She Called Me a Cheat, But the Principal Begged Me to Enroll Chapter 03
I finished all twenty laps exactly as ordered.
Before I could even catch my breath, Dean Miller and Madison Blake dragged me into a conference room.
Seven suited administrators sat across the conference table, all staring at me with grim faces.
Madison searched my pocket, took my phone, and threw it onto the table.
She looked triumphant. Even the curve of her mouth seemed polished.
“Everyone, this is Ava Carter. Not only did she secretly keep a spare timing chip from the inter-school five-mile race, she also lied her way into need-based financial aid.”
“A student with this kind of character is not fit for a prestigious school like Riverton Arts Academy. She will poison the entire environment here.”
I was breathing hard. My calves ached as if nails had been driven into them. After everything that morning, my blood sugar had dipped, and I swayed where I stood.
Madison stepped back at once, disgust flashing across her face.
“Acting again, Ava Carter?”
“What, you saw a room full of men and thought you could play helpless? Give it up. These men won’t fall for that trick. They’ve worked in private schools for years. They’ve seen every student act in the book.”
“And if you think you can flirt your way out of this, maybe look in a mirror first.”
I had had enough of her.
She was supposed to be a teacher. A role model.
Apparently, every thought in her head had to pass through a man first.
If she had not wasted my whole morning, I could have finished two composition drafts and a portfolio statement for my college applications.
Dean Miller sat at the center of the table with my phone in his hand, wearing the grave expression of a man who had already chosen the verdict.
“Ava Carter, do you admit to what Ms. Blake said?”
“The administration has opened a formal review into your case. We are making time for this, so I suggest you tell the truth. Be honest and stop playing games.”
After so long in the cold, the cut on my face had half scabbed over. It still hurt when I spoke.
I forced myself to keep my voice clear.
“First, I did not cheat in the race. I don’t know how that spare timing chip ended up in my running bag.”
“Second, that chip belongs to the boys’ team spare equipment. I ran in the women’s open division. My bib, official chip, start time, finish time, and splits all ran under the same registered number.”
“The boys’ spare chip was not linked to my name or my bib. Even if it appeared in my running bag, it could not have triggered a women’s division result for me.”
“Third, I was not recruited here for running. I am an art scholarship recruit. Cross-country was just an athletic activity for me, not the reason I was recruited. Does it make any sense for me to steal a boys’ chip that cannot even enter my results system just to gain a few overall points?”
“Fourth, I did not falsify anything to get financial aid. This smartphone was approved by Principal Harris. It has a home monitoring app and an emergency contact app installed. Because of my family situation, it lets me reach my parents whenever I need to.”
Madison snorted.
“Ava Carter, the administrators already said they’re busy. They don’t have time for you to talk in circles.”
“You applied to the principal? Please. Does the principal even have time to meet a poor student like you? And Principal Harris himself wrote the rule banning students from using smartphones freely.”
I swallowed my anger.
“I know the administrators are busy. But checking my division, the chip number, and the split timing records should not take long.”
Madison lifted her voice and looked me up and down.
“Unbelievable. Who do you think you are? Why should administrators waste time on something this minor for you?”
Then she turned to the table.
“You were kind enough to form an investigation team and give her a fair result, but she doesn’t appreciate it. She is still here making trouble.”
She turned back to me.
“Ava Carter, do you think this will make them pity you and let you keep your results?”
Dean Miller waved a hand.
“Checking the race division and chip number won’t take much time.”
But he did not ask anyone to check.
He only glanced at the livestream traffic still rising on the screen.
Then his voice dropped.
“However, this is already spreading online. To keep the scandal from growing any further, the school needs to take temporary action first.”
The words “temporary action” actually made me relax.
My recruitment aid had already been paid out. The art-supply grant was enough to support the next stage of my mother’s treatment. And I was so far from home that taking care of my parents was already difficult.
Fine, then.
If they wanted me gone, I could let them think they had won.
I sighed and softened my tone.
“Maybe I really didn’t understand how things worked here. I haven’t been here long, and I didn’t understand the school’s rules or discipline. I affected the team culture. I will accept whatever punishment you decide.”
Madison could not have looked more pleased.
She tossed her long brown waves, almost ready to dance in place.
“Dean Miller, did you hear that? The second we were about to investigate, she changed her story.”
“A girl like this doesn’t deserve to stay at our school. Once she gets out into society, she’ll chase status, latch onto rich men, and drag Riverton’s name through the mud.”
The seven administrators huddled together and lowered their voices.
They were not discussing evidence.
They were discussing how to bury this before the board found out.
After a while, Dean Miller cleared his throat and handed me a temporary disciplinary notice.
“Ava Carter, after careful discussion by the investigation team, you are suspected of seriously violating the athletic integrity code during the inter-school five-mile race. All personal results and overall points will be frozen immediately.”
“Given the severity of the situation, the school has decided to suspend your scholarship-recruit status and begin an expulsion review.”
“The phone and timing chip will be kept by me as evidence. Once Principal Harris returns, they will be reported to the board and the athletics office together.”
Before he could finish, the conference room door was shoved open with a bang.
Everyone stood at once, faces tight.
“Principal Harris. You came back early?”
