She Called Me a Cheat, But the Principal Begged Me to Enroll Chapter 07

She Called Me a Cheat, But the Principal Begged Me to Enroll Chapter 07

Madison’s mouth dropped open. 

“In front of the entire school?” 

“Principal Harris, I am still a faculty member under contract. Making this kind of statement in front of all faculty and students seems inappropriate.” 

“How about this? I will formally apologize to Ava here.” 

Principal Harris did not move. 

“You punished her by making her run laps in the cold and stuck a humiliating sign on her chest. Without a public clarification in front of the entire school, this cannot be justified.” 

“That is the decision. Otherwise, I don’t mind removing one teacher from this school.” 

Madison swallowed and looked at me pitifully. 

“Ava, are you really going to make me do that?” 

A moment later, she seemed to think of 

something. 

“Principal Harris, wait. That spare timing chip 

really was in her running bag. That part is true. I 

did not lie about it.” 

Her eyes darted, as if she had found an exit. 

I remembered what had happened before I went to 

Madison’s office. 

Brandon had bumped into me in the gym stairwell. 

He had been carrying a basketball bag, and his 

shoulder had brushed against my running bag. 

The side pocket had bulged from the impact, and 

the zipper had come open an inch or two. 

He had also glanced back toward Madison’s 

office. 

At the time, I had not thought anything of it. 

Madison blurted out, “Principal Harris, Brandon set. 

me up.” 

“It was Brandon Wells. He came to my office and 

hinted that Ava had raised her inter–school race 

points by cheating.” 

“He cried to me that this year’s Annual All–Around 

Excellence Scholarship was the most important 

part of his college application.” 

“He said his parents had donated so much money, but the scholarship was going to a poor 

out–of–state student. He said it wasn’t fair.” 

“I got angry for him, so I defended him.” 

Everyone in the room laughed. 

Dean Miller even mocked her. 

“Ms. Blake, now that you’re cornered, you’re throwing anyone you can under the bus.” 

“Everyone at this school knows you and Brandon are close outside class. Didn’t he personally teach you how to shoot?” 

“Why are you suddenly blaming him for setting you up?” 

Madison bit her lip, panicking. 

“Principal Harris, Dean Miller, everything I said is 

true.” 

She turned to me. 

“Ava, please. You have to believe me.” 

Principal Harris had been worn down by the whole 

morning, and he had already seen exactly what 

this farce was. 

He waved a hand. 

“Enough, Ms. Blake.” 

“Whether you were deceived or acted on purpose, 

you have already done real damage to Ava. Think 

hard about what you did.” 

“The assembly is at three this afternoon. You will 

publicly explain yourself to Ava and to the entire 

school. You will admit that you accused a student 

without verifying evidence.” 

Then Principal Harris looked at the others. 

“And the seven of you do not get to walk away 

clean either.” 

“As school administrators, you failed to 

investigate properly and abused what little. 

authority you had.” 

“Do you think formal disciplinary notices are 

something you can toss around whenever you feel 

like it?” 

“Starting today, all seven of you are suspended 

from administrative duties and will be reviewed by 

the board and HR.” 

“Dean Miller, your vice–principal promotion is 

frozen immediately.” 

Principal Harris was not joking. 

They stood with their heads lowered, no longer 

daring to argue. 

Then Principal Harris turned to me again, his voice 

gentler, and crushed the disciplinary notice into a 

ball. 

“Ava, this paper isn’t worth a damn.” 

“The registrar will revoke the record in the system. 

It will not enter your student file.” 

“I will say this again. I hope you can stay here and 

focus on your work. But I will not force you.” 

“If you are unwilling, I can personally help you 

transfer back to your old school and still preserve 

your financial aid and portfolio grant.” 

He sounded sincere. 

I stood to the side and thought it over in silence.