Fake heiress Real heroine

Chapter 23

Chapter 23

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With that, Harriet stomped off, her ponytail beaming behind her. A few boys tried to drag Quindyn away, waving their superhero toys in her face. But she just stored her ground.

“Wait,” she said, her mind racing. “Where’s the teacher’s office

Launch had emptied the halls, leaving only a few stragglers shuffling toward the stairs

The teacher’s other was halfway down the hallway Quinlyn saw the nameplate and noticed the eene silence

seemed like no one was there,

The closed curtains only added to her confusion, but she was sure Mandy had come this way.

She didn’t want to knock, so she quietly dragged a chair from the next classroom, stood on it, and squinted through a crack in the curtain

The room was dim, but she could just make out shapes shifting in the shadows. Eugene was the first to catch her eye–tall and already stripped of his suit jacket. His white shirt was dusted with chalk, and he was working on unbuttoning it

She figured he was just changing out of his dirty clothes, but then she noticed Mandy standing by the desk, and something

felt off.

It reminded her of back home, where the old bachelors would sometimes strip down in front of girls without thinking twice. The older women would catch them and call them “creeps”

And it wasn’t just Mandy in the room. There were a few other girls with ponytails, all standing there quietly with their heads down.

there for a beat, then hopped off the chair and jogged over to the door. She gave it a quick double–knock, and the sound

door swung open, revealing Eugene. He looked a little caught off guard,

at his shirt, noticing the second button was off and only one side was

to the side,

Mandy’s staying late for extra help. She’s been having a tough time with her schoolwork” he explained, his voice softening. “So she can’t leave with you today. If you’re hungry, you should go grab something

wrinkling her nose. “Mr. Lambert,” she said, her voice wavering a bit. “You should

faltering just a bit. He looked down at her, one eyebrow raised. “Why?” he asked, his

hesitated, then shrugged. “It just stinks,” she said, scrunching her nose again. She was always extra sensitive to smells, and this time was

You go get something to eat,” he said, walking past her toward the restroom without even thinking to close

kids her age would never step into a teacher’s office, and anyone inside would definitely wait for his permission to leave. But he had no

office and hurried over to

Chapter 23

her

and pressed on. “Are you scared: Is

the silence

Mandy to be here when Eugene returned, so she took Mandy’s hand and began

In just a few seconds, they were almost at

looked back when the realized no one was following her. “If you don’t leave now, I’ll tell

nobody likes a tattletale,” she said, her voice

thought of being called out was enough to make them grab their backpacks and scramble out of the room.

he found the office empty. “They’re getting bold,” he muttered,

and marbles still on the table–remnants of

he smiled and said. “Mr. Lambert,

table to a lower shelf and walked over, smiling These kids are the future,”

like you are rare,” he said, impressed “I’m having lunch with the principal. You should join us–it could be a great chance to make a good impression for your evaluation.”

he nodded eagerly. But before he could grab his things, the teacher was already pulling him along. “Let’s go. We don’t want to