Chapter 3

"Jeannine, are you out of your mind?!"

Benny was the first to object. "Taking photos just to swap your crappy bike? What, you think Susan's out to get you?"

I sneered. Talk about giving yourself away.

But the riders around us were no different from him, all pointing fingers at me.

A few girls fanned the flames from the sidelines.

"Wow, now I've seen everything. We're all classmates here. We know each other. Who's going to scam you over some junky bike?"

"Exactly. And so what if it does break? Susan isn't petty enough to make you pay for it."

I looked at this bunch of clowns, speechless.

When I didn't argue back, Susan spoke up indignantly, "Jeannine, it's just a normal bike. It isn't worth much.

"If you really don't want to lend me yours, fine. But why humiliate me like this? Insisting on photos makes it look like I'm deliberately sticking you with a broken bike."

Hearing that, everyone stopped bothering to hide their disgust for me. They closed in step by step, the circle around me tightening.

The captain had clearly run out of patience. He grabbed my arm and yanked me off my saddle. "Jeannine, if you still want to be on this team, switch and get moving. You're wasting everyone's time!"

I took a step back, looked around at all of them, and spoke slowly, weighing each word, "Are you sure you're forcing me onto that bike today? And I can't even take photos?"

A mountain breeze swept past, and for a moment, everything went quiet.

Then Benny lifted his chin and sneered. "Enough talk. You're throwing our kindness back in our faces. Just get on and ride."

I nodded, the corners of my lips curling into a smile without any warmth. "Fine. Just don't regret it."

The group set off again.

I rode in the middle of the pack, while Benny and Susan rode side by side at the very back.

As the team started downhill, my bike began to shake uncontrollably. Then I picked up more and more speed.

I'd gone less than two-thirds of a mile when a loose, unsteady feeling crept up from the bottom of the frame.

I squeezed the brakes, trying my best to keep my speed in check.

Even so, I'd still underestimated Susan. She didn't just want to frame me. She wanted me dead.

With a sharp crack, the entire carbon fiber frame snapped clean in half.

The front end tore away from the saddle. I lost my balance and went flying into the roadside ditch, bike and all.

A dull pain throbbed through my lower body. I looked down and saw that the broken frame had sliced a horrifying, bloody gash across my upper thigh.

By the time the group gathered around, my forehead was beaded with sweat.

But no one noticed my injury. They were all looking at the bike.

Benny rushed to the front. Looking stricken, he examined the broken frame, sighing over and over in dismay.

Susan rushed over right on cue. Staring at the bike, now in two pieces, she collapsed to the ground.

"It's over! It's all over! I borrowed this from the campus kingpin!

"This bike is worth over 1.4 million dollars! It's a one-of-a-kind custom build!"