Vanya's POV
"What did I do?" Derrick paused, clearly not following.
"About the principal's matter," I directly pointed out the key issue.
Derrick thought for a moment and replied, "Probably Theodore did it."
"Would Theodore bother with this kind of thing?" I was surprised, suddenly recalling the scene of Melinda and her two companions downstairs of my apartment that day.
Upon reflection, it really could have been Theodore's doing.
However, another question quickly replaced the doubt in my mind. "Are you so broke that you have to eat here?"
This affordable cafeteria of Wolfe didn't seem like a place Derrick would frequent.
"Save where you can," Derrick responded.
I inwardly scoffed, "What a joke!"
Derrick kept his company's lights on all night.
Who would believe him?
I invited Derrick to sit and dine together, then asked, "What was Theodore's intention by involving the principal?"
"There's a saying, 'Kill a man, destroy his spirit,'" Derrick said mysteriously.
"Be more specific," I demanded.
"He didn't say more,'" Derrick shrugged his hands.
I fell into deep thought, considering the meaning of these words.
Theodore, like a lone wolf, had a fierceness in his bones, yet he was also reserved and subtle.
Perhaps he had other motives for his actions.
I turned to Wilmot and asked, "What happened next?"
"Nothing much, but Melinda kept throwing blame on Raven. It was quite a funny scene," Wilmot laughed.
Hearing this, I suddenly understood.
Theodore was so smart! He was even more meticulous than I imagined.
Melinda wouldn't dare expose the bulletin board matter because she was the one who posted the flyers.
Theodore let the principal claim it was Raven's doing. If the principal investigated, it wouldn't take long to find out that Melinda was the real culprit.
Fearing discovery, Melinda would inevitably shift the blame to Raven.
In this way, the divide-and-conquer tactic effortlessly destroyed the relationship between Melinda and the other two, and since the words came from Melinda's own mouth, she couldn't defend herself.
Now that those two have seen Melinda's true self, the days ahead will surely be interesting.
I explained this to Derrick and Wilmot. Wilmot snorted disdainfully.
He said, "Why not just let the principal investigate directly? If it was Melinda, wouldn't she be in even more trouble?"
I patiently explained, "Melinda could easily claim she was afraid I'd take her boyfriend and continue to deceive others that she's the real victim. There would be too many variables. It's not reliable. Besides, those two have known Melinda for years and are her friends. They must know many interesting things. If they turn against her, they might reveal even more shocking information."
Derrick asked with confusion, "Wait, Melinda's boyfriend?"
I nodded, recalling the words Melinda had spoken when she knelt before me.
"Where did she get a boyfriend from?" Derrick pressed curiously.
"How would I know?" I shrugged.
"To have a boyfriend and still be obsessed with Cliff, that woman is really something!" Derrick said with disgust.
"Her words were just for show. I don't believe she'd have a boyfriend other than Cliff," I put down my fork, tidying up the empty plate in front of me.
"I'm finished dining. Bye," with that, I rose to leave.
Wilmot also put down his plate, saying, "I'm done too."
Derrick, with a mouthful of bread roll, mumbled =, "Wait for me!"
Melinda's POV
In the evening, I quietly reviewed the recent class random exam scores in the dormitory. When my gaze fell on my own score, my heart rate suddenly increased.
My grades have always been stable, but this random exam saw a significant drop.
My roommate, seeing the score, couldn't help but be taken aback.
She said in surprise, "Melinda, you're ranked ninth this time. You used to always top the list, never having such a big gap before."
I quickly put away the score sheet, pretending to be calm and explaining, "I wasn't feeling well during the last exam, so the score wasn't ideal, but it's okay. It's just a random exam."
My roommate, hearing my excuse, nodded as if understanding, "I thought so. There's no way you could rank so low."
In reality, I was not smiling at all, filled with worry.
I dared not imagine what Cliff's reaction would be if he saw this report card, and what consequences I would face.
At that moment, my phone suddenly rang. I picked it up and saw that the caller ID was Elliot.
On the phone, his voice sounded very calm, but I could still detect a hint of coldness, "Ms. Coleman, please come downstairs."
"Is Alpha Cliff asking for me?" I couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in my heart.