Chapter 11

Maisie’s friends quickly chimed in, “Yeah, I wonder how many products he has to sell to pay for her lifestyle!”

“I thought she was rich from the way she acted. Turns out she’s just faking it.”

“I can’t believe she went around and claimed she was Ken Rosenbloom’s daughter.”

“I don’t want her gift. It must be something really cheap.”

“Could she be handing out insurance brochures? Nah, I don’t need that!”

“I don’t want that gift either! How could they sell insurance at school?”

Only a few girls who were close to me approached me. They came to my defense.

“You guys are too much! All honest jobs are equally respectable. How could you talk about Pearl in that way?”

“Right? The gifts are a token of appreciation from Pearl’s dad. You guys were so rude!”

Finley snapped, “No one cares about Pearl’s gifts. Take them all if you want. We’re in a hurry to meet with Mr. Rosenbloom.”

Then, he tried to leave with Tanner, who was sweating profusely in guilt.

At that moment, Joseph finally spoke, “Mr. Rosenbloom has left for the company because he’s busy.”

Tanner let out a long, relieved sigh upon learning that my dad had left. He mistakenly thought he had dodged a bullet.

I said to Joseph, “Joseph, can you hand out the gifts on my behalf? Do not give them to the classmates who turned them down!”

I was glad to have a reason to keep some of the gifts since a few of my classmates had openly turned down my goodwill. I would rather do so than be taken advantage of by some of my classmates.

“Got it, Ms. Rosenbloom!”

Finley craned his neck, ready to mock me, as he sneered. “You’re quite good at acting, aren’t you? Let me take a look. Is it some life or accident insurance? Is it a fountain pen?”

Sandy said dismissively, “Hah! What an outdated idea! No one in our generation gives out fountain pens!”

Juniper wanted to one-up her classmates to curry favor with Tanner and Maisie. “What’s the point of making a grand entrance when you’re doing nothing different from handing out pencils to elementary school kids? Unlike some, I’m not easily bought.”

“Eh, why can’t I uncap the pen? Pearl, don’t we need to refill the ink cartridge at some point?” asked Leanne Easton with a doubtful expression.

“Haha! That’s a faulty pen. Pearl, these pens are the freebies that come with insurance purchases, aren’t they? Let me take a look!” Finley snatched the pen away so he could mock me further.

However, he immediately sensed something odd when he grasped the pen. It was too heavy to be an actual fountain pen. It was more like a luxurious decorative piece. He quizzically checked it out while meticulously looking for the insurance company’s branding on the pen. As he expected, he found a tiny line of writing on the pen.

“Hah! I found it! This pen is… 24K gold?” Finley rubbed his eyes in disbelief.

Sandy inched closer. “Your eyes need checking. Who’s so filthy rich that they’re giving out pens made from 24K gold? This pen is at least three ounces-“Her scream abruptly followed her words. “Is this 24K gold for real? 99.9 percent purity?”

Other classmates who received my gifts hurriedly checked them out. They too noticed the 24K gold stamp on the pen.

“Holy cow! I’m not dreaming, am I? Pinch me on the arm!”

“No wonder it felt so heavy in my hand just now. I bet it’s even heavier than my mom’s golden bangle!”

“Woah, Pearl, you’re an angel on earth! I love you so much!”

“Are you really giving these to us?”

“Pearl, who exactly are you? Are you seriously from that Rosenbloom family?”

Chapter 12