To Know More

30 | trusting the asshole

"Anyway, what did she say?" Zoey asked again, moving closer to me. "Amelia?"

"I'm getting expelled." 

Saying that fact out loud did nothing to appease my turmoil. 

"WHAT?" They both yelled at the same time, capturing the attention of the assistant a few feet away who raised his head prepared to reprimand us before Leila threw him a dirty look, shutting him right up. 

"I'm sorry, you're getting what now?" She turned to me, eyes widened in disbelief and anger. 

"They can't do that, you didn't steal the answers!" Zoey joined in, both of them now standing in front of me restlessly, almost as confused as I was. 

"She won't believe me, I tried. She's calling mom right now." 

"That's so unfair, they can't just fucking do that-" 

"This is Noah's doing." I raised my head to look in Zoey's direction when she said that. She gave me a quiet, pitiful look. "He's the only one who could have threatened those students to lie so blatantly, right?" 

And that was when my two brain cells joined the pieces together. 

It was Noah. That was why the headmistress refused to hear me out or probe further into the matter, and why those five people supposedly 'saw' me steal the answers. Because he told them they had. And, as always for Noah, they complied. 

He said he would make sure my punishment ruins me; he was simply delivering on his promise. 

"I cannot believe the audacity of that guy." Leila gritted out as she connected the dots as well. "This cannot be fucking happening." 

I couldn't believe it was happening either. 

I had always known about the power Noah's father - and consequently, Noah as well - held in the school; but I had never known that it extended its roots to this depth. They held the power to get me expelled - he held the power to get me expelled, and he was acting on it without mercy. 

"My idea about selling that necklace doesn't seem too bad now, does it?" Something told me that this time around, Leila wasn't totally kidding about that.

The pendant. Was I going to give it back to him now? 

"Nuh uh," It seemed like Zoey had already read my thoughts before I could voice them outwardly. "Don't even think about it, Amelia. There's no way you're doing that now." 

I bit my lip, inwardly cursing at my naiveté and stupidity. 

I wanted to pull my own hair out in frustration. What was this stupid, foolish thing inside me that wasn't ready to smash that pendant into a thousand pieces after all that he had done? After he had literally gotten me expelled ? 

"Amelia, this isn't the time for all your good girl bullshit." I could sense the anger in Leila's voice, clear as crystal. "We're breaking and burning that thing, that's final." 

"I..." I battled with myself desperately. I knew I was being an idiot. But it slipped out helplessly before I could even stop it. "I'm going to give it back to him." 

"This bitch." She muttered immediately after, making me guffaw and smack her on the arm. 

"HELLO? I'm right here." 

"And you're being stupid." She shrugged, pinching her temple with her fingers. "This isn't the time for you to be fucking nice."

"It's not about being nice. He thinks I snitched on him, that's why he's doing this-"