4: 4
I found Bridget on duty in the student council office.
Another student was still gossiping away with her.
"Bri, is that thing about Clementine really true? And you're still friends with her? Doesn't it disgust you?"
Bridget spread her hands helplessly.
"There are photos. Proof. I'm the worst liar in the world."
"What can I say, I just feel sorry for her. I heard her mom was a hooker who died of some filthy disease, that's why her dad dumped her at the orphanage. Like mother, like daughter, I guess."
Rage shot straight to the top of my skull, and I kicked the door open.
"You're lying. My mother is nothing like what you said. I won't let you insult her!"
I rushed up to Bridget and raised my hand high.
But the next second, someone shoved me to the floor.
Clay glared at me, eyes blazing.
"Clementine, what the hell has gotten into you?!"
My forehead hit the corner of the desk, and heat rushed out at once.
The blood on my face startled Clay, and he reached for me, panicked.
"Clem… Clem, are you okay? I didn't mean to…"
But Bridget grabbed his arm and started crying, the picture of wounded innocence.
"Clay, I was afraid Clementine was still angry, so I went to her dorm this morning to apologize."
"I was worried people would spread rumors about last night, so I even explained things for her in our own department's group chat. But instead of appreciating it, she stole the bracelet you gave me."
"I didn't want it to blow up and hurt her, so I thought I'd just call her over on her own. We're friends, so if she just gave it back, I'd let it go. But she actually tried to hit me…"
As she spoke, she shot a look at the other student.
The girl was her friend, and she nodded on cue. "Yeah, I saw it with my own eyes. Clementine stole the bracelet!"
She snatched my bag without a word and dumped it upside down.
And there was the bracelet, mixed right in with everything else.
I turned to Clay in a panic, trying to explain. "I didn't, she was the one who said—"
"Enough!"
Clay cut me off, his eyes full of disappointment.
"Clementine, Bri thinks about you at every turn, and you just have to make trouble for her. You'd even steal from your own friend? Do you really hate seeing her happy that much?"
"You really are trash with no parents. No manners at all. Apologize to Bri right now!"
I stared at him, unable to believe it.
Back before I found my mother, when people called me a bastard, I felt small too, and I envied everyone who had family to love them.
It was Clay who had held me close and said,
"Clem, you're the most wonderful girl I've ever met. To me, you're better than anyone who has parents."
"From now on, I'm your family. I'll love you double, enough to make up for your parents too."
So it's true. The person who knows you best,
is the one who knows exactly where to sink the knife.
I looked at him without any expression. "And if I won't?"
Clay gave me a long look, then turned to the others who had come running.
"Call the police. Now."
"And put it on the PA. Announce it school-wide: Clementine Sullivan from the design department is a thief."
Someone tried to talk him down. "Clay, are you sure? This way Clementine won't just get a major demerit."
"She'll have a record too, and it could hurt her chances of finding a job later. The bracelet's already been found anyway, so maybe…"
Clay's face was cold.
"No. She dares to steal Bri's things now. Who knows what she'll do to hurt her later."
"She needs to learn her lesson so she'll finally straighten out."
Soon the whole school knew I was a thief.
Amid all the cursing, as the police were taking me to the car,
Clay chased after me and said in a low voice,
"Clem, Bri has a good heart. She's willing to settle with you. But because the bracelet is fairly valuable, you'll have to stay inside for a month before you can be released on bail."
"Use these days to reflect on yourself. I'm doing this for your own good. A record doesn't scare me. Worst case, I'll support you in the future."
Watching him choose without a moment's hesitation to believe Bridget, without a single thought for my future,
I let out a soft laugh.
"Clay, let's break up."
Clay froze, and by the time he wanted to say something, the car door had already shut in his face.
Watching the car pull away, he suddenly felt an emptiness he couldn't explain.
As if he were about to lose something.
Inside the car, I turned to the young officer beside me.
"Hello. I have solid proof that I'm innocent."
…
An hour later, I was released without charge.
I called the academic advisor and asked her to mail my withdrawal papers overseas once they were approved.
Then I boarded a flight to another country, alone.
This was a place I couldn't stand to be in for even another moment.
Three days later, Clay had no morning classes and wanted to visit me at the station, but he ran into my academic advisor in the hallway.
When she heard his plan, she frowned.
"You don't need to go. The police already found out Clementine was innocent."
"She left to study abroad that same day."
