Chapter 3She Sold Us a Second Chance

The parents froze.

Denise's face crumpled. With trembling hands, she called her daughter.

"Where are you? Get back here. Right now!"

A few minutes later, Lily hurried over with an iced latte in her hand.

The moment our eyes met, she knew who'd talked.

She flung the entire drink at me.

"That's what you get for making up lies about me!"

Cold liquid ran beneath my collar and down my neck.

Lily turned to the parents.

"Please trust us. Don't let someone with an agenda mislead you!

"These are the most important exams of our lives. With my help, everyone in our class is going to do amazingly well!

"So relax. Let your kids go away and enjoy themselves now that it's over. On results day, we're going to blow you all away!"

Each claim was more ridiculous than the last. The parents looked torn between astonishment and doubt.

But she wasn't finished.

She turned back to me with a sneer.

"Oh, I almost forgot our poor class president. I guess you can't afford a vacation?

"Perfect. I've got a job for you. Put together fifty copies of the exam answers."

I gave a cold laugh and shook my head.

"Can't. I'll be busy finding you all coffins."

Before I'd finished, she threw several stacks of cash at me.

She made sure I saw how much more was in her wallet.

Right. That idiot Tyler had paid extra.

Enough to make her feel rich.

Enough to send her hurtling toward disaster even faster.

What good would printed answer keys do? They couldn't take them back anyway.

A smile tugged at my mouth.

I stopped arguing and quietly picked up the money.

It would cover some nice funeral flowers.

Seeing me give in, Lily laughed so hard her eyes watered.

"Wow. Money really does solve everything with you.

"It's settled, then. If those answers aren't ready on results day, the whole class is coming after you."

She sauntered away, leaving the parents staring after her.

Denise rubbed the faded hem of her shirt and approached me uncertainly.

"Is what my daughter said true?"

I gave her a pitying look and walked away without answering.

I had plenty to do.

Prepare the answer keys. Prepare for the funerals. Work out which colleges I wanted to apply to.

The days flew by.

Then results day arrived.

Wearing a long black dress, I reached the classroom and found Lily outside, nervously rummaging through her wallet.

"That's weird. I didn't think I'd spent that much...

"Nine ninety-nine each. Why does it feel like I'm short?"

She fumbled through the cash, trying to count on her fingers.

I'd already seen enough.

"Stop counting. That doesn't even look like thirty thousand dollars."

I leaned closer.

"You're screwed, Lily.

"You can only take a few of them back. What do you think the ones you leave behind will do to you?"

I hadn't bothered to lower my voice.

Then I stepped aside.

Our other forty-nine classmates were approaching, their faces dark.

They'd heard every word.