Chapter 65
Chapter 65 See You at the Nationals
Elise asked calmly, "Why are you surprised?"
Amanda felt a little guilty, but she braced herself and mumbled, "No, not really."
She then made a move to leave, but she heard Elise enunciating her words. "You're the thief, aren't you?"
Upon hearing Elise's question, a somewhat nervous Amanda paused in her tracks. "What nonsense are you saying? What thief?"
"If you didn't steal anything, then why did you leave when everyone was ready to have their fingerprints compared?" Elise smiled. "And why would you come here when you heard our classmates talk about the CCTV footage?" There was denial in Amanda's tone. "I just happened to pass by."
When she heard Amanda's reply, Elise shrugged. "I knew you won't admit it so easily, but the evidence speaks louder than words. Tell me, what would happen if I pass this evidence to the police?"
This left Amanda in a state of panic. "What evidence? How did you get it?"
Elise looked at Amanda as if she was looking at a clown. "Everyone slips up sometimes. What do you think? Do I really have the evidence? Or, do I not?"
Amanda's forehead broke out in cold sweats because she completely broke down then.
"I planned to give you a chance, but since you're so stubborn, I guess I'll skip that stage. I'll hand this evidence over to the police right away."
"No-" Amanda unconsciously answered.
Elise looked at Amanda with a wry smile, creating the impression that she was waiting for Amanda to continue with her words. Amanda wasn't sure whether Elise really had the evidence or not, but she wasn't ready to take any risks. If Elise had really passed the evidence to the police, Amanda would be done for.
Since there were only two of them and judging by the way Elise spoke, she was trying to negotiate.
"What conditions do you have then?" Amanda immediately asked.
Elise gave a dry smile as she replied, "So, you're admitting that you're the one who did it?"
Amanda nodded slightly. "Just tell me what you want and I'll do everything I can to fulfill those conditions. However, I want you to give all the evidence you have to me."
"How would I know if you're lying or not?" Elise shook her head. "You said that you stole the watch, but what is your motive? Also, when did you do it?"
Since Elise was the only other person there, Amanda didn't have any intentions to beat around the bush. "I was the one who took the watch and yes, I also placed it in your bag. I merely did it to ruin the friendship between you three. As for when, I just found an opportunity and executed the deed."
Elise smiled coldly. "At least you're being honest!"
Amanda clenched her fists. "You know everything now. I have no reason to hide from you, right? Tell me, what should I do in exchange for the evidence?"
Elise took her time to answer. She took a while to think before she replied, "Actually... I didn't have the evidence, but I do now."
As soon as she said that, the door to the security room opened. All their classmates walked in with Samantha and Riley at the lead. Without saying anything, Samantha delivered a slap across Amanda's face, causing Amanda to be stunned by the impact.
Riley said viciously, "I knew it would be you. You were already a troublemaker before this, but you're a thief now! Your actions are horrible!" "Right?! How could I have trained with a person like you? Unbelievable!" The other classmates also started to voice their thoughts aloud.
It was only at this moment that Amanda finally realized that Elise had set the trap.
"What are you guys saying? I don't get it-" Amanda whined.
However, Samantha interrupted in a cold voice, "Quit your act. We heard everything you said."
Elise also fished a recording pen from her pocket. "Our entire conversation has been recorded here. This is the evidence I was talking about."
Amanda immediately paled. "How dare you!"
"What, was I the one who told you to steal?" Elise retorted, to which Amanda gave no reply.This material belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.
At this moment, Mr. Bolton also arrived and shot Amanda a look before he sighed. "You can drop out now. We don't welcome students with sticky fingers here."
She shouted, "No, I can't! I don't want to quit school!"
He didn't give her any chance of redemption. "If you won't quit, then I'll have to take the recording to the police. We'll let them make the decision."
At this moment, she had no choice but to quit school.
That night, Amanda gathered her things and was about to leave the school campus. However, before she left, she went to see Elise. "I'll remember this. You'll pay for what you did." Elise replied, "You should've kept to yourself, Amanda. No matter what you do to me, I'll pay it back tenfold."
Amanda's departure had also marked that the boot camp was finishing soon. Their last exam finally marked the end of boot camp, which had already lasted for half a month. Riley was a little unwilling to leave the camp. "I've learned so much from Elise during this time. I never thought about joining the nationals, but I think I may want to join now, after all."
Samantha chimed in, "I can't believe I could improve so much in just half a month! I used to get a headache just by looking at those questions, but now I can answer two-thirds of them! This is way beyond what I imagined! Still, I won't join the nationals after all. You guys can go and I'll be there to support you."
Elise looked at her friends before they smiled at each other. "Even though we've had some accidents, I still had a good time with you guys in the end. I hope we can hang out every once in a while in the future."
Riley and Samantha linked their arms with Elise's paws.
"I even want to transfer schools now! Maybe I'll transfer to your class next semester," Riley suggested in excitement. Then, she looked at Samantha. "Hey, why don't you come along? Then, we can have more time together! Isn't that great?"
Samantha thought for a while and deemed it plausible. However, she wasn't sure whether her family would agree to it. "I have to ask my mom first, but I think she'll agree as long as it helps with my studies."
Elise was surprised. "Wait, do you guys really mean it?"
Riley and Samantha nodded simultaneously. "Of course! With Erudite Elise by our side, what do we have to fear?"
Elise was so elated that she was at a loss for words.
The three friends then gathered their things and walked to the school gates together. Samantha was the first one to get into the car and she waved at them as she left. Riley was the next one; she left the campus with Mr. Bolton. Soon, Elise was the only one left at the school gates.
She didn't tell the young masters of the Griffith Family that the boot camp ended today, so none of them were there to pick her up. As she was about to hail a cab to head home, Zachary walked over to her.
"Elise."
"Hi, Zachary." She smiled at him. "What's up?"
Zachary looked at her. Then, as if he had summoned immense courage, he broke the silence. "See you at the nationals." With that, he waved at her before walking off into the distance.
Elise was confused, for she wasn't quite sure what he wanted to say. Did he just challenge me to the nationals?