Semua Bab My Scholarship Became Their Graduation Meal Fund: Bab 1 - Bab 9

"Hold on… you guys are already done eating?" I'd hurried over straight from my tutoring gig, and my backpack straps were digging into my shoulders. "Talk about bad timing, Kieran. The advisor just left." Ethan Hatton, the class treasurer, said sarcastically. "Everyone wanted to hit up a speakeasy bar later, so we talked it over and decided to bump dinner forward by an hour.” I was dumbstruck. No one had given me a heads-up about the time change. The advisor was nowhere to be seen in the private room, and the plates on the table were almost polished clean. I frowned at Ethan and asked, "If it was bumped up an hour, why was there no announcement in the main group chat?" He frowned and made no effort to hide his annoyance. "Oh, because it was a last-minute change. We simply told each other privately." "That doesn't change the fact that no one notified me!""Maybe if people actually liked you, you'd be in the loop."My hands balled into fists. "I wasn't late—I showed up right o

The words I was about to spit back died in my throat. Mr. Spencer's implication was crystal clear. If I didn't drop this matter and jeopardize his evaluation for Outstanding Advisor, my background check might suddenly run into unexpected problems. I had no idea how I walked out of the office. I only felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. I hadn't gone far before I ran into Cosmo and Ethan. Both of them were leaning against the wall of the hallway. When I emerged, Cosmo flashed me a knowing smile. "Well, well, look who's back from telling on us. What did Mr. Spencer tell you? I bet he told you to be the bigger person, didn't he?""Give me back my money, Cosmo," I demanded, extending my hand. "That's my scholarship fund. I saved it to buy my grandma a hearing aid. You pocketed the class funds and set me up to foot the bill. That's not how things are supposed to work!""Have you studied yourself stupid, Kieran?" Cosmo shot back.He snatched the receipt right out of

Anger surged through me at the baseless accusation, and I shot back, "Shut up, Cosmo!"Grandma had just put on her hearing aid, but she understood what Cosmo meant. "W-What nonsense are you on about, young man? My grandson's an honest man! He would never—"Before she could finish, Ethan took a step forward and cut her off sarcastically, "Ma'am, everyone in our class knows your grandson's financial situation. He wouldn't even splurge on decent meals at school, and now he magically drops thousands of dollars on a hearing aid? We're just looking out for him so he doesn't stray down the wrong path, okay?"I shot daggers at Ethan before grabbing Grandma's hand and leading her toward the door. "Ignore them, Grandma. Let's go somewhere else." We had only taken a step forward when Cosmo and his lackeys spread out and blocked our way. Just then, someone walked down from the second floor. Cosmo instantly wiped the mocking expression off his face. "Mr. Spencer, what brings you down here?

Mr. Lane's expression immediately became solemn, and the dismissive, impatient look on his face was instantly replaced by a smile. He turned to Mr. Bowes and said, "Our sponsor's here. Let's head upstairs right away. We shouldn't keep him waiting."He then shot Mr. Spencer a stern look and ordered in a low voice, "Hurry up and wrap things up here, Mr. Spencer. Don't let this blow out of proportion and affect the college's reputation!"Mr. Spencer nodded frantically. "Rest assured, Mr. Lane. I'll take him back to campus and sort this out…" Mr. Lane and Mr. Bowes were about to turn and head upstairs when a middle-aged man slowly made his way down from the second floor. His gaze casually swept over the crowd in the lobby and suddenly stopped. His pupils contracted sharply. At that moment, I felt an intense gaze and instinctively looked up. The moment I saw his face, I went rigid. Memories came rushing back like a flood breaking through a breached dam. When I was 12, this was the m

The next morning, the official notice was swiftly circulated in all the class group chats and posted on the college bulletin board. Cosmo and Ethan were given major disciplinary punishment for forming cliques on campus, bullying fellow students, misappropriating class funds, and allegedly engaging in extortion. Their degrees were revoked, and they were ordered to return all illegally obtained money and class funds within three days. Mr. Spencer was removed from his position for serious dereliction of duty, favoritism, and shielding students who committed infractions. He was also stripped of all eligibility for awards and honors for the next three years and was publicly reprimanded by the college. That afternoon, a staff member from the college's finance office personally contacted me and returned every cent of the five grand I'd been cheated out of, along with the three-hundred-dollar "late fee" that had been forcibly charged to me at the entrance that day, directly into my bank