"Lillian Gilbert, some of your classmates have come to me privately. They say you live a lavish lifestyle."
"You won't even acknowledge the parents who raised you. How is someone like that ever supposed to make it in the world?"
My hands curled into fists.
"Mr. Chavez, this is all slander!"
Alvin Chavez picked up the statement.
"It's all right here in black and white. What more do you have to say?"
I tried to explain.
"That statement is a forgery. The transaction numbers don't even match up."
Alvin looked at me and shook his head.
"Rachel Gilbert is the top student in this class. She wins a scholarship every year. What possible reason would she have to smear you?"
"You, on the other hand, never even bother to show up for class, and now you've dragged us into this disgraceful mess."
Rachel was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
"I really didn't want to make a scene, but Mom called yesterday. The hospital is already pushing for the money for her kidney transplant."
"If Lillian doesn't return the money, Mom has no way out but to die!"
Alvin looked at Rachel, and his tone softened considerably.
"Rachel, the school will make sure justice is done for you."
When he turned back to me, his face darkened at once.
"Lillian Gilbert, look at what you've driven your sister to."
"I don't have a sister, and I've never taken a single cent from her family."
I looked Alvin straight in the eye.
"Then how do you explain this statement?"
"I already told you. It's a forgery."
"Just call the bank and check the transaction numbers, and the truth will be clear."
Alvin's face flushed with anger.
"You think the bank belongs to your family? That anyone can just make a phone call and pull up someone's private records?"
"That statement is an original with an official seal on it. You think the bank would fake something for her?"
In my last life, I only found out right before I died that the seal was a counterfeit Rachel had someone carve for her.
But right now I had no proof.
Jasper Nolan walked over to my side.
"Lillian, just apologize to Rachel and give the money back."
"If you admit your mistake, I'll work jobs alongside you to pay off the debt, and Mr. Chavez will cut you some slack."
I looked at Jasper and thought he was absolutely ridiculous.
"Jasper, what gives you the right to confess on my behalf?"
"I won't admit to something I never did."
Jasper lost his patience, his voice climbing.
"Why do you have to be so stubborn!"
"Everyone already knows you took your family's money to buy luxury goods. What's the point of holding out?"
"Being poor isn't the shameful part. The shameful part is that you don't even have the courage to admit you were wrong!"
"You're not just ruining yourself, you're dragging me down with you, making people point fingers at me too!"
So that was what he really thought.
It was never about justice, and it was never about me. He just didn't want me tarnishing his perfect image.
"Since you're so afraid of being dragged down, let's break up."
I looked at him calmly.
Jasper froze.
"You're the one who did wrong, and you have the nerve to break up with me?"
Seeing this, Rachel quickly cut in:
"Lillian's had a stubborn temper since she was little. Back home, Mom and Dad would save her the last bite of food, and she'd still complain that the rice was too hard."
A few sentences, and she'd painted me all over again as a selfish, ungrateful brat who'd been that way since childhood.
Alvin waved his hand impatiently.
"Lillian Gilbert, you will return the three hundred thousand to Rachel before tomorrow morning."
"And you will apologize to Rachel in front of the whole class."
"Otherwise, you're expelled, effective immediately!"
Back in the dorm, I took out my phone and dialed a number.
"Hey, I need you to look into something for me."
"A forged bank statement, and all of Rachel Gilbert's recent transfer records."
