Chapter 4

My dad looked at Maxine with relief in his eyes.

"Our Maxi is just too kind. Go ahead and search, then. I'll film it for the next vlog."

When he finished, my mom ignored my objections and stepped forward to start going through my things.

I tried to stop her, and Maxine cut me off at once.

"Feeling guilty, are you? If you've got a clear conscience, you should let us search!"

That line left me nowhere to stand. Stop them, and I looked guilty. Let them, and I lost anyway.

By the time I finished hesitating, my mom had already finished searching my things.

I hadn't brought much with me, just a set of bedding, two changes of clothes, and a few books.

She finished digging through it all and shook her head at Maxine.

Maxine pointed straight at me.

"You haven't searched her yet. Maybe she's hiding it on her body."

I wrapped my arms around myself and refused.

"You have no right to search me!"

Maxine paid no attention. She came at me and started patting down my pockets.

I tried to twist away, and my mom seized my hands hard.

"Hold still, we're almost done!"

I squirmed against them, sick with the humiliation of it.

Then Maxine let out a sudden shout.

"Found it!"

And she pulled a necklace out of the back pocket of my jeans.

"Dad, Mom, look. I told you she stole it!"

"How can someone like this be my classmate? Hurry up and tell the teacher to have her expelled."

My parents looked at the necklace, exchanged a glance, then turned their eyes on me with disgust.

"What kind of child are you, taking what isn't yours? Didn't your parents teach you how to be a decent person?"

My mom's brows knit tight.

"Parents these days really are irresponsible. A girl this grown, and no manners at all."

"I thought Maxi was making a fuss over nothing. I never expected you really stole it."

The two of them went back and forth, tearing into me.

I looked at Maxine, shock all over my face.

I hadn't stolen the necklace. So why was it in my pocket?

Unless.

Maxine had planted it on me.

Once they were done cursing me out, my parents didn't hesitate to call the academic advisor and tell him to come over.

When he heard there'd been a theft the moment the term started, he came right away.

Once he arrived, my parents gave him the quick version.

"We demand that Gail be expelled. Someone with sticky fingers like her can't stay near my daughter."

"If your school doesn't do something, I'll put this online and let my followers weigh in."

"And I can't promise what that'll do to your school's reputation."

The advisor looked at me, the strain plain in his eyes.

He knew I was a special-admission student, that I couldn't be expelled, so he turned to my parents.

"This child comes from a very hard home. Her grandmother raised her."

"But she works hard. She's this year's state top scorer on the SATs, and the school paid to bring her in on special admission."

"Look, how about the school offers you some compensation and moves them to a different dorm?"

My parents hadn't expected me to be anyone of note, let alone the state's top SAT scorer, and for a moment they had no answer.

Maxine, though, stayed just as unyielding.

"I don't care. She has to be expelled, or I'm not studying at your school."

"You know how many followers my parents have. When it comes to it, you're the ones who'll lose out."

Seeing Maxine take that stand, my parents both fell in behind her.

The advisor was truly stuck now, with no idea how to handle something this thorny.

That was when I spoke up.

"Sir, since they want to blow this up so big, why don't you contact my guardians?"

"After all, I'm just a kid. I can't make this call myself."

The advisor quickly dug out my enrollment records, and the moment he saw the names in the parent field, his eyes went wide.

After a long moment, he lifted his head and looked at my parents.

"You're Maxine's parents. But the records say Gail's guardians are you two as well."