Chapter 84

"I..." Juniper started to explain, then thought better of it. It was too complicated.

"You have language arts tutoring this afternoon," Salma said, patting her on the shoulder encouragingly. "There are only three months left. You're a smart girl; I'm sure you can improve."

"Okay," Juniper nodded obediently.

Just then, the school's dean of students entered, his face grim. "The official notice came down," he said to Salma. "It looks like the school closure is..."

"Hold on," Salma interrupted him, calmly asking Juniper to return to her classroom.

Closure? Juniper remembered hearing the other students talk about it when she first arrived. If Queenie could get into a top university, the chances of Aurora High being shut down would decrease. And if they could produce a top-scoring student...

Juniper's expression darkened as she turned and left.

"Juniper!"

"Hey, Juniper!"

"Juniper, want a milkshake?"

On her way back to the classroom, students kept greeting her. She lazily lifted her eyes, a slight frown on her face. This was all very strange.

During the afternoon language arts tutoring session, Juniper, who hadn't slept at lunch and had spent hours at the police station, was exhausted. She couldn't help but doze off.

By the evening study hall, the news had spread throughout the school: Aurora High's new top dog, Juniper, had zoned out in math class and slept through language arts.

"We should just let her go," a teacher in the staff room said, shaking his head. "She's only just arrived and has already caused so much trouble, and she doesn't even pay attention in class. Queenie and a few other well-behaved students are getting close to her. If this continues, she'll drag the whole school down."

"That won't happen," Salma said, maintaining her gentle smile. "Juniper is a good kid. She has many skills; she's just a bit behind academically."

"But exams are all about scores!" another teacher countered. "Queenie is one of our most promising students. If she gets led astray..."

The teachers fell into a worried silence.

"The monthly exams are next week. If she comes in last..." the language arts teacher said with a frown. "I suggest we ask her to withdraw."

A student like that was beyond saving.

"So that's basically what happened..." Qadir recounted, waving his hands animatedly as he relayed everything he had overheard in the staff room to Juniper.

"Oh," Juniper replied distractedly, staring at the candy Shanley had given her.

"Oh'?" Qadir was more anxious than she was. He crouched down beside her. "Juniper, aren't you worried about being expelled?"

"Expelled? Why would I be expelled?" she asked.

"Because you'll be last in the exams," Qadir said with a grin. "Juniper, I heard you got a lot of zeros before."

Tsk, tsk. Her grades were even worse than his. She was definitely going to be at the bottom of the class.

"That was before," Juniper said, propping her chin on her hand and blinking languidly. "Queenie, drag him over there to do some math problems."

"You got it," Queenie giggled. She had no doubts about Juniper's abilities.

With Qadir gone, Juniper finally had some peace and quiet. She took out her phone

and opened her chat with Luella. Luella knew men; she would definitely know what Shanley was up to.

Juniper: [I have a question for you.]

Luella: [Oh?]

The little prodigy of their organization, the one they called 'Miss Know-It-All,' actually

had a question she couldn't answer? This was new.

Juniper: [So there's this guy who's being really nice to... a friend of mine.]

Luella: [Your friend?]

Since when did their little prodigy have friends?