The savior of the fantasy world

Framed and Stuck

“Tell me. How did it happen?” Molly’s voice was full of concern as she took my hands, her expression worryingly intense, as if waiting for me to unravel the truth.

“I don’t know how it happened,” I admitted, feeling the weight of my confusion.

She sighed, her brows furrowing in a thoughtful frown. “It was bound to happen,” she said quietly, her words trailing off as she considered everything that had been building up.

I raised an eyebrow, unsure of what she meant.

“I mean...” she continued, her voice soft. “Stefan’s handsome. Everyone wishes they could have him.”

I rolled my eyes at her, feeling the sting of her words even though they weren’t meant to hurt. “I’m not everyone. I just feel something different for him. It's like... we were made for each other. There’s something about him that pulls me in. I can’t explain it.”

Molly’s gaze hardened slightly as she crossed her arms. “Made for each other? You barely know this guy, Elena.”

“I know. But it’s more than that. It’s like I’ve known him forever, even though we’ve only just met,” I explained, trying to make sense of the whirlwind of emotions I felt.

Molly hesitated before speaking again, her voice tinged with concern. “I think you should stay away from him. I get that you’re crushing on him, but you’re going too far. This... obsession... it’s not healthy. Please, try to control it.”

I sighed, my heart heavy. “I’ll try. But the more I avoid him, the more I feel connected to him, like we’re bound together by something beyond our control.”

As students started trickling into the restroom, Molly and I shared a knowing look before walking back to our class.

When we entered the class, the atmosphere felt strange. To my surprise, a freshman was there, standing at the front, her gaze flicking to me. I caught Stefan’s eyes across the room, and for a moment, it felt like the world narrowed down to just the two of us. His gray eyes were hypnotic, and I had to force myself to look away.

“Ms. Wilson,” the teacher called sharply, breaking my trance.

I turned to face her, surprised by her cold tone.

“Go to the Dean's office. Now,” she ordered, her voice stern.

I shot Molly a quick glance, and she whispered, “Did you do something?”

“No,” I replied, shaking my head in confusion.

I followed the freshman who had been called to escort me to the principal’s office. As we walked through the hallway, my mind raced. What did I do wrong? Why was I being summoned like this? And why was the teacher so angry?

When I knocked and entered the office, the dean didn’t even look up from her desk as she handed me a file. I sat down, trying to process what was happening.

“Ms. Wilson, take a look at this,” she said, her tone impersonal as she handed me the documents.

I opened the file and my heart sank. The papers showed money being withdrawn from the school funds, and there were photos of the transaction, each one implicating someone with my IP address.

“How is this possible?” I asked, my voice shaky.

She cleared her throat and gave me a hard look. “We noticed a change in the system yesterday. We traced the hacker’s activities and found that the password was accessed from your IP address. To cut a long story short, we found that you were behind the funds being stolen.”

I felt my blood run cold. “You must be mistaken,” I stammered. “I didn’t do it. Someone framed me. I swear.”

The dean’s gaze hardened. “The evidence is clear, Ms. Wilson. The IP address belongs to you.”

“But I didn’t do it,” I pleaded, panic rising in my chest. “Please, you have to believe me. I don’t know anything about this.”

She didn’t respond. Instead, she opened her laptop and dismissed me with a cold “Leave my office.”

Confusion and fear overwhelmed me as I walked out of the office, feeling the weight of the accusation on my shoulders.

Molly and Tyson were waiting for me in class, both looked at me with concern after narrating everything to them. I was still trying to process everything that had just happened when Tyson spoke up.

“I think I know how they did it,” he said, sounding confident.

“What do you mean?” I asked, trying to steady myself.

“They must have taken your laptop’s hard drive and inserted it into another system to hack the school database.”

I froze. “So you’re telling me someone took my laptop, stole my hard drive, and used it to hack the system... and then framed me for it?”

Molly nodded. “Exactly. That’s the only way they could’ve done it.”

I ran a hand through my hair in frustration. “Who would do that?”

“We need to find out,” Molly said firmly. “But the first step is to get your laptop back to school. It could serve as evidence that you weren’t the one who stole from the school.”

I nodded, though I wasn’t sure how much help it would be. But it was something.

---

As I walked out of the school with Molly later that day, a blonde freshman stopped us.

“Are you Elena Wilson?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m Ellie,” I replied, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re not allowed to leave the premises right now. Please come with me,” she ordered.

Molly squeezed my arm. “I’ll get your laptop. It’s on your bed, right?”

I nodded as I followed the freshman down the hallway. I had no idea what was happening, but I felt like I was in the middle of a nightmare.

---

Inside the principal’s office, I sat anxiously while the freshman remained silent, staring at her phone but glancing up at me every now and then. I felt like a criminal being watched by the authorities, though I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Ms. Wilson, please follow me,” the dean’s voice cut through the silence.

I stood, my heart pounding, and followed her out into the hall where several school authorities were waiting.

Chloe, the dean’s daughter, was standing with her arms crossed, glaring at me. She was the only one standing while the others took their seats. I crossed my arms behind my back, trying to keep my composure as I studied them all.

“Ms. Wilson, relax,” the dean said coldly. “We’ll detain you when it’s time.”

My stomach twisted. Something didn’t feel right. The way the dean looked at me, her glare full of contempt—it felt like there was more going on behind the scenes.

“Your mother is here,” the dean added.

I turned in shock as I saw my mom walk into the room, her eyes meeting mine. She seemed to know something was wrong, but she didn’t say anything as she was seated at the table. The room grew heavy with tension, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that everything was about to change.