THE ELABORATE SETUP
1211 Words
** KIM'S POV**
“ I saw her do it, Mrs Thorne. I don’t have any reason to lie” Camille proclaimed with the sincerity and confidence of an activist.
I stared at her in shock, wondering why she would accuse me of such a thing with so much ease.
“ Now Camille, are you sure you saw Kimberly here take the money or are you just suspecting?” Mrs Thorne asked her.
“ There’s footage of it, Ma’am. I don’t know who invited her to my brother’s party but she was busy going into rooms that were off limits” Camille said.
“ I only went to the bathroom , what the hell are you talking about?” I cursed at her.
“Watch you Language in my Office, Kimberly” Mrs Thorne shot me a cold look.
“ I’m sorry” I muttered, looking away
“ What were you doing at a party on school night, by the way?”.
That question caught me off guard. The answer to it was pretty straightforward but not easy.
I couldn’t say anything because my supposed contract with Scott explicitly stated that I don’t make public our relationship to the principal.
I wondered why but I couldn’t care less.
“ My cousin has social anxiety, he asked me to accompany him to a party he’d love to go to,” I lied through my teeth.
Camille shot me a Sly look.
“ Well ,one of you here is lying and I mean to find out” Mrs Thorne said, standing up from her seat.
“ This is serious, Camille. There’d be consequences if I find out who the culprit is” she added.
I grabbed Camille by the arm and spun her around as soon as we were a safe distance from the principal’s office.
“ Who put you up to this, huh” I hissed, grabbing and shoving her “ Is it that b***h, Skyler?”
“ Let go of me, Kim” she whispered
“ Answer me!” I snapped at her “She told you to get me in trouble, didn’t she?”
“ I don’t know what you're talking about, I need to get to class.”
I stood still, simmering with rage.
A million thoughts ran through my head as I watched her fidget with her fingers. She kept looking down at her feet.
“ You think this is a joke, right?” I asked her coldly “Is this fun for you?”
She looked up at me with mustered courage. I could see the veil of guilt and fear shrouding her eyes.
“ Go take it up with Skyler if you think she sent me” she said “ I’ve said all I can to the principal”
I watched her walk away as I contemplated my next move.
I couldn’t just sit around hoping that witch has a change of heart.
I knew who I had to meet.
He was at his usual favourite spot, with earbuds on and his eyes closed. The soft breeze was playing in his hair.
“ Hey Jason” I called out loudly, startling him.
“ What do you want?” he scowled, staring me down.
“ Look I’m sorry to disturb you and I know we haven’t..”
“ I said, ' What do you want, Kim” he cut me off coldly
Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe he was going to see this as his chance to take his revenge on me.
But I had no choice.
“ You remember that night you saw me at that party?” I asked tentatively, sitting closely beside him.
“ The night you blew me off like some random guy and went home with your new boy toy, how could I ever forget?”
I swallowed hard.
“ So, Camille ... Skyler’s friend is accusing me of stealing money and you know I didn’t...”
“ How is that my problem, Kim?” he drawled, a wry smile crept up his face.
I sighed in frustration “ Look, you were there with me and I just want you to do me a favour.”
He sat up, still smiling. He stroked his chin as he stared at me with a triumphant glint in his eyes.
“ So tell me, what do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
“ I just need you to vouch for me, that’s all”
He nodded slowly for a while, looked me in the eyes and gave me a calm “ No... never”
“ Jason please, this is really serious” I pleaded.
“ Then go meet your new boyfriend and ask him, he was there too, wasn’t he?”.
“ I can’t do that right now, that’s why I’m asking for your help”
He chuckled with disdain “ I knew it. He got tired of you too.”
This was definitely a bad idea.
I stood up and walked away, tracing my footsteps back to class. I could feel his eyes burning through me with contempt.
Becca was already sitting on my desk waiting for me. I dragged a chair and sat beside her.
“ So how did it go” she asked excitedly
I sighed heavily “ You were right, she’s accusing me of stealing Five-hundred dollars.”
“ So what are you gonna do about it?” she asked eagerly.
“ Nothing, Becca... Nothing. I went to Jason to get him to vouch for me.”
She raised her eyebrows “ How did that go for you?”.
“ It was more like convincing a drug dealer to give up his supplier”. I said, rolling my eyes
“ That’s sad... but I’ve got news for you” she whispered, winking furiously.
“Is it Good news or bad news?”
“ That depends... what if I say I know who did it ?”
“ It’s Skyler... who else is after my peace of mind and mental health?” I deadpanned.
Her shoulders dropped with disappointment.
“ Yeah yeah, but you don’t know the full gist” she retorted
“ What other gist is there to know, Becca?” I asked, instinctively raising my eyebrows.
“ I overheard them talking about going on a shopping spree together” she whispered.
Everything became clear to me in an instant.
Skyler and her friends have been trying to use me to pay her part of the money.
All they had to do was accuse me of theft.
Then the principal will order me to pay the whole $3,000 while she spends the money she most likely got from her parents on expensive dresses and designer shoes.
Even if the evidence against me wasn't concrete , the suspicion against me make will take away any attention from them.
A very elaborate plan. Just one little flaw. And I plan to exploit it.
“ Hey Becca, I have an idea. How about we beat these assholes at their own game ?” I said, smiling wickedly
“ And how do you reckon we do that, my Lord” she teased.
I giggled uncontrollably “ I’ll give you the details later, just get ready.”
- Writer
