Winning My Ex-Crush

Fenella’s POV

I sat leaning back on the couch while repeatedly taking deep breaths. We gathered again in the living room that night. I thought we would reflect on our mistakes, share stories about how frightening the teachers’ interrogations were, and express concern about the case spreading to our parents.

Turns out, not.

Amy paced back and forth on the coat rack with Sophie, Meg, and Nicole. They were more focused on what they would wear to the end-of-year dance party on Saturday night than on thinking about our fate at school. Everyone seemed calm and cheerful, except for me.

“I’ve decided to wear this pink dress. What do you think? It looks more suitable for me, right?” Amy twirled her body so that the short satin skirt she was wearing would flutter in the wind.

“Yeah, I think it suits you. I’ll stick to wearing black,” Sophie said, smoothing out her tight black dress at her slender waist.

“Isn’t that too tight? It’ll be hard to dance in such a tight dress,” Nicole said, waving the knee-length white tulle skirt that puffed out.

“Who cares about dancing? The end-of-year party is all about winning the title of the most popular girl,” Meg said. She admired herself in front of the full-length mirror, wearing a long, glittery gold dress.

I just sat there, hugging my knees to my chest, watching them. I guess I could say my face was pretty grim, and I’m sure they all could see my worried expression.

“For Fenella, it seems she needs a blue dress because she’s feeling blue.” Amy made a joke, and they all burst into laughter. Although they teased me, I stayed silent.

“Why are you so sad? Isn’t the chemistry project problem solved?” Sophie asked me with her usual high-pitched voice.

“Don’t tell me you’re sad because you have to go on a date with Clark.” Meg rolled her eyes.

“Gosh, that must be really annoying. Laird is much better than Clark,” Nicole sneered.

“Of course, Laird is better than any boy in this school. Fortunately, he’s more suitable to accompany me as a dance partner,” Amy said with a confident smile in front of the mirror. Amy glanced at me from the mirror, and she smiled smugly.

I bit my lower lip. Seriously, I tried to hold back. I didn’t want to argue or raise issues about Laird or Clark, but I felt their treatment of me wasn’t fair. They punished me by forcing me to go with Clark.

“Why do I have to go with Clark? Why can’t I go with Laird?”

I finally dared to speak up. I got up from the couch and stared at Amy. My breath caught, but I felt angry. I should be going with Laird. I knew for sure he would ask me. What do they know about Laird?! They don’t know anything about him.

“It’s up to you what color dress I should wear, but why do I have to go with Clark to the dance party?” I demanded answers from Amy again.

Amy turned around and looked straight at me. She still had a smug smile and slowly walked towards me. She clasped her hands in front of her chest. I knew she was trying to show her power.

My father supplies food stock to Amy’s father’s hotel chain. Upon discovering this fact, Amy’s arrogance towards me increased significantly. She always felt she had the highest position among us, and she expected that we would obey her, especially me.

Amy now stood in front of me. Her eyes were staring sharply at me, and once again, she looked malicious. Then she spoke slowly. She always thought this way of speaking would make me scared, but her shrill voice only annoyed me.

“You have to follow Clark to the party this year because that’s the condition he set as a return favor for protecting us. If he had demanded our plagiarism, then we would have been expelled from this school. Is that what you want?”

From the corner of my eyes, I could tell that the room was darkening. At the same time, they began to approach me. They were crowding around me, staring at me with judgment and mockery in their giggles.

“Why am I the one sacrificed to Clark? Why not Nicole? Or Meg?” With my reckless mouth, I again questioned Amy’s decision.

“We wouldn’t have been caught if it weren’t for you and your stupid brain!” Suddenly, Amy shouted loudly.

My breath raced, and I was so shocked. We were all silent. I could only hear my own breathing while the pop music from the TV played as background music.

“If only you hadn’t forgotten to work on the assignment, if only you hadn’t sent it carelessly, our study group wouldn’t have been caught.”

Amy glared at me, her voice sounding very annoyed as it came out of her lips. She let out exasperated hisses from between her teeth, revealing her intense anger towards me.

“Even though I wasn’t directly involved, I’m willing to testify that we did the chemistry project together with Clark. That’s why Mr. Bergen and Ms. Mitchelle believed.”

“I saved you. I told you to confess like that. I warned you not to believe when they said one of us confessed about what we’ve actually been doing all this time. I motivated you to stick to the same story without changing at all.”

“So, isn’t it reasonable for you to repay Clark’s favor according to his terms? Isn’t it reasonable for you to keep quiet and give me a chance to go with Laird without bothering us at all?”

I swallowed hard. My eyes felt hot, but I held back my tears. I didn’t want my tears to make them believe I was weak.

“Or would you prefer to be expelled from school? Would you prefer I tell Laird about this? Is that it?”

I opened my mouth soundlessly. I wanted to object or oppose again, but I didn’t know what to say. Part of me was angry, but another part cursed myself for how easily I submitted to Amy. My mind went blank, not knowing what solution I should take to face this situation.Property © NôvelDrama.Org.

“Moreover, you brought Clark as our mentor. It’s only natural that you are responsible for his request.”

After she was done talking, Amy walked to the coffee table. She began to match accessories and jewelry. The other three girls immediately left me alone and followed Amy to find accessories that matched their dresses.

And me? In the end, I could only run back to my room like a coward.