Chapter 8: The Confrontation

That’s how it all exploded.

The school’s biggest conference room was packed: principal, vice principal, every administrator with a clipboard, and half a dozen local reporters with recorders rolling.

Both families were there. Mr. and Mrs. Sanders hovered over Megan, who looked as small and broken as she could manage. Mr. and Mrs. Grant hadn’t even planned to come—until they heard the new superintendent would be there.

Oakview High was the city’s pride. Mr. Grant had golfed with Superintendent Lee more than once. As soon as Lee arrived, Mr. Grant sidled up with a handshake and a smooth smile.

"This is all just a misunderstanding, Lee. No need to get the press involved over a kids’ spat—"

Superintendent Lee was stone-faced.

"Mr. Grant, bullying is never a small matter. Your daughter or not, every student here deserves protection. I can’t let things slide because of anyone’s last name."

Mr. Grant just nodded, retreating with a tight-lipped look at Mrs. Grant.

I got the message. If the investigation turned up anything, the Grants would cut me loose—family or not.

Ryan sat by Megan, rubbing her back, glaring at me with open hatred.

The principal asked Megan to speak.

She wiped her cheeks, voice trembling as she repeated her story—all the lines she’d practiced for Ryan.

One of the reporters jumped in, hungry for drama.

"Our research shows Chloe Sanders and Megan Sanders were friends at the orphanage—sisters, even. Chloe was adopted by the Grant family, Megan by school staff. Does joining the rich mean you get to bully your old friend—take away her chances?"

A hush fell, broken only by camera shutters. Every eye turned to me. My pulse pounded, a flash of memory—my own humiliation, the sting of accusation, the urge to shout back. But I held my ground, heart racing, and smiled. The tension in the room crackled like static—just like a courtroom scene before the verdict.

And then, right in the thick of it, I laughed. The sound was sharp and sudden, echoing off the walls and making every reporter freeze.

I leaned forward, meeting every eye in the room. Time to tell them what really happened.