บท 10: Ungrateful Daughter
The next morning, the driver, Li, dropped Grace off at school, and almost all the students were at the gate, taking videos of her as she descended the car.
"Miss Chen, is everything alright?" Mr. Li asked, and she nodded and said, "Goodbye."
He hesitated on whether to leave or not, but seeing the smile on Grace's face, he drove away. Grace ignored all their looks and was about to get into school when she bumped into Nora.
"Grace, the selfish daughter," Nora said with a loud tone. Everything's attention was on them.
"My mother raised you, and she has loved you like hers, but all for a man, you decided to run away from home after she begged you not to leave."
"What?" Grace was shocked, since when did her stepmother beg her to stay?
"Father even fell sick and refused to eat, saying that he wouldn't eat until you were back; don't you care about us?" Nora pushed her angrily.
"Hey, stop making me look like the villain. Just say that you miss someone to do the chores." Grace scolded, but the way things were looking, no one believed her.
"Am I lying? Didn't you run away to stay with a man? A man who is most likely to be already married"
Nora was having a lot of fun as she made up stories to ridicule Grace. She was also curious to know why Grace didn't come back home and beg to stay; instead, she showed up at school with a driver and even got a new phone.
So her only reasonable thought was that Grace became a slut to some rich married man.
"Don't accuse me of something I didn't do." Grace warned angrily because she had already gotten enough of Nora. At first, she was scared to talk back to Nora because she knew that her stepmom wouldn't spare her if she did.
But now that she was freed from them so she could stand up for herself, Nora pushed her again. "Or else what?"
Grace grabbed her hair and pushed her backward. "I dare you to hit me again."
"Are you crazy?" Nora grabbed Grace's hair as they engaged in a tense fight, with none of the students attempting to stop them.
"STOP!!!" the principal's voice echoed from the doorway.
*
Grace and Nora were summoned to the office by the principal, who frowned at them both and said, "Explain your actions."
"She started it…"Nora pointed a finger at Grace.
"No, you pushed me first."
"Silence," the principal massaged his throat annoyingly.
"Nora, you wait outside," he said, and Nora nodded before she left.
"Miss Chen, this is the first time you got engaged in a fight. And it will gravely affect you."
Grace nodded; she was willing to take any punishment. "I was to summon you this morning before the fight; your parents reported that you ran away from home to go stay with a married man."
"I didn't," she quickly retorted, but the principal could only believe her parents' words as she believed her parents were very decent people.
"Such isn't acceptable in this school, so I advise you to return to your parents."
"I won't," she said, having no intention of returning to a place she once considered hell—that place that made her almost lose her mind.
"Then I am sorry to say this, but from today onwards, you are no longer a student at this college. Wish you luck in the future with the path you have chosen."
"You can't do this to me." Grace stood up as tears rolled down her cheeks.
"I can; I am the principal, and I assure you that there is no amount of money that your godfather will offer me that will make me change my mind, so advise him against that."
He stood up and signaled for Grace to leave. "I really had high hopes for you, but I guess I was wrong."
Grace wiped her tears. "Everyone is so unfair to me; you didn't even verify if the information was true before you expelled me."
"I did my research, and you indeed ran away from home. Just two days after leaving home, you already have such an expensive phone, and a driver drops you off? I am not that stupid," he said while glancing at her phone.
"Please don't expel me; it's just a month before the school year ends. My one year will go to waste, and I really don't have much time left." Grace folded her arms and pleaded.
"Then go back home, Grace; cut yourself from that man."
"I can't go back home." If she did, then her stepmother wouldn't spare her the beatings.
"Then leave my office and this school."
"Between leaving school and going back to my parents house, I will choose to leave school because at least it keeps me alive." Those were her last words before she left the office.
Nora had a smile; it turns out she has been eavesdropping on the conversation. "Goodbye, sister!" Nora winked at her.
Grace ignored her and walked out of school when she saw Ken waiting for her. "Grace, what happened?"
"Nothing; I want to leave now."
"Talk to me; you left your parents house?"
"Are you also going to judge me?"
"No, I never will. I just want to know what's happening," Ken said in a low tone, as he didn't want her to misunderstand him.
Grace noticed that everyone kept staring at her and she said, "I will leave now." She walked past him and hurried to the gate when Ken followed her. "I will go with you."
"There is no need to follow me,"
"I just want to be there for you."
"What about your classes?" She asked worriedly, and he shrugged his shoulders. "It's a half day, and it's just math today; I am good at that."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, so let's leave before I get caught." He grabbed her hand as they ran out of school. "Where are we going?" she asked.
"Let's get some noodles from across the street, okay?" He asked, and she nodded, so they walked a few miles before they arrived at their favorite noodle shop.
After ordering, Kendrick kept staring at her. She noticed his stare and dropped her chopsticks. "What is it?"
"Nothing," he said, concentrating on his noodles, and this made Grace frown.
"If you care to know, then I got expelled. It will probably be announced soon."
"What???"
"The principal expelled you?"
"I just said that." She was feeling bad and wanted to cry, but she was holding onto her tears. Grace didn't even know what her next step was.
"You know, maybe I should drop out of school." That was the easiest way out. She felt that since she is sick, there is no need to struggle for a future she will never have.
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