Chapter 8

Ms. Cressen yanked my arm. “Watch your mouth! They’re Mr. Garrett and Mr. Rosenbloom for you!”

Then, she flashed them an apologetic smile. “Mr. Rosenbloom, I’m sure you’re here to discuss the theft at your home. I know every detail about it, and I’ll give you an explanation. We’ll call up her parents and send her home. Our school doesn’t tolerate thieves.”

Herbert frowned at Ms. Cressen. “What theft are you talking about?”

Ms. Cressen gave me a hard shove. “She’s that thief who stole Tanner’s stuff! How dare she steal his stuff out of everyone?”

Halfway through her speech, she realized something wasn’t quite right, as my dad had stepped forward to hold me when she shoved me aside.

He held me in his arms and glowered at her.

“Uh, Mr. Rosenbloom, she’s—”

“What did you just say? Did you call my daughter a thief?”

Ms. Cressen’s mind went blank. She stared back at my dad.

“You wanted her parents to bring her home, didn’t you? Well, tell me. Who did she steal from?”

“About that…” Ms. Cressen glanced at Herbert pleadingly, but Herbert scolded her in disappointment. “Pearl is Mr. Rosenbloom’s only child. Haven’t I told you about her? I sent her to your class, hoping that you’d take good care of her!”

“Wait. She’s the Rosenbloom kid? I thought it’s-”

“Who did you think it was? How could you mistreat her, accuse her of being a thief, and even threaten to get her expelled?”

“No, I didn’t! I didn’t!” Ms. Cressen shook her head furiously. “There’s been a misunderstanding!”

My dad glared at Herbert. “A few high schools were competing for my daughter’s admission. I sent her to your school because you promised to treat her right. Is this how you take care of Pearl?”

Dad slammed his teacup on the tabletop in anger. “Find another sponsor for Eden High School’s library. I will not contribute a dime. Pearl, let’s get you to a new school. We shouldn’t be bullied by these people.”

When I graduated from middle school, I received love calls from many schools in the city. Now, it finally dawned on me that their interest in me was due to Dad’s wealth, not my results.

Ms. Cressen slumped to the floor. “Oh, it’s over for me…”

Herbert hurried over to hold back my dad. “Calm down. Let’s have a talk

“Pearl has been attending this school for a year. It’ll be hard to adjust to a new school. Just calm down and listen to what she has to say!”

Herbert then turned to me. “Pearl, are you adjusting well to our school?”

I nodded. I was unwilling to leave the school because Tanner and Maisie were still around. Even if I were to transfer out, I would need to ruin their lives first.

My dad heaved a sigh of relief. Still, he asked me doubtfully, “Just let me know if you’re being harassed. I’ll stand up for you. Do they bully you often?”

I shook my head. “Some teachers or classmates would jeer at me, but a few of them are quite nice to me.”

That wasn’t a lie. In my past life, a few girls in my class had tried to talk me out of my crush on Tanner, but I was too obsessed with him. That was not all. I even got into arguments with those girls. They finally gave up on me when things got busy in senior year.

“Pearl, how about we get you a new homeroom teacher?”

Chapter 9