Revenge of the False Scarlet Letter

“Oops, I may have accidentally gotten some ink on my neck when I was doing my homework.” I calmly wiped the mark off my neck, smirking at my teacher. She had gone pale.“If that’s all, Mrs. Smith, I’ll head back to class now.”In my previous life, my homeroom teacher Mrs. Smith had dragged me out of class just like this, accusing me without rhyme or reason.A picture had been making rounds on the school forums. It was a screenshot of a video chat, and both parties’ faces were obscured, but the highlight was a photo of a girl’s body with the school’s uniform in the background.The school had immediately taken down the post, but everyone had shared the picture privately by now. Even Mrs. Smith got a copy, which was why she confronted me.She held the photo before my eyes, scoffing. “You look like such a nice girl, Cheryl. To think you would do such shameless things in secret!“Were you chatting with your little boyfriend? Or was it your sugar daddy? “I know you’re here on a schol

The scholarship selection went as planned. My results were excellent, and I was almost always first in the year. The scholarship usually went according to academic merit, so I was always a shoo-in for it.My high school was the best in the state. If I received the scholarship for two years in a row, I could guarantee entry into an Ivy League university.When I walked into the room, the loud conversations among the students instantly died down. I could hear their whispers, which included some absurd rumors.Some said I was a serial liar who stole the class funds because my family was poor. Some said prostitution was my family business.There were some brave souls who defended me, too. “Didn’t Mrs. Smith say it wasn’t Cheryl? Besides, she isn’t that type of girl!”However, they were quickly refuted with sarcasm and rolling eyes. “Are you really going to believe everything she says? Some people are just two-faced like that. You’ll get betrayed without even knowing it someday.”The s

Panic flashed through Jason’s eyes for a second. Once he saw how certain I was, he decided to drop the act altogether. “So is that a yes or no?”All of a sudden, I wanted to puke. He framed me with a photo and then pretended to save me when I was at my lowest.He even managed to steal my scholarship and my seat in university at the same time! What a dastardly plot he had.“Now you know I have the original video. If you agree to be my girlfriend and sleep with me a few times, I’ll expose the real girl in the video onto the forum, and your name will be cleared.”I said through gritted teeth, “I won’t let another girl suffer the same fate.”Jason sneered and waved his phone in front of my eyes. “Is that so? Well, my perfect saintess, would you still think that way if I told you who she was?”I looked up at the screen and froze. The girl in the video was Chavonne Smith.I admit, there was a second when my brain went blank and then burned up. In that instant, I wanted to reveal her t

The next day, I brought a mountain of evidence to the principal’s office.Every class had a few students whom the school prioritized for their talent. As the top student in my year, the principal naturally knew all about me.“Cheryl Summers? Is something the matter?” He greeted me with some surprise.I immediately cried to him about the unfairness of it all, telling him about my suicidal thoughts over the past few days and my mother’s hospital stay. He was shocked and quickly looked through the evidence. Once he was done, he shook with rage and slammed the table, declaring he would defend me. “I can’t believe someone would harm my best student like that! Tell me who the bastard is, Cheryl, and I’ll get justice for you.”“It’s… Jason Golde,” I said through subsiding tears.However, the principal paused, his expression stiffening. After some hesitation, he said, “I’ll… call your homeroom teacher over to discuss the matter.”I had guessed this would be the outcome. Jason’s family

The matter had gone out of hand with all the attention on it. Everyone was waiting for a satisfying result. Eventually, the school announced they were expelling Jason and forbidding him from taking any college entrance exams for three years.Just like that, his bright future was ruined. Apparently, he fainted when he heard the verdict.The incident was over, but I had not forgotten to get back at those people who slandered me. During next Monday’s assembly, all the teachers and students gathered in the gymnasium. The principal sternly addressed Jason’s actions and reminded the other students to take his downfall as a lesson.Chavonne was supposed to read the oath. She went onstage, looking pale as she held the microphone and glanced at me. Even after reading the oath, she stayed on stage.“Now… I would like to apologize to Cheryl Summers. Cheryl, I shouldn’t have spread rumors about you and led our classmates to ostracize you. I know now that what I did was wrong, and I’ve learne