Later, someone indeed wanted to betray her.
Thelma had been worried about her getting into trouble, so she kept an eye on the WhatsApp group. She discovered that someone had taken a screenshot and wanted to report Ava. During that time, it seemed that this person had a conflict with Ava. Although cheating and organizing cheating were different offenses, once she reported Ava, she would also suffer the consequences. However, she was willing to drag herself down just to make Ava suffer; it was clear how much she hated Ava at that time. After learning this, Thelma secretly bought the screenshot from her. Thelma was well-liked at school, and because she participated in various club activities frequently, she had a certain level of prestige. After some thought, this classmate finally agreed.
After Thelma bought it, she didn’t tell Ava. She had always been this loyal to her friends, quietly cleaning up after them without expecting anything in return.
After buying it, she deleted it, but she hadn’t emptied the recycle bin, so she thought it could still be restored. Thelma tried it, and to her surprise, it really was restored, along with a lot of other things, including a video related to Ava.
To get a recommendation for graduate school abroad, Ava had once bribed a teacher with money, and the video of her bribing the teacher was accidentally recorded by someone. After that person recorded the video, they wanted to extort Ava. At that time, Ava had already asked her family for money to bribe the teacher, so she couldn’t ask again and sought help from Thelma. As her good friend, of course, she had to help her with this kind of task.
Thelma borrowed some money from her sister to buy the video, and after buying it, she immediately deleted it. Ava saw that it was deleted and thought everything was fine, so she didn’t ask about it again. However, she didn’t expect that the video would be restored as well.
Organizing cheating is a serious crime for students, and adding bribery of a teacher…
Thelma didn’t know if Ava was aware, but as her best friend, it would be incredibly easy for her to ruin her.
Ava should be preparing for the outstanding student speech now, the outstanding student who was also the teacher’s key recommendation for studying abroad. Ava was currently enjoying the spotlight.
Thelma found out the time of her speech. She knew a classmate responsible for preparing the auditorium, and one of the girls had a good relationship with her. After arriving at school, Thelma first found her. The classmate chatted with her for a bit, and Thelma handed her a USB drive.
“This is what I helped Ava with. I saw her slides before; they weren’t detailed enough. This one is more detailed. You’re also responsible for setting up the projector, so just quietly swap this out later. But you know Ava has a strong sense of pride, so don’t tell her I asked you to swap it. Don’t worry; this slide only has some differences in details; the main direction is the same.”
This classmate also knew about her good relationship with Ava, and Thelma’s excellence was well-known at school. Coupled with Thelma’s good social skills, she didn’t think much and agreed.
Not long after, she came out and handed her another USB drive, “Don’t worry, I’ve got it ready for you.”
Thelma smiled at her, “Thank you.”
Thelma put away the USB drive, then put on a baseball cap and quietly slipped into the venue, sitting in the last row. The speech soon began, and Ava walked slowly onto the stage in a short-sleeved shirt and short skirt, her hair in a high ponytail, looking fresh and full of vitality.
An outstanding student obtained through cheating and bribery, yet she stood confidently and gracefully on stage, so calm. She bowed to the audience, and there was a burst of warm applause.
The entire stage belonged to her, and the students in the audience looked at her eagerly; Ava was so pleased with herself. She began her speech confidently and gracefully.
She opened the slides without paying attention, still reciting the words she had practiced several times, but the audience began to murmur.
Ava sensed something was wrong and glanced at the screen. The photos on the slides were not her prepared materials but a series of Whatsapp screenshots.
At the top of the screenshots, in eye-catching red letters, it read “The Truth About Ava’s Cheating.”
Ava panicked, hurriedly clicked down on the slides, but it was still a series of photos. Her hands began to tremble, and after several attempts, she still couldn’t turn off the projector. Then suddenly, a video popped up on the screen, showing her holding a piece of wrapping paper in front of the teacher, the opening of the wrapping paper perfectly facing the camera, revealing stacks of cash inside.
The audience erupted in an uproar, and Ava’s face turned pale. Thelma sat in the back row, watching Ava’s panicked expression with satisfaction, lowering her baseball cap a bit and quietly leaving the venue.
Thelma knew Ava would come looking for her, so she dressed up at home, changing into a nice dress and putting on makeup.
Ava arrived quickly because she knew that only Thelma could do this. So after she left the venue in embarrassment, the first thing she did was come to find Thelma.
Thelma’s door was not closed. When Ava pushed the door open, Thelma saw the furious girl in the mirror. Just a few days ago, when she went to find her, she had the same expression as Ava did now.
“You swapped my USB drive, didn’t you?”
Thelma leisurely applied her lipstick, spinning her chair to face her. With one hand resting on her chin and her back lazily leaning against the chair, she smiled, “Yes, so what? Is what’s on that USB drive slandering you?”
She saw Ava’s hands clenched into fists at her sides, her face showing a hint of ferocity due to anger. She knew Ava was furious, and indeed, losing face in front of so many teachers and students must have made her feel like she could kill.
But even in such anger, Ava still hadn’t lost her reason. She took a deep breath and said mockingly, “You’re getting back at me, right? Since you let everyone know my business, I don’t mind letting everyone know yours!”
“My business?” Thelma picked up a nail clipper and gently scraped her nails, “What business of mine?”
