Chapter 2

A tall figure loomed over me, and Mr. Jones' stern voice came from above my head.

"Let me check!"

As his hands reached for my pockets, I continued acting like I was unconscious, but I scoffed in my mind. 'You're done for, Bella!'

My pockets were completely empty.

-

No one knew that when I had thrown myself straight onto the ground just moments ago, I had taken advantage of the chaos caused by everyone’s startled cries. While no one was paying attention, I had quietly stuffed the two candies into my pants.

From the very beginning, I wanted to nip her accusations in the bud.

Above me came Mr. Jones' thunderous roar.

"There, where's the evidence you spoke of? How dare you publicly speculate and slander your classmate? You've disrupted orientation, and made a mockery of everyone present! Is this some form of rebellion, Sue?"

Bella trembled, her eyes instantly turning red. This was what she was the best at doing, using her pitiful, frail appearance to win everyone's sympathy.

Her voice choked with emotion.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to cause any rumors, sir. I've always been very sensitive since I was a kid, and I truly did hear what she was thinking just now. Maybe I was too nervous about following the rules and had a lapse in perception, but I truly didn't mean to slander her…"

That was a clever thing to say.

She didn’t admit to spreading rumors, only blaming it on her own sensitivity and a mistaken perception.

That way, no one's anger toward her would really take root.

Seeing her like that, the surrounding students immediately softened and began making excuses for her.

"Forgive her, sir. She didn't mean to do it."

"Yeah, she's one of the best people you can find around! She's kind and gentle, and she's never bullied anyone before."

"She probably just heard wrong or misunderstood what she perceived. There’s no need to punish her so harshly, right?"

In the previous iteration, since Bella supposedly possessed the supernatural ability to hear people’s thoughts, everyone adored her and couldn’t bring themselves to blame her.

But this time, after being publicly made a fool of, Mr. Jones wasn't just going to let her off the hook so easily, and I was already waiting for the show to begin.

Sure enough, I heard him bark sharply.

"There are no exceptions when it comes to discipline! An unintentional mistake can be forgiven, but making baseless accusations and disrupting the morale of the group will not be tolerated!

"If anyone wants to make any more excuses for her, you'd better be prepared to run laps together with her!"

The moment he finished speaking, the students who had been pleading for her fell silent, not daring to let another word slip past their lips.

Then, he announced, "Now go and run one lap around the field, Sue! Reflect on what you did!"

Then, the instructor called out to two girls. "You two, carry Anderson to the shade and wait for the school medic."

My body was lifted and carried away from the scorching orientation field. The tension that had been coiled inside me the entire time finally began to ease.

I let out a long breath of relief.

This time, I won the first round.

This time, I hadn't been slandered, Mr. Jones didn't single me out, and I hadn’t fallen into the bottomless pit of my past life.

But I could clearly feel a heated gaze boring into my back from somewhere behind me on the field, like a venomous snake singling out its prey.

'This time, I'll make sure you pay me back for everything you owe me, every last bit.'

-

After an entire afternoon of rest, I had a complete recovery.

The medic advised me to rest for another day, but I knew clearly that evasion wasn't the solution.

Instead of waiting like a sitting duck, what I needed to do now was go on the offensive.

The very next day, I returned to my formation right on time.

Under the blazing morning sun, Mr. Jones sternly addressed all the freshmen, placing particular emphasis on the rules and discipline of orientation.

Then, Bella's feminine voice rang out once more as she stepped half a pace forward, a frown on her face.

"Mr. Jones, sorry to interrupt, but I heard Lauren's inner thoughts again."

Mr. Jones frowned in irritation, while Bella's gaze remained low, her expression troubled. "She’s been secretly insulting you in her mind, saying that you’re rigid and old-fashioned and that you're deliberately trying to make things hard on us freshmen.

"She… she also said that all these rules are too tedious for no good reason, and all I hear is resentment and bitterness…"