She Called Me a Cheat, But the Principal Begged Me to Enroll Chapter 05
“Enough.”Â
Principal Harris’s furious shout made everyoneÂ
flinch.Â
“This is absurd.”Â
Madison regained just enough sense not to slapÂ
- me.Â
Then she looked at me with smug satisfaction.Â
“Exactly, Ava Carter. Principal Harris treats you soÂ
well, and this is how you repay him? Spreading liesÂ
right in front of him?“.Â
Principal Harris pointed at them one by one, histÂ
eyes cold.Â
“I was talking about you.”Â
Madison’s smile froze.Â
Principal Harris did not give her time to recover.Â
“Ava Carter is the art scholarship recruit I spent aÂ
great deal of money on and drove out of stateÂ
three times to bring here. Her full financial–aidÂ
package, art–supply grant, and smartphone usageÂ
permit were all approved by me.”Â
“She ran in the women’s open division five–mileÂ
race. Her bib, official chip, split records, and finishÂ
time are all linked in the women’s division system.”Â
“Cheating with a boys‘ spare timing chip?”Â
His voice turned sharper.Â
“That spare chip was inactive, unlinked to her bib,Â
and incapable of touching her results page.”Â
“You took a chip that could not possibly affect herÂ
score and used it to freeze her points and start anÂ
expulsion review?”Â
When he finished, everyone in the room looked atÂ
one another.Â
Madison’s mouth fell open.Â
“She… she’s the new art scholarship recruit? HowÂ
is that possible?”Â
“She’s just a poor student from a low–incomeÂ
household. How could a family like that raise aÂ
national youth art award winner?”Â
She shook her head, refusing to accept it.Â
Dean Miller’s face was already slick with sweat.Â
Large beads rolled down his cheeks and drippedÂ
off his chin.Â
“I said from the beginning that this girl carriedÂ
herself like an excellent student. You could tell at aÂ
glance.”Â
“But Madison Blake insisted she had cheated in the race. I originally wanted to check whichÂ
division she entered, and I wanted to check the chip number and timing system, but Ms. Blake kept blocking me.”Â
“I have no idea how Ava offended Ms. Blake.”Â
The other administrators rushed to echo him.Â
“Exactly. The school has so much work going on, but Ms. Blake kept pushing us to cancel her results.”Â
“She is Ava’s student conduct advisor, so weÂ
thought she knew the student’s situation better. Who would have known she couldn’t evenÂ
understand basic race divisions, bib numbers, and chip binding rules?”Â
Principal Harris turned his head in shock.Â
“What? You planned to freeze all her results andÂ
suspend her scholarship–recruit status?”Â
The administrators stammered, guilt written allÂ
over their faces.Â
“We were all misled by Madison Blake.”Â
I quietly handed over the temporary disciplinaryÂ
notice.Â
It clearly stated that Ava Carter’s inter–school raceÂ
results were frozen and her recruitment statusÂ
suspended.Â
Principal Harris nearly exploded.Â
“You idiots.”Â
“I have been working everywhere to recruitÂ
students for this year’s art competition rankingÂ
and college admissions data.”Â
“And what did you do? You checked nothing. NoÂ
numbers, no surveillance, no timing records. YouÂ
simply froze her results and started expulsionÂ
proceedings.”Â
“Do you still want your jobs?”Â
Everyone panicked.Â
“Principal Harris, this is all a misunderstanding. It’sÂ
all Madison’s fault.”Â
“She likes stirring up trouble. We don’t know why,Â
but she is especially hostile toward students.”Â
I bowed deeply to Principal Harris.Â
“Principal Harris, I am very grateful that youÂ
recognized my talent.”Â
“But as you can see, this school is not a safe place for me. And now that the disciplinary notice has been issued, I have no reason to stay.”Â
Principal Harris helped me stand upright.Â
“Ava, please don’t say that. Having you study hereÂ
is an honor for the entire school.”Â
“I admit I had my own reasons. With your family situation, pulling you all the way to Boston wasÂ
not entirely fair to you. That was why I approved your financial aid and art–supply grant. I wanted to help where I could.”Â
I sighed.Â
“Principal Harris, you probably should not haveÂ
mentioned that.”Â
“The teachers all said I lied my way into financial aid. They said I used school money to buy a phoneÂ
and cheated in a race to steal a scholarship. IÂ
don’t feel safe accepting any of it anymore.”Â
“I will pack my things today and stop causingÂ
trouble for you.”Â
Principal Harris’s face darkened completely.Â
“They don’t get to decide your future.”Â
“I will have the registrar revoke this disciplinaryÂ
notice and remove every temporary record fromÂ
your student file. The athletics office will alsoÂ
reinstate your race results and overall score.”Â
“At Riverton Arts Academy, I still have the finalÂ
say.”

