I looked at my father's anxious face, and my mind drifted to my previous life.
Back then, I'd been so worried that my classmates had actually gone out drinking that I'd dragged my father to the school bus stop with me the next morning. I just wanted him nearby in case someone showed up hungover—he could help them recover quickly.
But those ungrateful bastards had turned around and told everyone the same lie: that my father had come to help me threaten them.
That lie was why those deranged internet vigilantes—claiming to avenge Roger—had shown up at our door.
That lie was why my family was dead.
Not this time.
This time, I would never let my father get dragged into this mess.
The next morning, I ate the breakfast my father made with his own hands, then took the bus to school.
The minutes ticked closer to departure time, but the pickup point for the college entrance exam shuttle was eerily quiet.
The teachers' expressions grew darker by the second.
"What's going on? Is the Elite Track planning to skip the exam entirely?"
Mr. Bennett rushed over, looking like he hadn't slept in days. Behind him trailed a handful of students, their faces ashen.
The moment they saw me, their eyes darted away—guilty, regretful.
Principal Harrington's face was thunderous as he listened to Mr. Bennett's stammering explanation. His fury finally boiled over.
"I told you—told you—to watch what you eat before the exam! To get proper rest! And what do you do? Go out drinking at a bar the night before?!"
"Now only five of you can even sit for the exam! The rest are in the hospital getting their stomachs pumped—and some are in the ICU?!"
"Have you all lost your minds? You want to destroy your own futures, fine—but did you have to take my career down with you?!"
His shouting drew the attention of nearby parents and reporters.
"Good lord. We're over here cooking every meal with surgical precision, and these kids go and drink themselves into alcohol poisoning."
"Going out partying and drinking right before the biggest exam of their lives? Some 'academic elite.' They're no better than delinquents."
"My kid's grades aren't anything special, but at least she knows how to take responsibility for herself. These top students' parents must be losing their minds."