the mountains of corroded car parts and stared at the leaky RV that looked like a stiff breeze could knock it over. "This is your house?" the class president choked out, his voice cracking.

They followed me inside the rustedout RV. It didn't even have heating.

There were just two wornout, secondhand mattresses on the floor next to a pile of canned food from the local soup kitchen.

The whole place was smaller than the president's master bathroom. "Wait, where is the bathroom?" the president couldn't help but ask.

I pointed out the cracked window toward the far end of the trailer park. "The communal showers. Down there." The president froze.

That filthy communal bathroom was at least a halfmile walk away. The words demanding the missing prom fund jammed in his throat; he couldn't force them out. Mr.

Davis's mouth opened, but no sound came out as he stared at the rusted trailer, the reality of the situation finally sinking in. The RV was way too cramped to fit the entire class.

The students had to awkwardly shuffle in and out, taking turns touring my living nightmare like it was some twisted museum exhibit.

After seeing it, every single one of them fell into a dead, heavy silence. Right at that moment, my grandma trudged into the camp.

She was dragging several massive black trash bags stuffed to the brim with empty soda cans and plastic bottles she had scavenged from three different neighborhoods.

Her bare hands were beetred from the freezing cold as she hobbled through the thick mud.

Seeing a crowd of teenagers swarming our lot, she blinked in confusion. "Jade, honey, what's going on?" Just as I opened my mouth, the president practically slapped his hand over my lips to stop me. "We… we came to visit!

Yeah, we're just hanging out!" The other classmates vigorously nodded their heads. Mr.

Davis stared hard at the dirtcaked floorboards, swallowing heavily, but he didn't say a word to stop the lie. This was the first time I had ever brought friends home.

Grandma was so thrilled she nervously wiped her greasestained hands on her faded apron. "Oh, Jade's friends!

I'm so sorry, I don't have anything ready." She beamed. "We don't have much to offer, but I'll go trade these cans at the recycling center right now for some cash.

I'll hit the dollar store and get you kids some frozen pizzas and hotdogs to grill up!" The president didn't even care about the prom fund anymore.

Seeing the brutal reality of how my grandma and I lived, he was ready to cover the two grand out of his own pocket. "No, no, please, ma'am!

We're really not hungry." But he couldn't fight off an old woman's desperate hospitality. Defeated, he shot a panicked look at the guys in the back.

Two of the starting linebackers from the football team instantly rushed forward and practically snatched the heavy trash bags out of her hands. "We got it, ma'am." Tears pooled in my grandma's eyes. "Such sweet boys.

You're all such good kids.

Thank you for looking out for my Jade at school." The "good kids" all dropped their heads, staring intensely at their expensive sneakers, unable to meet my eyes.

They had absolutely zero proof I was the thief, yet they had marched all the way down here to pin the crime on me.

Half the class was already backing away, muttering excuses about needing to go home. Leighton stepped up and blocked their path. "You can't leave!

That prom fund has your money in it too.

Don't you want it back?" A girl she blocked snapped back, her face flushed with anger. "I've got money to burn, alright?" "I don't even care anymore!

I'll just pay the fee again!" A chorus of desperate voices instantly backed her up. "It wasn't even that much.

We can just pitch in again." "Yeah, just pretend I forgot to pay it the first time!" "We haven't even started collecting the prom fund, right?" "Exactly!

Nobody collected anything yet." The classmates nervously babbled over each other.

The president knew damn well they were lying through their teeth, but he kept his mouth firmly shut. Mr. Davis hadn't spoken a single word since stepping into the RV.

Since they made the trip, I quickly grabbed a few of them by the sleeves, dragging them back toward the rusty door. "Hey, don't leave!

Even if you don't want the cash, my grandma is a great cook. At least stay for dinner!" The classmates I grabbed looked like they were going to shatter into pieces.

They couldn't even bring themselves to look me in the eye. I took the opportunity to dig under my mattress and pull out an old, rusted Folgers coffee can.

It was the nicest container I had managed to salvage from the scrapyard. I popped the plastic lid off. Inside, it was stuffed with quarters, crumpled onedollar bills, and fives.

The largest bill in the entire stash was a ten. Right in front of their horrified faces, I started counting it out on the mattress.

No matter how many times I tallied it up, the pathetic pile only came to $562.90.

I shoved the heavy coffee can right into the president's hands. "It's still short almost fifteen hundred.

Give me a sec, I'll keep looking." The president reacted like I had just handed him a live grenade. His hands stiffened midair. "Stop