Chapter 14 Schoolyard Bullying
Just as Eliza nearly tripped. Nn grabbed the back of her <b>cor </b>and yanked her upright.
She barely avoided falling, but her chest still burned from the strain in her breath.
“<b>I </b><b>asked </b>you a question.”
Nn’s presence was suffocating
Though he was <b>just </b><b>a </b>teenager, he exuded a sense of authority far beyond his years.
I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Eliza tried to brush him off.
But Nn leaned in, voice low and expressionless. “I saw it.”
Her heart skipped a beat.
“I <b>saw </b>you switch papers during thest <b>exam</b><b>.</b><b>” </b>
Her eyes widened in shock.
He saw it? That couldn’t be. Naomi had always chosen the blind spot–areas with no cameras, no monitoring.
Nn didn’t miss the flicker of panic in her eyes.
<b>“</b><b>There’s </b>no one in ss Six who can bully you
He didn’t press her further. Instead, he flicked her forehead lightly and said, “Keep running”
Eliza followed him in a daze.
He’s known all along. But he didn’t expose her.
Why?
“Eliza! Hurry up! You’re falling behind!”
Henry jogged beside her, nudging her forward with a grin.
+B Pearls
Thanks to what had happened earlier, ss Six had unexpectedly taken her in. The resistance from this morning was gone.
Even Colton, who hadn’t been friendly before, made sure to run behind her, blocking ss One’s line of s
<b>[</b>saght
At lunch, a few of the ss Six boys hauled their boxed meals into the ssroom.
There were only sixteen students <b>in </b>ss Six. The cafeteria delivered meals <b>based </b>on ss headcount.
Since Eliza had just transferred in, her name hadn’t been added yet. There <b>was </b>no meal for her.
If she wanted to eat, she’d have to <b>go </b><b>back </b>to ss One to get it
And those people? They weren’t going to <b>make </b>it easy
“Eat mine!”
Henry shoved his boxed <b>lunch </b>toward her.
Eliza shook her head. “It’s yours. I can’t take it.”
“We’re all one family in ss Six. No need to <b>divide </b>what’s yours and mine. Besides, I worked up a sweat during PE–I’m not hungry anyway
8:37 <b>AM </b>
Chapter 14 Schoolyard Bullying
He opened the lid and pushed it closer. “Eat up. You’re still growing. You won’t get taller if you don’t eat.”
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His easy smile warmed her heart. It was hard to imagine this was the same Henry who’d been ready to throw punches an hour ago.
Outside the door, a few girls from ss One appeared, staring at Eliza with smug, <b>mocking </b>expressions
Clearly, they were waiting for something to happen.
Eliza’s eyes darkened.
“Eliza, Naomi asked us to bring you your lunch.”
One girl raised a boxed meal in her hand, her face haughty and smug.
Eliza didn’t need to guess to know what wasing.
“Ignore them. Tomorrow your name will be in the system. They won’t have any reason to mess with you anymore.” Henry muttered, gesturing to her to eat.
But Eliza stood up and walked straight toward the door.
The two girls exchanged excited looks.
-Eliza, we knew you <b>didn’t </b>have a meal, so we brought one for you. Aren’t you going to say <b>thanks</b>!”
“Right? You were part of ss One too. Even though you’ve given up on yourself, we still treat you like a ssmate. Just say thank you, <b>and </b>it’s yours.”
Eliza smiled.
She had thought that being reborn once gave her perspective–<b>that </b>childish bullying like this didn’t deserve her energy.
But apparently, they saw her as the perfect victim.
She took the boxed meal from the girl’s hand and flipped the lid.
Inside was a pile of trash–cockroaches, and even a dead ral.
The girls in the corridor shrieked at the sight.
1
Henry and the rest of ss Six rushed out of the room.
But Eliza?
She didn’t even blink.
“That’s it?”
The <b>two </b>girls‘ smug smiles froze.
Eliza <b>casually </b>grabbed the rat by the tail and flung it squarely onto one girl’s head.
The girl’s face turned sheet white.
<b>Before </b>the other could even scream. Eliza upturned the entire box over her, garbage raining <b>down </b>from her hair to her shoes.
The <b>move </b>was so swift and smooth it left everyone stunned.
“Eliza! Are you <b>insane</b>!! How dare <b>you</b>?!”
“I’m telling the teacher! You psycho! You’re getting expelled for this!”
Eliza smiled <b>faintly </b>“Go ahead<b>. </b>There are cameras everywhere in school. You handed me that box. What was inside? Clearly
Chapter 14 Schoolyard Bullying
nted by you. The school has <b>a </b>zero–tolerance policy for bullying. I’d love to see who gets expelled first.”
“You-!”
They hadn’t expected her to fight back so fiercely.
The Eliza they remembered was quiet, withdrawn, never said a word even when bullied.
But now?
She had teeth.
“If you don’t report this, I will. I’ll go straight to the principal.”
Eliza took a step closer.
Her presence alone made their hearts lurch
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“One more thing,” she added. “Next month, I’ll bepeting in the city–wide mathpetition. You know how seriously the jschool takes that.”
She smiled coldly, “Remind me, where do you two <b>rank </b>in ss One? Bottom five, wasn’t it? You really think the school or the teachers would throw away their precious contestant just to defend two deadweights like you!”
Their faces turned pale.
At Westbrook High, grades were everything. Students with top scores practically <b>ruled </b>the ce.
As long as they didn’t go too far, even troublemakers from ss One got protected.
But a city–levelpetition? That was on another level.
No teacher would risk losing a medal for two low–performers.
“Fine! Eliza, just wait! Let’s see how smug you are when you bomb thepetition!”
“Let’s go!”
The two girls turned to leave.
“Stop.
They froze.
“We were goi
going to let it go. What else do you want?”
“You don’t seem to get it.”
Eliza bent <b>down </b>and picked up the remaining half of the <b>trashed </b>lunch.
“It’s not you letting me off the hook”
She straightened up, eyes sharp.
“It’s me who’s not done with you.”