Chapter 5

Snow began to fall. It was the first snowfall of the year.

Duncan was freezing, and the injuries on his body had begun to ache all over again. As he trudged along, a sudden thought crossed his mind. He might actually freeze to death on this cold night.

Just as his consciousness began to fade, he finally reached school.

Dragging his suitcase behind him, he asked Ronald for permission to stay in the dorms.

Once he was inside and the door was shut, he sat silently on the floor. He cried without making a sound, swallowing all his pain and grievances rather than letting them out.

"It's okay," he told himself.

He just wouldn't be able to attend the training program anymore. He could still take the college entrance exams. Even if he couldn't get into Kingswell University, he could still get into a decent college.

He repeated the words to himself, trying to convince himself that everything would be okay.

…

The next morning, Duncan got to the classroom early. As soon as he sat down, he saw Brianna dropping Lucas off at school.

"I told you I'm fine," Lucas said with a helpless smile. "It's just a minor injury. Why are you so worried?"

Brianna seemed distracted. It took her a moment to answer.

"It's nothing. I was going this way anyway."

Duncan lowered his head. They were heading in opposite directions. Saying they were going the same way was the biggest lie of all.

Brianna scanned the classroom and finally spotted Duncan sitting in the far corner. He was still wearing the same clothes he'd had on the night before.

She'd only learned that Duncan had been kicked out of his house after taking Lucas home the previous evening. She didn't know why, but she'd searched all along the road outside his house without finding him. Now that she saw him in the classroom, she felt relieved.

Lucas followed her gaze and spotted Duncan sitting with his head down. He immediately clenched his fists.

"Duncan, why do you always have to compete with me?" he thought bitterly.

As soon as the bell rang, Allison Gray cried out in alarm.

"Where's my money? It was in my backpack before the field trip! How come it's gone now?"

Before Duncan could react, Lucas turned to him with a look of feigned surprise. "Duncan, don't tell me you've been stealing from your classmates too, on top of stealing money from home?"

"I didn't steal anything!" Duncan shot back, trembling with rage. "That money was what I earned from my part-time job."

But once suspicion had settled on someone, things could quickly spiral out of control.

"He didn't go on the field trip yesterday," a classmate muttered. "He came to school instead. He was the only one in the classroom.

"Duncan, just admit it," Lucas urged, pretending to stand up for Allison. "After all, we only found out last night that you'd taken money from home. It was over 10,000 dollars…"

The moment he mentioned the amount, the murmuring in the classroom grew louder.

"Everyone knows he's broke. He only ever eats a sandwich for lunch. What kind of part-time job pays over 10,000 dollars?"

"That's disgusting. I don't want to sit in class with a thief."

Duncan shot to his feet. His vision darkened from low blood sugar, but he forced himself to speak.

"I didn't steal anything! Lucas, if you don't believe me, we can call the police! You can't frame me!"

The classroom fell silent.

Then someone scoffed, "What's with the act? There aren't even any security cameras in here."

"Exactly."

The whispers started up again.

They continued until the bell rang and the teacher walked into the classroom.

"What's all the fuss about? Class is starting."

The students around Duncan quieted down, but their suspicious glances and whispers still haunted him.

Duncan stood beside his desk. Even though he was indoors, he felt as if he'd never escaped the snowstorm from the night before.

The teacher had already walked up to the front of the room.

Slowly, Duncan sat down, swallowing all his bitterness alone.

He was now an outcast. All day, his classmates kept their distance, as if they were afraid he'd steal their money too.

After school, Duncan walked out of the classroom with his head down. A shadow fell over him. He looked up, and it was Brianna.

"Why are you acting like someone bullied you?" she asked, frowning at his dejected expression.

Duncan gritted his teeth and walked past her without saying a word.

"Wasn't it you who stole the money?" she demanded, grabbing his arm. "I was kind enough to offer you a ride to the bus stop on the day of the field trip, and you repaid me by stealing money at school. Do you have any idea how guilty I felt last night? I thought I'd misjudged you, so I even went looking…"

She paused.

"Go apologize to Lucas," she continued. "He's been really upset that you stole the money and attacked him. He even had to be put on oxygen yesterday."