The moment I moved to leave, her hand shot out and locked around my wrist.
"No. You're coming with us."
The room went silent. Everyone stared at me in confusion.
"Why would he come? He'll just kill the vibe and bring everyone down."
Roger's expression shifted to concern—the practiced kind.
"What if Daryl comes tonight and bombs his exam tomorrow? He'll blame me for ruining his score. I can't deal with that kind of guilt."
His eyes were wary, guarded—like he was terrified I might actually take Samantha up on her offer.
And why wouldn't he be? If I tagged along, how was he supposed to get her tipsy and make his move?
Samantha let out a sharp laugh.
"Daryl's too clever for his own good. Don't you remember what happened during the Dragon Boat Festival break? The English teacher forgot to assign homework, and this one"—she jerked her chin at me—"actually called her to ask for worksheets. Then he texted every single one of you to make sure you knew. Ruined the entire holiday."
The classroom went dead quiet. The looks people gave me shifted—harder now, resentful.
I smiled, bitter and self-mocking.
Those worksheets were practice exams from the top prep school in the province. They'd predicted dozens of actual test questions the year before. The teacher had specifically requested them to help boost everyone's scores.
I was afraid everyone would miss the exam, so I reminded them one by one.
But what I thought was being responsible turned out to be a crime in their eyes.
Samantha looked at me with mockery dripping from her gaze.
"Watch—he'll run home and call our parents again. Little snitch."
I finally snapped. "I don't have time for that."
I forced my voice steady. "I promise I won't say anything. I won't call anyone. Okay? I just want to go home, rest, and do well on the exam tomorrow."
I tried to pry her fingers off my arm, but she used the motion to snatch my bag instead.
"What are you doing?!" I shouted, my stomach plummeting.
The next second, she pulled out my exam admission ticket and waved it in the air.
The blood drained from my face. I lunged for it. "Are you insane? Give it back!"
Samantha tossed it to Roger like she was playing fetch with a dog. Roger flicked it to another classmate.
They watched me scramble back and forth, grabbing at air, and laughed like it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.
Samantha looked down at me, queen to peasant.