Chapter 2

Yvonne became flabbergasted. After all, this wasn't going the way she had planned. She wasn't expecting such a swift retaliation on my part, so she quickly pulled out her best ploy by playing the victim. Sure enough, she started crying.

"I didn't! I was just worried. Maybe I was seeing things."

"Maybe you were seeing things?" I sneered and turned to the proctor. "Hear that? The thing you called solid evidence is nothing but a girl's possible hallucination!"

I emphasized the last part of the sentence and snarked, "I wonder if the cops would even take that statement seriously, much less use it as evidence."

The proctor didn't look happy at all. He frowned. "We'll verify her statement, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook. You need to come with me right now."

"I'm accused of cheating on a test. I'm the victim here. Why should I go with you?" I refused to back off as I glared at the proctor. "You accused me of cheating without going through due process at all! I have no confidence in your capabilities in solving this situation."

"You—" The bell rang, cutting him off and signaling the end of the test.

He told his colleague to collect the papers and turned back to me. "You're staying here. You're suspected of cheating on the test. We'll have to register you."

"I said I didn't cheat!" I had it with this proctor. It was clear that talking to him was a waste of time. So, I charged into the corridor and stopped the headmaster. He was in the middle of patrolling.

"Sir, the proctor and Yvonne are working together to frame me for cheating. I'd like to request an immediate investigation. I'd like to view the exam hall's surveillance footage, and we need to call the cops. I demand justice!"

The headmaster's face turned dark. Then, he looked at the proctor and demanded, "What's going on here?"

The other candidates had left the hall, so they were all looking at the commotion that was brewing. Yvonne quickly put on a mask of painful disappointment.

"You can't accuse the proctor. You're the one who ch—"

I refused to waste my time listening to her, so I went to the podium and pressed the alarm button. The sirens started blaring, a sure sign that the cops were alerted.

That calmed me down from my fury, but it didn't work wonders on Yvonne as she was starting to panic. "Y-You called the cops?"

"Yeah. Someone here accused me of cheating. My innocence is at stake here. Of course, I'm calling the cops." My eyes never left her face, taking in the look of guilt on her face. "If you care about me as much as you claim, you shouldn't want me to be framed, no?"

"I…" She couldn't come up with an answer. Her eyes darted around before flickering with something venomous.

When she turned to me again, there were tears in her eyes as she cried out, "I just wanted to remind you to follow the rules. I can't believe you'd call the cops to frame me! I know you don't like me, but you don't have to drag the proctor and everyone in the hall down!"

There it was. The classic guilt trip and playing the victim combo. That was her go-to every single time. The me in my previous life always dropped the ball when she started whipping her tears out like a hose.

Every time she pulled this card, I would try to prove my innocence. Unfortunately, it also meant that I'd walk right into her trap like a complete sucker.

Not this time.

"Considering how I was accused of cheating, it's only natural for me to want to prove my innocence. Involving the cops is the simplest and most efficient way to clear the air.

"If you think that the accusations about my poor character are false, you should be thanking me for calling the cops, not bawling like a baby and pointing fingers at me.

"The fact you're doing that only proves that you feel guilty about something." I remarked with a sneer, "Only people who have something to hide are scared of the authorities!"