Chapter 46
55 vouchers
After Ariel was dismissed by the Sexton family, they still hadn’t found a replacement driver, so Bailee ended up driving herself that day to drop Kayla off at school.
Bailee rolled down the car window a little. The morning wind drifted in, carrying a chill.
Glancing at Davon outside the car as she drove, Bailee felt a twinge of confusion. She turned to Kayla. “Kay, I heard Davon got caught in the rain a few days ago and caught a cold. Why didn’t you invite him to ride with us?”
She thought to herself, ‘Is Kay not fond of Davon anymore? Normally, even a short separation would upset her, and she’s always sticking close to him. Why is she behaving so oddly around him today?‘
Kayla sat beside her. The early–morning sun filtered through the gaps in the leaves and fell on her face, making her look especially lovely.
She let out a soft “Oh,” curled her lips, and spoke with a hint of mischief, “He said he’s too weak, so he needs to bike to school for some exercise. Mom, we mustn’t hold him back.”
Hearing this, Bailee felt speechless, thinking, “That excuse sounds so far–fetched. Can she really bear to see Davon wearing himself out? Could it be that after Ariel’s rumors last night, she’s afraid of being misunderstood, and is deliberately keeping her distance from Davon?‘
“Kay, I think it’s getting late. Why don’t we just…”
Bailee tried to persuade her again, but Kayla cut her off with a smile. “Mom, it is late. Hurry. I don’t want to end up being late.”
After speaking, she smiled brightly, her eyes filled with urgency.
Bailee gazed at Kayla’s resolute face. Confused as she was, she didn’t say another word.
In the past, Kayla had been so fixated on Davon that she’d never minded how others judged her. So Bailee thought this change was for the better.
As the car slowly pulled away, Kayla looked out the window at Davon’s figure growing farther and farther away, and the bright smile on her face deepened.
The campus class bell had rung several minutes earlier, but Class G’s classroom was still as noisy as a bustling market.
Small groups of students chattered and joked, their laughter echoing through the spacious room, and it sounded sharp and jarring. Some paired off, shoving and messing around. Occasionally, the desks and chairs let out squeaks, as if voicing their own dissatisfaction.
This place felt more like a lively playground than a venue for acquiring knowledge.
Ravenna Nielsen, the homeroom teacher, stood at the door and saw such a chaotic scene. It made her eyebrows knot instantly.
Her lips tightened into a rigid straight line. It was as if a dark cloud had abruptly appeared on a summer afternoon, warning of an impending storm.
The students sensed the shift in atmosphere instinctively. The air seemed to freeze. All laughter and horseplay died down at once. In less than three seconds, they scrambled back to their seats, sitting stillly.
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Chapter 46
A
00 vouchers.
Ravenna walked slowly to the podium, sweeping over the classroom with her sharp eyes. When her gaze landed on Payton’s empty seat, her frown deepened involuntarily.
Having held back her frustration for so long, Ravenna finally found an outlet. She snapped angrily, “Where is Payton today? Does he even want to stay in school anymore? All of you are getting more and more unruly!”
Her voice rose with each word as she slammed a stack of papers onto the desk with a loud thwack. A cloud of fine chalk dust puffed up, making several students sniffle.
“I’ve taught so many classes, and you’re by far the worst!” she fumed. “You finished dead last in the monthly exam once more! Apart from Marianna, every other grade of yours is terrible, and some of you even dare to skip class? You losers!”
The angrier Ravenna got, the redder her face became. The veins on her forehead stood out clearly, like they might burst at any moment.
Ravenna was a top graduate who’d studied abroad. She’d once been full of passion and hope for teaching, only to be assigned to Class G, the worst in the grade.
Resentment had long festered in her heart, and she took every chance to humiliate and berate the students. But everyone was used to it by now. They simply let what she said go in one ear and out the other.
In the past, Kayla had never cared about anything except Davon. She’d never even listened closely to Ravenna’s scoldings. But now, every word felt unbearably harsh to her.
She held back the anger bubbling in her chest, glanced at Payton’s empty seat, and frowned slightly.
Since she’d uttered those harsh words to him that day, Payton had been absent from class for several days.
An unfamiliar mix of worry and guilt stirred in her. She was afraid he’d been so hurt by her words that he’d given up on coming to school.
“Ravenna’s scolding is way too much. We just have bad grades. How does that make us ‘losers‘? And what’s going on with Payton? He’s the one who’s absent, but we’re all getting yelled at,” Tania muttered softly beside her, also frowning.
Kayla pressed her lips together, her fingers tapping unconsciously on her desk. There was a hint of confusion in her eyes as she spoke casually, “Yeah. Hey, why do you think Payton hasn’t been coming to class?”
Tania shrugged, pouting. “Who knows? But… Payton’s really weird, you know.”
Kayla raised her eyebrows slightly, a flicker of curiosity rising in her. “Oh? Why weird? Tell me about it.”
It was rare for Kayla to be curious about anything other than Davon. Tania seemed to have found a kindred spirit, perking up instantly as she launched into gossip. “You didn’t know? Well, yeah, you’re always so focused on Davon and never notice anyone else.
“But for real, Payton is strange. I heard he’s a special admit to our school, having ranked first in his region, so he was put straight into Class A.
“The first few exams, he was even top of the whole grade. But then, somehow, he got demoted from Class A to Class G, and his grades dropped to the bottom.
“Many people claim he passed the high school entrance exam with cheating to achieve such high scores, but once enrolled, his actual level became apparent.
“There are also rumors that Payton was hanging out with a gang of thugs. They’re into drinking, gambling, messing with hookers, and all kinds of misconduct. Since everyone says he’s a bad egg, no one thinks highly of him.
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Chapter 46
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EZ 55–vouchers
“Besides, he’s extremely withdrawn, never getting close to anyone. He sleeps through classes, and as soon as class ends, he disappears. Sometimes he even skips out for no reason, and no one has a clue where he goes.
“The teachers have been frustrated with him for a long time and even wanted to expel him. Yet no one has a clue why this issue has been pending until now, with nothing resolved.”
As she heard these rumors, Kayla’s brows furrowed even tighter. She’d never imagined Payton had such a bad reputation at school.
She’d always been so focused on Davon. Apart from Tania, she’d never really paid attention to her other classmates.
But… drinking, gambling, and consorting with bad crowds? That didn’t match the Payton she knew at all.
