Ethan stepped forward and clapped the student on the shoulder.
"She's got the best grades in our class—who else would they suspect first?"
"And there are fifty-six of us. Fifty-six people all pointing at her. Who's anyone gonna believe?"
"One more thing!"
Molly picked up right where Ethan left off, grinning as she spoke.
"Tomorrow morning, when I show everyone how to use the devices—nobody calls Miriam. Not a word."
"Why? We're not telling her?"
"Of course not. Her grades are so good, she can manage on her own!"
"But she already paid…"
"So? She lorded over us for three years. Think of it as payback for putting up with her."
Their laughter hit me through the wall, ugly and wide open, and I dug my nails into my palms until it hurt.
Of course. They let me walk out that easily—there was never a chance it ended there.
But I wasn't the Miriam Winfield of my last life anymore, the lamb led quietly to slaughter.
I gripped my bag and went straight to the homeroom teacher's office.
"Ms. Simmons, this year's early admission to Westbridge University—I want it."
Then I set my exam admission ticket on the desk in front of her.
"I'm not sitting for the national college entrance exam."