Chapter 113
Alice munched on her jam-covered toast while texting David. His reply came almost instantly.
David: [Got some stuff going on at work. Can't take you to school today, sorry.]
The message oozed regret.
Alice: [No worries, just make that money for the fam.]
She slung her bag over her shoulder and headed out to school.
Morning exams had the classroom buzzing with tension.
Alice leaned back, her left hand propping up her head, a black pen in her right. She skimmed through the questions, picking her answers with ease. Declan walked by, unable to hide his admiration. Despite her reputation for skipping classes and getting into trouble, Alice was undeniably sharp.
"Mr. Martinez, do I need to write out the detailed steps for these problems?" Alice asked.
Declan, lost in thought, rolled his eyes. The last time he asked her to show her work, her guardian had given him an earful. He wasn't about to risk that again.
"It's just a pop quiz. Skip the steps if you want, but for the final exam, you better show your work or you'll be stuck with a makeup exam," Declan said coolly.
Alice thought Declan was such a two-faced jerk.
After the quiz, Esme plopped down next to Alice, looking all sad but staying quiet.
"What's up with you?" Alice asked, puzzled.
"Do you even know what Simon and I went through last night?" Esme shuddered at the memory.
After David and Alice left, Dylan and Wesley had a drinking contest. They got so hammered they went nuts at the club, cursing and almost fighting. Luckily, she and Simon managed to hold them back and calm things down.
After leaving the club, Esme took a cab with Dylan and Wesley. Simon was worried she couldn't handle the two drunks, so he got in that cab too.
"And then?" Alice prompted.
Esme grimaced, "Dylan kissed me! Just on the cheek, but I scrubbed my face raw when I got home." She continued, disgusted, "He even called me his girlfriend. If Simon hadn't stopped me, I would've slapped him awake!"
"Alright, alright, my bad," Alice said, patting Esme's face gently. "How about I treat you to a meal to make up for it? Don't stay mad."
"Fine," Esme grumbled.
They picked the Starry Sky Restaurant and, to their surprise, ran into Ophelia. Her eyes lit up when she saw them, looking a bit flustered with the crowd.
"What do you guys want to eat?" Ophelia asked, handing them the menu.
Since Alice was footing the bill, Esme didn't hold back. After all, it was David's money, so why not splurge?
"Still working?" Alice asked, curious.
"Yeah, I took a few days off before exams and I'll be back after they're done," Ophelia explained.
Alice nodded, but she couldn't bring herself to ask, "Do you really need the money that bad?"
Seeing Esme order a ton of dishes, Alice's face darkened. "Are you feeding an army? Even if the bill is on me, you should chill a bit."
Esme snorted, "It's David's money. I'm going all out. I hope I bankrupt him!"
Alice was speechless. She added a few of her favorite dishes and handed the menu back to Ophelia.
After Ophelia left, Esme lowered her voice, "Do you think Ophelia really needs the money that badly? She's either in class or working all the time. Ivywood University has scholarships, right? With her grades, she should qualify."
Alice, still fiddling with her phone, said, "Maybe the scholarship isn't enough."
Esme was taken aback. Alice looked up and added, "You've never had to worry about money, so you wouldn't get it. Even though I'm technically a rich girl, my life wasn't great before I met David."
"I get it," Esme said, understanding.
Everyone had their own struggles. Maybe Ophelia's family needed money urgently, like for a sick relative or a younger sibling. It was a common scenario in TV dramas.
Despite her thoughts, Esme secretly asked a friend to look into Ophelia's situation. And a few days later, she found the truth her friend uncovered was beyond anything she could've imagined.
It wasn't about "a sick family member needing a lot of money" or "supporting a younger sibling." They had really underestimated the situation.
Esme quickly called Alice over and showed her the contents on her phone. "Check this out..." Esme said, "You won't believe it."
Seeing the first line, "Name: Ophelia Campbell," Alice frowned and glared at Esme. "Why did you dig into her?"
"I was just curious," Esme admitted, knowing it was a bit much, but she hadn't expected to uncover such explosive information. "Don't be mad. Read it first, then you can scold me."
Alice reluctantly nodded and began to read carefully. A few minutes later, she looked up, eyes wide with shock. "Is this for real?" she asked, stunned.
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