Before the graduation ceremony kicked off, I was double-checking the last performance on the program when I looked up and saw Brittany standing right in front of me. The stage lights hit her face at an angle, leaving her half in shadow and half illuminated at the edge of the curtain, making it impossible to read her expression. “President Aubrey, I heard the grand finale performance for the graduation ceremony… is your piano solo…” It was clearly written on the program. Was this person illiterate? As the Student Body President and the overall director of the graduation ceremony, I was busy organizing the event schedule and honestly couldn’t be bothered with her. I just gave a noncommittal “Mm” to brush her off. To my surprise, Brittany, upon receiving my casual reply, became hysterical, screaming like a madwoman. “Aubrey! Why do you have to steal everything from me?! First place in our year is yours! Student Body President is yours! Even the grand finale solo opportunity at graduation is yours!” After her shrill shriek, Brittany trembled, consumed by injustice, her eyes blazing red as she glared at me, as if she’d suffered the greatest wrong imaginable. The students gathered around couldn’t help but whisper. “Seriously, I’m done. Is she delusional? Nobody’s even trying to take anything from her. Seriously, can she stop playing the victim and looking for trouble?” “She’s just one of those people who can’t stand to see anyone else succeed. Last time, even the prettiest girl in our class got yelled at by her, for daring to dress up too nicely and make Brittany look plain. It was just so annoying…” I used the folder in my hand to block the spit flying from Brittany’s mouth and slowly voiced my confusion. “Excuse me, I recall you never even signed up for the Student Body President election or the graduation ceremony performance?” The moment I spoke, Brittany’s face changed. She stumbled back two steps in disbelief, covering her ears and shaking her head frantically. “It’s all your fault! All because of you! You stole my chance!” With that, she burst into tears and ran out the door. I also covered my ears to block out the noise, watching Brittany’s retreating back, and slowly turned around. Because I knew that as long as Brittany was around, another person was bound to appear… “Aubrey! How could you treat Brittany like that?!” Just as expected, Brandon, my childhood best friend, who’d somehow transformed into Brittany’s personal simp, stormed out from behind the curtain, his brows furrowed, demanding an answer. “Brittany’s already under so much stress! And you had to provoke her like that! Look how heartbroken she is, don’t you feel even a shred of guilt?!” “Well, as her best ‘friend,’ maybe next time you can sign her up for the Student Body President election and the graduation ceremony performance first, to help her take the first step towards her dreams.” I offered my suggestion with utmost sincerity, silently praying this toxic duo would stick together forever and never bother anyone else again. “Aubrey, you—” “If you don’t go after Brittany, she’ll be long gone.” There was too much to prepare for the graduation ceremony. I really didn’t want to waste time with those two weirdos, so I just made up an excuse to get rid of Brandon. “I totally misjudged you, Aubrey. You’re utterly unreasonable!” Brandon threw a final cutting remark. Just as I expected, he bolted out the door after Brittany. It was a miracle my brain cells survived being friends with him. Once Brandon rushed out, the graduation ceremony venue returned to its usual order and quiet. Without taking a break, I headed to the storage room to log the stage props being checked out. Ugh, with great power comes great responsibility. Coordinating the entire event as Student Body President was definitely not easy. After the last stage prop was moved out, I finished tidying up the prop boxes and reached out to push the door, ready to head to the graduation ceremony venue. After a few attempts, I realized something was off with the door— The storage room door had been locked from the outside. I banged on the cold metal door. I quickly realized there was no way I could open it from the inside on my own. Just then, a familiar, mocking voice slowly sounded from outside the door. “Aubrey, even though you’ve done so many terrible things, for old times’ sake, as childhood friends…” Brandon “considerately” made the choice for me. “If you just give this graduation performance slot back to Brittany, we’d be big-hearted enough to forgive you for snatching Brittany’s performance slot.” “Brittany’s crying so much, why can’t you just give her a chance to be on stage?” “You’ve been on stage so many times since we were kids. Why do you have to snatch even Brittany’s only chance to shine?” I was stunned speechless by Brandon’s insane logic. “You two are always so ridiculously ‘brave.’ Honestly, you two should join one of those crazy reality challenge shows. With how ‘brave’ you both are, you’d probably win a grand prize, hand in hand.” “Even if I’ve been on stage a lot, I’m not her nanny. Why should I just hand over my performance to her?” “Besides, did I stop her from being on stage? If she had any talent at all, she could’ve signed up for a slot, and maybe it would’ve passed the auditions?” I clearly pointed out every flaw in his statement, not indulging him one bit. The person outside fell silent, then let out a low, heavy scoff. “Looks like you still haven’t realized what you did wrong. You can stay in this storage room tonight and reflect.” “Be good. Next time you come over, I’ll personally bake you your favorite cake.” I realized deeply that you can’t reason with someone that delusional. Maybe if I just cursed him out, he’d understand better. “Uh… Dude, who even are you to tell me what to do?” Turns out, when you’re speechless enough, you really do laugh. I actually laughed, clapping as I spoke. “My favorite cake is made by a world-renowned pastry chef. Who do you think you are?” “You want me to come to your house? Get ready for a lawsuit, Brandon. The partnership between the Davies and Aubrey’s family ends today.” Just as I was focused on my retort, oblivious to everything else, a soft whimper came from nearby. Without a doubt, it was Brittany. “Oh, Brandon, is it because of me that you’re having a falling out with Aubrey’s family? You really don’t have to do so much for me. You’re so good to me, I don’t even know how to repay you…” “Right. It’s all because of you. Brittany, if you let me out of this storage room right now, your Brandon won’t have to have a falling out with Aubrey’s family. You can repay him on the spot. How about it?” I crossed my arms and rolled my eyes indifferently. “Oh, Brandon, I just want to perform on stage, why is everyone in the world trying to stop me…” Brittany’s pitiful voice rang out again, showing no trace of guilt for trying to take my spot on stage. Clearly, Brandon fell for her damsel-in-distress act, and his words grew bolder in front of Brittany. “Brittany, you don’t have to listen to her! What’s yours, nobody can take away. Just confidently go be the grand finale lead for the graduation ceremony!” Is that really what you’re going with? I facepalmed, really not wanting to hear another word from this toxic duo. Luckily, to prepare for the evening’s graduation ceremony, Brandon and Brittany soon left the small storage room. Alright, so you want to perform, huh? I’ll give you this chance. I couldn’t help but smile, thinking about what was coming next. Looks like they still have no idea what the hidden grand finale for the graduation ceremony is, do they? Unable to find me at the graduation ceremony venue, the Student Body Vice President gathered a team to search the entire campus, finally rescuing me from the storage room. “Oh my gosh, President! Who on earth locked you in there?! This is illegal confinement, we should check the surveillance and sue them mercilessly!” “Oh, President, were you hurt being locked in here alone? Are you cold? Here, take my jacket.” The younger student council members chattered around me. I sipped warm ginger tea and smiled, responding to each of their concerns. Nobody truly understands the real worth of being Student Body President, do they? I fought hard for this position! “President! Do you know how brazen Brittany was while you were missing?! Not only did she and Brandon forcefully crash the backstage makeup area, she, she, she also… never mind! Just look at her SnapChat!” A student council member handed me their phone. I looked down, and it was Brittany’s SnapChat. [With @Brandon, I’m not afraid of any difficulties! See you on stage! [kiss emoji]] The latest post was just a few minutes ago, with a selfie of her cupping her face and pouting. “Well, she won’t be facing any difficulties now. She and Brandon will be sued by me directly and sent straight behind bars.” I replied calmly, but another person beside me urgently tapped the picture to show me. “But President! The urgent matter is, Brittany wore your graduation gown for the performance!” Oh, for crying out loud! No wonder that dress looked so familiar! I looked closer and saw that the outfit subtly peeking out from the bottom of that photo was indeed my custom-made graduation gown. This gown was a high-end designer piece, specially tailored for me by my private designer. It was priceless and unobtainable in the market. To ensure the stage effect, the fabric of the gown was meant for one-time wear only. After Brittany wore it this once, the gown could be considered completely ruined. The price of this theft… she could spend years behind bars for this. “All students’ performance outfits are kept in their respective backstage lockers. Brittany taking it without asking is stealing. Does she think she doesn’t have enough criminal records already?” I immediately took a screenshot by pressing the lock button and the volume down button simultaneously, instructing my classmate to send me the picture as evidence. “Then what will you do, President? She stole your dress, what will you wear on stage later?!” “Don’t worry, I have plenty of other, even better dresses.” I hadn’t originally planned to wear such a luxurious gown, but now, it seemed like an occasional display of true power was necessary to remind others of my capabilities. While sending the evidence of Brittany’s theft to my family lawyer, I also asked my butler to bring the latest arrival—a fully diamond-studded haute couture evening gown. Surrounded by the student council members, I curved my lips into a bright smile. Brittany, see you on stage. “Your ordered flower bouquet has arrived, please confirm receipt~” After changing into the latest diamond-studded haute couture evening gown and finishing my makeup, I arrived at the entrance of the graduation ceremony venue with the younger student council members, only to run into someone unexpected. Brandon was holding a bouquet of flowers, delivered by a service, about to enter the venue. When he saw me, fully dressed up and suddenly appearing, his eyes widened in shock. He clearly hadn’t anticipated this situation. “Brittany is already on stage by now. There’s no way you can make it to the grand finale performance of the graduation ceremony anyway.” He quickly recovered, his tense expression vanished, replaced by a triumphant smile. “Aubrey, you’ve finally turned over a new leaf and given the stage opportunity back to Brittany. Your character shows a hint of improvement. As your childhood friend, I’m giving you this bouquet to encourage you.” Brandon looked at me from a distance with a satisfied expression, nodding with great contentment. Then, he bent down, rummaged through the delivery flower bag that had “Brittany” written on it, and pulled out a single mini-bouquet, a complimentary gift from the flower shop owner, from the very bottom. “Happy graduation! Even though you didn’t get to perform a solo at the graduation ceremony this time, with me, your childhood friend, around, you’ll have plenty of other stages to perform on in the future.” Brandon’s lips twitched, forming what he thought was a gentlemanly smile. The crumpled mini-bouquet in his hand shook with his movements. “Uh… Big bro, are you okay? Take a look, is that even a bouquet?” Before I could say anything, the student council members immediately started talking over each other, firing back at Brandon, instantly drowning him in a sea of critical remarks. “No, dude, do you even hear yourself? Can’t you even afford to buy a proper bouquet?” “That bouquet is smaller than my palm, isn’t it? Should I slap you on the President’s behalf?” “Why are Brittany’s flowers so small? Look, those huge flower baskets at the entrance are from our Student Council members to our President~” “Keep that pathetic little flower for Brittany~ A small flower for a small-minded person, isn’t that just perfect~” The goodwill I had accumulated over time supported me. I gratefully nodded to those around me. My classmates quietly clenched their fists, all standing by me, ready to back me up. “You guys are being totally unreasonable!” Brandon’s face alternated between red and white. He gnashed his teeth, trying to argue with those around him, but my gaze froze him in place. His Adam’s apple bobbed twice, and he ultimately didn’t dare to speak. “Everyone knows who’s being unreasonable here, alright?” As my words fell, the clamor of the crowd gradually subsided. Under everyone’s gaze, I stepped forward, one step at a time. With a very shocked expression on his face, I raised my hand and unhesitatingly knocked the flower bouquet out of Brandon’s hand, walking past him without looking back. “I’m sorry to disappoint you.” “But I never said I wasn’t performing at this graduation ceremony, did I?” Dropping those words to the man, I ignored Brandon’s stunned gaze behind me, lifted the hem of my gown, and, with the student council members, firmly pushed open the doors to the graduation ceremony venue. The main battlefield was inside the venue. Meanwhile. Inside the graduation ceremony venue, the stage performances were nearing their end. The grand finale performance was about to begin. The host on stage, following the script rehearsed countless times, began the announcement. “Next up, we have an old friend everyone knows. I can guarantee every student here knows her.” “Oh? That impressive? Then she must be an outstanding student, excelling in both academics and character.” “Now, please welcome our beautiful and brilliant Student Body President, to perform a piano solo!” The students and parents attending the graduation ceremony in the audience applauded in unison, eager to see this legendary, excellent Student Body President. “Student Body President and a piano solo? That young lady is truly outstanding.” “Such an excellent and hardworking young lady has a limitless future!” “Our Student Body President is incredibly capable, and she’s gorgeous, and her family is rich. Ah, I won’t say more. Mom, you’ll see her in person soon enough.” Many students in the audience voluntarily told their parents about the Student Body President’s achievements. Everyone’s expectant gaze turned towards the stage. The curtain slowly opened, and the lights suddenly brightened. Standing center stage, however, was a stranger—Brittany! “Hello everyone, I’m Brittany. Today, at the graduation ceremony, I will be performing a piano solo—‘Fate.’” Brittany stood beaming in the center of the stage, theatrically bowing to the audience. Her ill-fitting evening gown was tightly bound to her body, making her look like a trussed-up crab. Her face was painted with an overly heavy, inappropriate influencer makeup, making her look completely out of place on stage. “Wait, isn’t your Student Body President a young lady from a good family? The person up there looks completely different in temperament and style.” “Our Student Body President is Aubrey. Who is that person on stage? Where’s our Student Body President?” “Where’s the President? We only recognize Aubrey as our Student Body President!” A wave of whispers spread through the audience, but one person excitedly stood up and shouted. “That’s my daughter, Brittany! I’ve painstakingly nurtured her for so many years, and now I’m finally seeing the rewards!” “This child has been sensible since she was little, never giving me any worries with her studies. Raising a daughter like this, as her father, I’m both proud and heartbroken!” “Thank you for your applause for Brittany! My Brittany will definitely be even more outstanding in the future!” Even though no one in the audience was applauding Brittany, Brittany’s father delivered his speech with exaggerated fanfare. On stage, Brittany’s eyes immediately reddened the moment she saw her father stand up. “Today, standing here, I’m most grateful to my father. It was his subtle influence that taught me so many life lessons…” “Without my father, I would never have been able to stand on this stage today.” Brittany clutched the microphone, launching into a lengthy, emotional speech. “Haha, what this student shared today is truly touching, but considering the time, let’s save the rest of this wonderful sharing for backstage. Now, please begin the performance!” Seeing the time dragging on and the performance delayed, with the audience constantly murmuring, the host was forced to go on stage and take the microphone from Brittany, frantically signaling her with his eyes to start playing. “What’s going on with Aubrey? Even if she had to find someone last minute to fill in, she should’ve found someone who… wasn’t so obviously out of place?” “Look at that kid on stage, her words make no sense, and her hands are flailing around. She’s on a completely different level from Aubrey.” “It would’ve been better to let one of our own step in temporarily, honestly.” Among the School Board members, some leaders who had partnerships with Aubrey’s family also began to whisper. Finally, after stalling for so long, Brittany sat down at the grand piano and lowered her head, pressing the first note. A terrible sound came from the piano, but it was quickly covered by the smooth music from the speakers. Brittany swayed her head, completely immersed in the art of faking her performance. Wait, what? The audience watched Brittany’s fake playing in stunned silence. Was this woman treating the audience like fools? Couldn’t she tell the difference between the piano and the speakers? As the audience endured Brittany’s mimed performance, feeling like an eternity, the main doors of the graduation ceremony venue creaked open. Everyone curiously turned to look, only to see a dozen figures, all in dark attire, appear at the entrance. And the person leading them was a face everyone knew all too well—Aubrey. “Aubrey! The President is back!” “The President is going to perform!” Students in the audience couldn’t help but exclaim, and instantly, the entire hall’s focus shifted to my sudden appearance. Nobody paid any attention to Brittany, who was still fakely playing on stage. Seeing my arrival, the student council’s logistics staff instinctively shifted the lights onto me. My luxurious outfit and makeup became even clearer under the spotlights. I stepped forward, my high heels clicking steadily on the floor. My diamond-studded haute couture evening gown shimmered brilliantly under the lights. The satin fabric flowed under the light, the custom-tailored shoulder lines subtly cinching, making my figure look sleek and elegant. With every step, the skirt swayed gently, reflecting brilliance from every angle. “She’s so beautiful… That dress looks like the latest haute couture, it suits the President so perfectly, ahhhhh!” “I’m done for, I can’t take my eyes off the President now.” “The President herself is beautiful! That dress is just an accessory to her.” In the interplay of light and shadow, I looked like a goddess descended from the heavens. Some students and parents seeing me for the first time were stunned, holding their breath, staring blankly as I slowly walked towards the front of the stage. “Excuse me, could the backstage please stop the music.” I raised a hand, and the large carat diamond earrings swayed gently, accentuating my exquisitely elegant makeup. All of this stood in stark contrast to Brittany on stage. The difference between us was truly a world apart. The moment my words fell, the music immediately stopped. Brittany’s hands were still miming, and the quiet venue felt incredibly awkward. The audience looked at me, then at Brittany. It clicked for everyone what was happening, and they all eagerly watched the drama unfold. A student council member brought me a microphone so my words could be heard more clearly by everyone present. “Hello everyone, I’m Aubrey, the current Student Body President, and the original performer for the graduation ceremony’s piano solo.” I deliberately emphasized “original,” and expressions of sudden understanding spread through the audience. “I knew it. This Brittany, she doesn’t look like a Student Body President at all. She completely missed the vibe of the event.” “Such a massive turn-off! Is she treating the audience like mere props to be fooled?” “And faking the performance is just too much! Is she treating us like fools?!”
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