We were splitting into groups for our senior AP capstone project, and everyone had the freedom to choose their own teammates. When it was my turn, I asked five different groups, and every single one of them awkwardly rejected me. Chloe Miller, the new transfer student, held the sign-up sheet and looked at me with a smirk. “How does it feel? I told you, with just one word from me, no one in this entire grade would dare to team up with you.” “My dad is the CEO of the Vance Group. No matter how hard you work, you won’t even reach my pinky toe.” Around her, Chloe’s little minions started snickering. I, however, was completely frozen. Only because the actual CEO of the Vance Group is my dad. But my dad is a trophy husband who married into my mother’s family on a strict prenup. Since when did he have the guts to father such a massive secret child? Seeing me stand there in silence, Chloe became even more arrogant. “What’s the matter? Scared? A bookworm like you who only knows how to memorize textbooks will only drag down our GPA. Do you really think you’re worthy of choosing your own teammates?” Only knows how to memorize? I stayed up for months doing field research and data analysis, volunteered at the community library every weekend to build my portfolio, and my extracurricular resume could easily fill three pages. And she dared to call me a bookworm? Just as I was about to speak, Lily, our class representative, sighed and whispered, “Elena, why don’t you… join the group over there? They still need one more person anyway.” I followed her gaze. Three girls were sitting in the corner. They were the most quiet, overlooked girls in class, all of whom had been bullied by Chloe before. There was Lily herself, who had once had a cup of Coca-Cola poured over her head by Chloe. And two other girls—one who had been openly mocked by Chloe for a birthmark on her face, and another who had been publicly humiliated because her family was struggling financially. Chloe called them the “Trash Disposal Unit.” Without hesitation, I walked over to their table and sat down. “Great, let’s be a group.” Lily looked up, her eyes slightly red. “Elena…” I smiled at her. “It’s fine. We’ll nail this on our own.” Behind us, Chloe let out an exaggerated, mocking laugh. “Oh look, the Trash Disposal Unit is officially formed! Good luck, girls. Try to get a D-minus so you don’t tank the class average.” Her followers laughed along. I didn’t look back. But I clenched my fists. Chloe wasn’t done. She walked over to my desk, looking down at me. “Elena, you belong with this trash. This school wouldn’t even run without my dad’s donations. Let me tell you, I run this class. If I say you can’t join a good group, you can’t!” “Who do you think you are to compete with me? Do you know that with one call to my dad, I can have you blacklisted from every prep school in this district?” “What’s all the noise about?” An impatient voice came from the door. It was our academic advisor, Mr. Carter. He walked in with a grading folder under his arm, frowning as he scanned the room. “It’s just a group project. Why are you all shouting? Who’s causing trouble now?” Chloe instantly wiped the smirk off her face, replacing it with a victimized look. “Mr. Carter, Elena is throwing a fit because she doesn’t like her group. She’s making a scene and disrupting everyone!” I was almost laughing at how shamelessly she twisted the truth. “Mr. Carter, that’s not what happened—” “Alright, alright,” Mr. Carter interrupted impatiently, waving his hand. “It’s just a group assignment. Chloe, your group is full. Elena, aren’t you already with Lily’s group? Just do your work. Stop arguing and get back to class.” He turned and left. Throughout the entire exchange, he didn’t bother to ask who was right or wrong, nor did he look at anyone. He was like a fire extinguisher—spraying wherever there was a spark, not caring if the fire was actually out, as long as it didn’t burn his own fingers. Lily pulled at the corner of my sleeve and whispered, “Elena, let it go…” I took a deep breath and sat down. Let it go. For now. Chloe gave me a triumphant look and walked back to her seat. But I noticed a very strange, smug smile on her face. That smile made a cold shiver run down my spine. I immediately called my mom, but the call went straight to a automated voicemail. She was on a flight to Europe.
The next day, I understood the meaning of that smile. My capstone project. Three months of hard work, a thirty-thousand-word draft, and over two hundred cited data points. All of it was completely gone. My laptop’s trash bin was empty. The cloud backup had been wiped clean. My USB drive was missing. I frantically searched the entire classroom and finally found my USB drive in the trash can. There was a clear footprint stamped right on its plastic casing. As Chloe walked past my desk, she leaned in and whispered, “Elena, you have no proof. What can you possibly do to me?” At the school’s end-of-term academic showcase, Chloe stood on the stage, presenting her capstone project. “Microplastics Distribution in the San Francisco Bay Area and Its Ecological Impact on Aquatic Life.” At least half of the core concepts and data points in her slides were things I had discussed with her three months ago. And my name was nowhere to be found, not even in the acknowledgments. I stood up right there in the auditorium and challenged her. “What are the criteria for the Best Capstone Project? My research was awarded a perfect score by the District Academic Review Committee and won the school the Annual Academic Innovation Award, leading the runner-up by over fifty points—while Chloe can’t even explain the basic methodology of her experiment because she stole it from my laptop!” The entire auditorium fell dead silent. The dean and the department head looked at each other, neither of them daring to speak. Chloe looked down at me from the stage with pure arrogance. “Of course your so-called research was disqualified.” She let out a cold laugh. “Do you think we don’t know how you got that data? Last Friday night, someone saw you on the West Side bar street, dressed… very provocatively.” “The school will not tolerate academic dishonesty or inappropriate behavior. For now, we are only stripping you of your award. If you continue to ruin this school’s reputation with such filthy methods, expulsion will be next!” I was shaking with anger, my eyes scanning the school board and faculty on the stage. The very same teachers who used to praise my sharp mind and academic potential were now dodging my gaze, pretending to be deaf and blind. Just then, a deep voice echoed from the back of the auditorium. “What is going on here?” Everyone turned around. Principal White walked in with a dark expression. He was only invited to present the awards, so he clearly didn’t expect to walk into such a mess. The dean rushed over to him and whispered in his ear. As Principal White listened, his frown deepened. His eyes flickered with relief when he looked at Chloe, but turned icy cold when they landed on me. He walked onto the stage and took the microphone. “Elena, the school’s reputation comes first. Cooperate with us for now. Once the showcase is over, I will give you an explanation.” “Cooperate?” My eyes welled with tears, and my voice trembled. “By ‘cooperate,’ do you mean I should just stay quiet while the project I spent a month staying up until 2 a.m. to write, verify, and perfect gets handed over to someone else?” “And you’re going to erase all my hard work just because of a baseless accusation she made?” “Let me ask you, where is the fairness? Where is the justice? Aren’t you ashamed of doing this to a student who actually brought glory to this school?” Principal White was left speechless by my questions, but Chloe didn’t show a single shred of shame. She raised her chin at me. “Fairness?” She scoffed. “Elena, don’t be so naive. In this world, whoever has the power defines what’s fair.” “If you want justice, go find a billionaire dad to buy it for you. Too bad you don’t have one.” With undisguised contempt, she sneered, “Meanwhile, my status as the daughter of the Vance Group’s CEO is enough to keep you crushed under my feet for the rest of your life!” I stared at her, a strange, uneasy feeling growing in my chest. She was so confident… Could my dad really have…? No, impossible. My mom is far too smart and powerful. My dad wouldn’t dare. But I didn’t realize that my palms were already sweating. I suddenly spoke up. “I heard that Mr. Vance only has one daughter. I wonder where you popped up from, Chloe?” Chloe’s expression stiffened for a second, then she rolled her eyes. “That’s my older sister. Of course I’ve met her. But she lives abroad and rarely comes back to the States. A low-class commoner like you would never get to see her anyway.” I sneered. “Really? If you’re so high-class, why did you have to steal someone else’s research and grant money? Are you sure you’re not a fake?” “You!” Chloe’s face turned pale with rage as she glared at me. “Elena! Don’t push your luck. Your award was revoked because you don’t deserve it. I won this fair and square!” “Fair and square?” I took a step forward, locking eyes with her. “Do you mean by sleeping through classes, playing on your phone, saying absolutely nothing during group discussions, and not even knowing how to write a basic literature review?” “Or do you mean the talent of staring at a blank Google Doc all day and only typing the words ‘Capstone Project’?”
I didn’t speak fast, but every single word was a slap to her face. Her mouth hung open, unable to find a comeback. She looked at Principal White for help. Disappointment flashed across Principal White’s face, and he raised his voice at me. “Elena! Watch your mouth! This is an elite preparatory academy, not a flea market. You don’t get to yell at people here!” “Don’t think that just because you won a few awards for the school in the past, you can look down on everyone. This is a meritocracy. You need to accept being replaced by someone more capable. Stop making a scene!” All eyes turned to me. Everyone was waiting to see me ruin my reputation over a fifty-thousand-dollar scholarship grant. Fifty thousand? I wouldn’t care if it were five hundred thousand. What I wanted was justice. I didn’t scream, and I didn’t argue. I just gave them a sarcastic smile. “Fine. I accept it. The Best Capstone Project award should indeed go to the ‘more capable’ student.” The moment I got back to my seat, two school-wide email notifications popped up on everyone’s phones. [Student Elena Vance is suspected of academic dishonesty and has severely violated the honor code. Elena Vance’s academic awards for this semester are officially revoked, and she is placed on immediate suspension.] [Transfer student Chloe Miller, who bravely defended academic integrity and demonstrated outstanding performance, has brought great honor to our school. She is now awarded the research grant, replacing Elena Vance on all scholarship rosters.] Immediately after, Principal White’s voice blared through the school’s PA system. [Elena Vance, for violating school rules and showing disrespect to faculty, you are required to submit a five-thousand-word apology letter to the Dean of Students’ office. Let this be a warning to all students!] This was too much. They stripped me of my project, turned me into a villain, put me on a public stage of shame, and used my humiliation to build up her authority. The classroom fell dead silent. Even the hallway outside was quiet. Everyone was looking at me with mixed emotions—some with pity, some with anger, and others with sheer amusement. The notification remained pinned at the top of the student portal, as if waiting for me to bow my head in shame. Principal White spoke through the PA again. [Elena Vance, did you hear me?] I still didn’t respond. They kept repeating the announcement like crazy. Lily sent me a Snapchat message: [Elena, don’t be stubborn. Just apologize. Your graduation is on the line.] I smiled at her, but tears welled up in my eyes. I didn’t reply. I turned off my phone, opened an elective textbook, and calmly started reading. I went ahead and deactivated all my school portal accounts, fully accepting the suspension. Principal White, claiming that a suspended student shouldn’t occupy prime classroom space, moved my desk to the very back corner. I was forced to endure the daily pitying and condescending stares of classmates walking by. During lunch, the girls I used to eat with stopped inviting me. When Chloe walked past my desk, she tilted her cup, letting a few drops of her boba tea splash onto my notebook. “Oh, my bad,” she giggled, her eyes completely devoid of apology. Chloe proudly sat in my former seat, ordering everyone in class around. But my seat wasn’t that easy to sit in. Every step of that capstone project, from topic selection to data analysis, from literature review to final conclusion, was done entirely by me. But Chloe knew absolutely nothing. Within days, several professors from the review board began questioning the authenticity of her project, demanding to see the raw sampling records and lab data. The school was suddenly facing a major academic scandal. Principal White finally couldn’t take the pressure anymore. Swallowing his pride, he walked over to my desk in the corner. “Elena, you were the one who collected the raw data for this project. The review board wants to verify the sources. Hand over the raw sampling logs and lab records to Chloe so she can submit them.”
I slowly looked up, pretending to be utterly confused. “Principal White, are you asking the wrong person? I’m currently a ‘suspected plagiarist.’ If I hand over my data, what if I get accused of stealing it again?” He paused, his voice turning stiff. “This is about solving a real-school crisis. Don’t let your emotions get the best of you.” I spread my hands. “It’s not that I don’t want to help. The Dean’s office confiscated all my research journals and hard drives yesterday under the guise of ‘investigation.’ You should ask them.” His face froze, his eyes burning with anger. “Are you doing this on purpose?” I looked at him calmly. “Principal White, I am currently suspended. According to school policy, I am barred from participating in any academic affairs. You should let Chloe handle this.” Principal White looked extremely embarrassed, but he forced himself to stay patient. “How about this? You give her the data, and we’ll let this whole thing slide. I will reinstate your award eligibility.” I looked up at him. “Principal White, you know those samples took me three months, traveling to five different spots across the Bay Area, to collect.” He was silent for a moment, then murmured, “I know. But Chloe has the Vance Group backing her. What do you have?” I smiled. “Principal White, shouldn’t you ask the winner of the Best Capstone Project? Her project was so brilliant, surely she collected her own data.” His face flushed a deep crimson, struggling to keep his temper in check. “Elena, it was just some school drama. Are you really taking it this seriously?” My smile remained, but it turned ice-cold. “So revoking my award and taking away my fifty-thousand-dollar grant was just ‘school drama’?” “And labeling a project I wrote line-by-line as plagiarism was also just ‘school drama’?” Every word I said felt like a physical slap to his face. His face turned from red to white, then to a dark purple. He stood there in silence. I knew he was fighting with his own pride—after all, apologizing to a student didn’t fit his prestigious principal persona. Just then, Chloe ran over, looking ecstatic. “Principal White! My dad just agreed to increase his donation to the school’s endowment!” A victorious grin instantly broke across Principal White’s face. “That is outstanding! Chloe, you are truly a blessing to this school. With the Vance Group backing us, who cares about those review board skeptics?” He turned to me, glaring with absolute malice. “Elena, you are officially expelled. Go to the administration building and sign your withdrawal papers right now!” I nodded calmly. “Fine. But I expect the school to pay out my contract compensation according to the enrollment agreement.” He lost his mind and yelled, “Compensation? You have caused immense damage to this school’s reputation! Just wait until our lawyers sue you!” Chloe sneered, “Elena, I will make sure you are blacklisted from every school in California!” I smiled faintly. “I’ll be waiting.” I quietly packed my backpack and walked out of the school I had dedicated a year of my life to. I had poured all my time and energy into this place. I didn’t rely on my family background; I used my own brain to put this school on the academic map. And in return, I was expelled. My heart felt like it had been sliced by an icicle—cold and bleeding. A few classmates came out to see me off, offering quiet words of comfort. Lily said with tears in her eyes, “Elena, you’re so smart. You’ll do amazing wherever you go. Don’t listen to Chloe. You’re going to get into a much better school.” I smiled and said nothing. Chloe didn’t have the power to stop me. Once I stepped off school grounds, my phone rang. It was my mom. “Elena, honey, I just landed. I’m scheduled to sign the endowment agreement at your school next week. How are things?” I kept my voice flat. “Mom, I’ve been expelled.” Silence on the other end. “Why?” “Chloe Miller says she’s Dad’s daughter—the sole heiress of the Vance Group. Principal White believed her.” The phone was silent for five long seconds. Then, my mom’s voice came through, cold and deep as an abyss. “I see. I’ll see you next week.” I hung up and let out a soft laugh. Don’t worry, everyone. The show is about to start. When I showed up at the annual scholarship banquet, everyone from my former school was shocked. Especially Principal White and Chloe, whose eyes practically shot daggers at me.
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