Chapter 26
“Mr. Gaiman.” Just then, Aaron, the headmaster’s voice echoed from outside the classroom.
Donald immediately looked over. Standing at the door was a large crowd of people, and Aaron had a displeased look on his face
“Mr. Zachary, I’m currently dealing with a case of cheating in the exam. Donald hurried over.
“I just heard her say she didn’t cheat. The speaker wasn’t Aaron. Donald instinctively turned to see who it was. Upon recognizing the person, he felt his legs tremble in fear. “Mr. Anderson…”
“Mr. Anderson? Which Mr. Anderson?”
“Oh my gosh, it’s Marcus
“Where is he? I can’t see him.”
The classroom buzzed with chatter.
Cassie stood frozen, thinking, ‘Is Marcus going to study here? It’s the second time he’s shown up this week. Why does he always come when I’m in trouble?’
–
“Mr. Anderson, you don’t understand. Cassie used to rank at the bottom in our school. This time, her scores are through the roof-almost all full marks in six subjects. We’ve never seen anything like this before. This has to be cheating Donald rashed to explain
“Cassie, it’s embarrassing to let Mr. Anderson know. Just admit it and don’t make things hard for Mr. Gaiman, Jennie said with an exaggerated sigh, trying to sound sympathetic.
“Full marks?” Marcus looked directly at Cassie, his gaze steady and probing.
“Yes. Just think about it-how could a student who always gets the lowest ranking suddenly ace all her tests?” Donald insisted.
“I said I could take the exam again” Cassie replied.
“Cassie, why would you want to humiliate yourself? Jennie added, her tone dripping with false concern.
“You’re fine with your poor grade, but my perfect score is somehow humiliating? Cassie didn’t even look at Jennie.
Jennie’s face went pale.
“Why can’t she retake the exam?” Marcus’s calmn voice cut through the tension. He fixed his gaze on Donald.
“There’s no reason she can’t. Our school believes in giving students a chance to prove themselves, Aaron quickly interjected, eager to keep the peace.
“Great, let’s set up a new test, Marcus said, his tone icy,
Donald started to sweat. With Marcus stepping in, he knew he had no choice but to comply. For the next hour, all the teachers gathered to create a fresh set of questions for Cassie. Since Donald couldn’t punish Cassie directly, he made sure to pick some really tough questions this time around.
Rumors about Cassie cheating and having to retake the test spread like wildfire. Everyone was buzzing, and some even started betting on whether she really did cheat. Ninety-eight percent thought she was guilty-after all, scoring full marks in every subject was just crazy. The other two percent had seen how much Cassie had changed lately and believed she must have some sort of secret power that would help her pull through
*
Marcus originally came to handle some business at school, but he ended up sticking around. Aaron and the board members. sat next to him, sweating bullets. Among everyone in the school, only Cassie seemed calm.
Sheryl sat across from Cassie, watching her munch on a piece of bread while flipping through a comic book. “Cassie, I have another study guide if you want to look at it,” she offered, her voice filled with concern.
Cassie shook her head, still focused on her comic. “Nope, I’m good.”
Sheryl fidgeted, looking way more anxious than C***ic. “Mr. Gaiman just said the punishment would be pretty serious. If you don’t do well this time, it’ll be even worse,”
Just then, Brianna popped over, leaning against Cassie’s desk. “Hey, are you close to Marcus?” she asked, trying to act casual. Cassie lifted her gaze, barely interested. “Not really.”
“But he defended you last time, and now he’s helping you again, Brianna asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You’re awfully curious, aren’t you?” Cassie closed her comic and gave Brianna a sideways glance.
Just want to know,” Brianna shrugged, forcing a smile.
Cassie found Brianna kind of funny. Just days ago, they were at each other’s throats, but now Brianna was acting all friendly.
“Why not just ask him?” Cassie suggested, pointing toward the stairs.
Brianna’s cheerful facade crumbled for a moment. If you don’t want to share, fine. Who cares, anyway?” she huffed and walked off.
“Cassie,” Sheryl whispered nervously, “is that guy very powerful
Cassie took a bite of her bread and thought about it “He’s a demon.”
“Whoa!” Sheryl gasped, a little scared. “No wonder everyone looks so freaked out by him.”
Cassie raised an eyebrow, amused.
Just then, Donald appeared at the door, looking serious. “Cassie, the exam papers are ready. Please come to the office.”
“Cassie… Sheryl’s face went pale.
Cassie stood up. “I’m just going in for an exam. Don’t act like I’m heading to my doom.
Sheryl nodded, but she looked worried.
Under the curious eyes of everyone, Cassie stepped out of the classroom and followed Donald toward his office. Outside, the schoolyard was alive with students who had come to watch. A few boys spotted Cassie and started hollering and whistling. clearly enjoying the scene. Inside the headmaster’s office, Marcus frowned as he took it all in, looking far from pleased.
“Mr. Anderson Aaron wiped the sweat off his forehead.
“Do the kids in this school not have any classes?” Marcus asked, displeased with the boys wolf-whistling at Cassie.
“Uh, it’s break time right now, Aaron replied awkwardly.
Marcus didn’t say another word and plopped down on the sofa. Meanwhile, Cassie reached the door of the special room reserved for her.
“Mr. Gaiman,” she called before stepping inside.
*
“What now? Are you planning something else? Donald asked, rolling his eyes.
“You mentioned I’d be punished if I cheated. What if I can prove didn’t? Cassie challenged, her voice steady.
Donald paused, taken aback. “We can talk about that later. Let’s focus on the test for now?
“No need to wait. If I prove that I didn’t cheat, I’m going to complain to the board about your unfounded accusation. A teacher without ethics doesn’t belong in a classroom,” she stated boldly.
Donald’s eyes widened in shock. Cassie, you-”
Cassie cut him off and walked right into the office.
The students watching shared a brief silence before someone exclaimed, “That was epic!”
“Hey! Get back to class! Donald barked, his face thushed with embarrassment as he waved the crowd away. As the students sc**ed, Donald stood there, cold sweat running down his back
He thought to himself, ‘She must have cheated. There’s no way she could score that high without some help. She was bluffing, that’s all.
As time ticked by, the sky gradually dimmed. Cassie maintained her pace of finishing one exam per hour, submitting each completed paper, while teachers from different grades took turns grading them.
The first one was the math exam paper. She got full marks. The second-full marks. The third-full marks. Donald watched as each score came in, a cold sweat running down his back, leaving him drenched as if he had just come out of a swimming pool
By the time she got to the fourth paper, night had fallen, and the school bell had rung, but not a single student had left the premises. Everyone was waiting for the result..
As the news of each perfect score spread through the school, excitement erupted like fireworks.
The papers that Cassie had completed eventually made their way to Marcus. Gazing at the pristine exam sheets that were filled with her neat and adorable handwriting. Marcus felt his heart melt. She was growing up just as he had hoped-smart and charming.
The fourth one was the Uprian exarn, and she only lost two points on the essay. In fact, she could have easily scored full marks there, but they deducted those two as a nod to conventional standards. By everyone’s standards, that was practically a perfect score.
At that moment, Donald felt hopeless. He still couldn’t believe Cassie had this talent. He couldn’t wrap his head around how she managed it
Soon, the results of the literature exam came out, also with only two points lost on the essay-no revisions on the entire sheet. As someone who taught literature, Donald didn’t give up. He took the paper and reviewed it himself, but he couldn’t accept the outcome. It was flawless. He wouldn’t have been able to do it himself.
An hour later, Cassie submitted her final exam. After handing it in, she headed straight back to her classroom.
The entire school was buzzing with energy. Out of nowhere, someone shouted, “Cassier Soon, everyone joined in, chanting her name. Cassie was taken aback. She had never received this kind of support before, let alone to this extent
Walking back to her classroom, her heart raced with mixed emotions. She felt a surge of regret for the wasted time in her past life. Ca**ic, can’t you see? You were meant to shine like this she thought.
*Cassie, you’re amazing! Sheryl exclaimed as soon as she entered the classroom
“You’re not too shabby yourself; Cassie replied, packing her books into her bag before heading out of the classroom.
“Wait There’s still one exam left to be graded. Where are you going?” Sheryl shouted.
Tm heading home for dinner Cassie called back while walking
“What?” Sheryl was stunned. This is Cassie’s moment to shine, yet she’s rushing home for dinner?’ asked Sheryl inwardly.
“Louisa is making her special stuffed chicken tonight, and if I don’t hurry, it won’t be as delicious as when it’s fresh out of the oven!” Cassie said just as she turned a corner and lamped into someone.
“Watch out! Just before she could fall, a strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her into a warm embrace.
Cassie looked up in shock, her eyes meeting a pair of beautiful ones. ‘Oh my God! It’s Marcus again! she thought.