Chapter 4

The harsh heat was already driving everyone nuts, to begin with. Coupled with the harrowing-looking snakes inside the car, the combined torment made a few cowardly students dry-heave on the spot.

The students, who had taken pity on me earlier, felt their resentment against me building rapidly.

"Just how long does Kate intend to put up that act of hers?"

"She's just holding on for the sake of her pride right now! Why can't she be more considerate toward us? Thanks to her, we got dragged into this mess!"

Aggrieved, I tried to explain to everyone that I was already dead. But the words I yelled out were lighter than the whispers carried by the wind. Nothing I did or said was helpful in this situation.

Thank goodness Mr. Tate was still worried about everyone, especially now that he realized many students were suffering because of me. So, he turned to look at me through the window and began coaxing me patiently.

"Kate, you know how strong-willed your mother is. You can't put your own life at risk just because you want to win an argument against her, right?

"Hurry up and apologize to her. If not, all of your classmates will have to suffer with you in this punishment."

But Mr. Tate suddenly stumbled away from the car, which was quite dangerous for a man in his 50s. In fact, he almost collapsed to the ground.

"Something's wrong with Kate! Her lips have turned blue! When I felt the window earlier, it was burning to the touch! The temperature inside the car is definitely higher than 104 degrees!

"Where's the car key? Someone, unlock this car right now and save Kate!"

All of my classmates stiffened up immediately. Then, they turned to look at the trash can simultaneously.

"The car key was tossed away just now! Ms. Miller's phone is the only device that can unlock the car!"

Mr. Tate was about to run toward the tent when Mr. Styke quickly stopped him. Then, the latter pointed at the window.

"Mr. Tate, you're far too kind! Look at the student whom you're worried about! Take a good look at the hand gesture she's showing you right now!"

When Mr. Tate leaned closer to the window, he found out that my hand, which was resting on my lap, originally had two fingers sticking out. Now, one of the fingers had curled inward, leaving my middle finger raised.

Mr. Tate flew into a fit of rage immediately. He slammed a hand on the car while bellowing, "You ungrateful girl! How dare you disrespect me! It seems that you truly need to be disciplined by your mother!"

What he didn't know was that the snakes crawling up and down my body were the ones that made my index finger curl inward.

When the students heard about how arrogant I had become to the point that I even had the guts to insult their beloved president of the university, they began yelling at me angrily.

"You get to play dead all you want inside the comfortable car, while we're forced to stand under the sun thanks to you! What makes you think you have the right to do this to us?"

"Even though Ms. Miller was strict in raising you, you still have the gall to show Mr. Tate such disrespect! Just how shameless are you, Kate Miller?"

"Get up and apologize to Mr. Tate right now! Otherwise, you can forget about enjoying your next four years on campus in peace!"

The chaos outside the car made the snakes anxious. All they could do was attack my corpse, which was the only thing in sight.

A few holes popped up on my body thanks to those attacks. They hurt so much that I could only roll around in the air.

I wanted nothing more than to drop down to my knees and apologize to my furious classmates so that they could let me off the hook.

But they couldn't hear me regardless of what I said. Their main focus was to vent their frustrations at my corpse.

Left without a choice, I flew to the tent in hopes that Mom could save me. But that was when I saw her asking for heat-relief medicine from Peter Winslow, the campus doctor.

Upon hearing that the medicine was meant for me, Dr. Winslow couldn't help but tease Mom.

"Despite your stern attitude, the truth is, you care about your daughter the most, Ms. Miller. Kate's body has always been weak. She wouldn't be able to attend the freshman orientation program without you taking good care of her."

Mom just huffed icily in response.

"But that brat is an ingrate! She screws up on purpose just to embarrass me purely out of spite! This time, I'll make sure that she gets to reflect on her behavior while locked inside the car. Otherwise, she'll grow up to become a spoiled and pampered adult!"

When the car was brought up, Dr. Winslow's expression changed instantly.

"The peak temperature inside a car can hit 158 degrees in this weather. There's no way a human being can withstand that sort of heat!

"Ms. Miller, you should release Kate right now!"

Mom didn't care about me at all.

"It's fine, Dr. Winslow. I've already lowered the car's temperature on my phone's app. Kate is most likely enjoying the cooler temperature inside the car as we speak."

But Dr. Winslow's expression darkened even more.

"There's no Wi-Fi signal on the training grounds, Ms. Miller! How are you able to control the car's internal temperature with your phone's app?"

This time, Mom stiffened up for real. While her cheeks began quivering, she still refused to relent.

"Even if there's no Wi-Fi out here, Kate is already playing dead despite being locked up in the car for half an hour! She's used to faking her illness since young, so she's trying to use her condition to fool everyone into pitying her!

"This manipulative trait of hers makes her no different than her shitty father! The fact that I'm training her right now just proves that I'm trying to save her future!"

I could only stare at the heat-relief medicine in Mom's hands anxiously.

I wasn't faking my illness at all! If anything, I died for real!

Seeing as Mom stubbornly stuck to her own ideals, Dr. Winslow rushed out of the tent and approached my car right away.

The moment he laid his eyes on my corpse, he let out a terrified scream.

"Something's wrong with Kate! Open the car door right now!"