Chapter 2

That was when Mrs. Dent, the class teacher, strode in.

Her face dropped when she saw the bikinis, and she leaped up to snatch them out of Susie's hands. "Where did you get these?! Do you even understand what would happen if you put these on in Aram?!"

Susie was caught by surprise at first, but she soon hugged Mrs. Dent's arm while pouting. "No, Mrs. Dent, you got the wrong idea. Everyone's so tired from lab work, so I'm encouraging them by giving them bikinis."

Ken promptly nodded. "That's right! We just want everyone to get excited. See? They're all motivated now!"

"That's right!" The girls chirped noisily in agreement. "We're in Aram, but the thought of Tropico motivates us!"

"Exactly!" one of the boys said, glaring sideways at me pointedly while adding sarcastically, "Unlike someone here who's only ever a buzzkill. Because of her, no one's in the mood to finish up the project!"

I snorted—their excuse was certainly flawless.

After all, the school had arranged for a free trip to Tropico to reward us should our project prove a success.

Seeing that they were all saying the same thing, the crease on Mrs. Dent's brow eased, but she said, "For safety's sake, Quinn will take custody of all the swimwear. She will hand everything out when we actually arrive in Tropico."

Patting me on the shoulder, Mrs. Dent then smiled, "I'll always have peace of mind when I leave things to you."

However, when she left to take a call, the silent conference room erupted into chaos again.

"Damn it!" the class jock bellowed as he flung his bottle on the floor, pointing at me as he growled, "I'm going to the beach, whether you like it or not! Just try and take my swimming trunks from me!"

On the other hand, the girls sprawled over the table and sighed. "No… Our beach photos… No more showing off to those hunks on Instagram…"

Ken's friend surrounded him right then. "Are we just going to give up, man? Your girl… Why don't you talk to her?"

"Oh, calm down and just think for a second!" Susie shrieked, glaring at me pointedly. "Why would Mrs. Dent suddenly show up now? Someone must have ratted us out!"

Hearing that, Ken kicked down a chair. "It has to be her! Just like last time!"

I could only laugh in wry amusement.

There was this one time when Ken called his classmates to start a fight with actual gangsters because they had teased Susie a little.

If I hadn't warned Mrs. Dent and their parents, they would still be in the hospital right now.

To think that kindness was treated as sin…

Nonetheless, the class was in an uproar, and I could feel everyone staring daggers at me, ready to tear me into pieces in a moment.

I stumbled backward to distance myself, only to find myself cornered against the wall.

Ken leaped up and grabbed my hair, pulling so hard it felt like my scalp was being ripped apart.

"You bitch! You ratted us out, didn't you?!" he bellowed.

I clawed at his arm even as I started to black out from the pain, when he suddenly let go.

I lost my balance and felt him kicking me squarely on the hip, sending me crashing painfully on the floor.

My cheeks burned as they scraped against the concrete floor, and I could feel something wet and warm flowing down my chin, but I had no idea if that was blood or tears.

I shook my head repeatedly, crying myself hoarse. "No, I didn't say anything! And I'd never steal your clothes!"

However, the whole class was hollering at me all at once, and I felt a sneaker stomping on my hand, the pebbles in the soles cutting into my skin.

Even as I threatened to pass out, I tried to push the foot away by instinct, only for Ken to stomp on my hand harder. "You're fighting back?! Just look at this bitch! It's just like the last time she ratted out!"

"Come on, just her hand?" Susie gloated as she dropped to a crouch, grabbing my collar. "Why don't we take an early graduation photo and play it on loop during her wedding?"

Everyone laughed maliciously right then, while I struggled, refusing to let them win!