A sickening series of thuds echoed down the stairwell, punctuated by her own strangled screams.


    A few secondster, Joleney in a crumpled heap at Juniper''s feet, face up. Blood trickled from her nose and the corner of her mouth, and her face was already scraped and bruised. The violent fall had left her unable to move, her eyes wide with pain and despair as she stared up at Juniper.


    "Holy crap!" Qadir, who had witnessed the whole thing, stood frozen in shock.


    What just happened? One second she was standing, the next she was rolling down the stairs like a ball. And how had Juniper jumped down more than ten steps andnded without a scratch?


    "There''s blood! Someone get a teacher!" The other students started shouting, their chatter turning into panicked cries.


    Teachers and the school nurse arrived quickly.


    "Multiple fractures, and likely some internal bleeding," the nurse announced grimly after a quick assessment. "She''s seriously injured. We need to get her to a hospital now. In this condition, there''s no way she''ll be able to take the exam."


    "What?" The students gasped, their pity for Jolene growing.


    "That''s awful!"


    "Is it?" another student whispered. "I think I saw Jolene try to trip Juniper. But Juniper saw it and just... whoosh, flew down the stairs. Jolene''s n backfired, and that''s why she fell!"


    "No way!" a girl whispered back, covering her mouth in shock. "If that''s true, then she got what she deserved."


    "She totally deserved it!" another witness chimed in. "They''re changing the


    curriculum next year. If she can''t pass this time, with her grades... ha, she''ll be lucky to get a job washing dishes."


    Joleney helplessly on the ground, tears streaming down her face. She couldn''t move, and the pain was too intense to even make a sound, but she could hear every word.


    Juniper knew what she was trying to do and deliberately dodged her, at an angle so precise it was clearly designed to make her fall. What was she going to do now? She failed the task she wouldn''t get the money, and now she was so injured sh might miss the exam.


    It was over. Her life was over.


    And if it was, she would never, ever let Juniper get away with it.


    ...


    On the way to the restaurant, Qadir kept stealing nces at Juniper, who was walking with her hands in her pockets, an icy expression on her face.


    "Juniper..."


    "Spit it out," she said curtly, not looking at him, her aura intimidating.


    "Jolene..." Qadir chose his words carefully. "Did you know she was going to do that? Did you see iting?"


    "Yeah," Juniper replied tly.


    What an idiot! In a TV show, a viin with that level of intelligence would be killed off in the first episode. And she dared to try something on her? She was asking for it.


    "I heard some students saying you did it on purpose..." Qadir trailed off, then quickly


    corrected himself. "But I know you wouldn''t do that."


    "Oh, but I did," Juniper stopped and turned to face him. She tilted her chin up slightly, her beautiful face etched with a chilling expression as she spoke, enunciating every word. "My rule is three strikes. First she talked trash about me behind my back second she framed me for cheating. Third, she tried to send me down a flight of stairs. For scum like her, giving her three chances was already an act of charity on my part."


    Juniper''s lips barely moved, her voice soft but carrying a weight that struck the soul. "So, yes. I did it on purpose. I wanted her to fall."


    Because she had never been a good person. She repaid kindness with kindness.


    But when it came to her enemies... she would never let them get away with it.