My Childhood Best Friend Chose My Bully, So I Ruined Them Both

The transfer girl made a huge scene confessing her love to my childhood best friend, then turned around and saw him borrowing my AP homework. In a fit of jealousy, she dumped her entire cup of iced Americano down my chest, laughing as she called over the boys in the classroom: "Gross. Look at our little honor student wearing a fancy lace push-up bra." "No wonder they're so big. How many guys did you let feel you up to get that size?" Disgusting snickers filled the room. But Ethan, my childhood best friend and the absolute culprit of this mess, didn't even look up from his desk. Since he didn't care, I was done playing the good girl. I unscrewed my thermos and dumped the steaming hot ginger tea right over the transfer girl’s head. "You have such a trash mouth," I sneered. "Your life must be incredibly miserable." "But don't worry. Hot tea is good for your health. Drink up, and maybe you'll learn to shut your mouth." "Grace, are you out of your mind?!" Chloe screamed, screeching as she wiped the wet tea leaves off her face. "Do you have any idea how much my hair cost?! How dare you pour that hot trash on me, you psycho!" I grabbed my denim jacket to cover the coffee stain on my chest, mocking her exact tone from earlier: "Why are you mad? It's funny! Look, everyone is laughing." The boys in the back row quickly hid their phones. They had originally wanted to film me looking humiliated, but seeing Chloe drenched and furious, none of them dared to breathe. Chloe's face flushed a deep, angry red. Seeing her struggle to find words, I didn't want to waste another second in this classroom. "Hey, class president. I'm going to the restroom to clean my shirt." Lucas, who had been dead silent the entire time, suddenly regained his hearing. He handed my AP notes back to me and nodded quickly. As soon as I walked out, whispers broke out behind me: "Since when did Grace get so savage? Chloe is the Vice Principal's daughter. Isn't Grace afraid of getting suspended?" "Afraid? Since Chloe transferred here, has Grace had a single day of peace?" "Why didn't Ethan say anything? Aren't he and Grace practically attached at the hip?" Hearing the faint gossip behind me, I quickened my pace. Ethan and I grew up together. We were neighbors, and before that, our families lived in the same small town. Back when we were kids, he was always terrified I'd get lost. He would hold my hand tightly every single day on the way to school. Thinking about his cold indifference just now... I shook the water off my hands, feeling a pang of regret for a lifelong friendship that had rotted so suddenly. "Is that her? The girl from AP Calc?" "Yeah, she's way bigger than she looks on screen. No wonder she's always seeking attention." Quiet giggles echoed down the hallway. I snapped out of my thoughts, wrapping my jacket tighter around myself. Instantly, I knew Chloe had to be behind this. Sure enough, when I pushed the classroom door open, I saw my soaked, humiliated photo projected onto the smartboard. Chloe was sitting in my seat, using a thick red marker to scribble "SLUT" all over my textbooks. "Ethan, why haven't you voted on the Snapchat poll yet?" Chloe cooed. "Aren't you Grace's childhood bestie? You should have the final word on whether they're real or fake." The boys in the back row chimed in, laughing: "Seriously! She's stacked. You must have felt them before, right?" "Is it a boob job? I read online that breast implants leave scars under the armpits. Why don't you check for us, Ethan?" Ethan twirled his pen, frowning. But when he met Chloe's sweet, wide eyes, he paused and said, "They're real. She always developed faster than other girls when we were kids." "My grandma used to see her and say she was built to bear a house full of healthy kids." The back of the classroom erupted into roaring laughter. Someone joked, "Oh, so our honor student wants a house full of kids? Does she even know how they're made?" "Of course she does. Girls are wild these days. Last week in the computer lab, I saw her writhing in her seat. Who knows what she was looking at?" They threw disgusting, filthy words at me. Even when I kicked the door open, they didn't bother to stop. Chloe squinted at me with a smirk: "Oh look, our straight-A student is back." "Why aren't you checking Snapchat? Everyone's waiting for you to see the poll results." I walked slowly up to her. The moment she grabbed my jacket to pull it down and show the others, I slapped her across the face. *Hard.* "Now do you understand why I said trash mouths die young?" I slammed my heavy textbook right into her. The guys in the back tried to step in, but when they saw the box cutter in my left hand, they scrambled back. Chloe screamed on the floor. Before she could scream louder, I stuffed a handful of erasers and pens from her desk into her mouth, pinching her cheeks and clawing her face. "Love taking sneak peeks? Come on, let's take a selfie together. Smile!" I grabbed her phone and snapped random, chaotic photos of her. In the struggle, I flipped the desk completely over. Books and water spilled everywhere. The noise was so loud it shook the walls of the adjacent classroom. Mrs. Higgins, the Chemistry teacher, slammed the door open. Her portable PA speaker shrieked with high-pitched feedback: "What is going on here?! I could hear you guys from down the hall! This is the quietest class in the school!" "If you want to act like animals, I will gladly transfer all of you to the remedial class!" As her favorite student, I had already slipped back to my seat, looking like a perfectly innocent, shaken victim. She didn't doubt me for a second. Pointing her chalk at Chloe, she snapped, "If you don't want to learn, don't drag others down with you!" Chloe spit out the eraser crumbs, tears streaming down her face. "I didn't do anything! It was Grace! She threw my things and beat me up!"The smartboard had already been turned off by Ethan. Chloe didn't dare strike back, but she wasn't about to let this go. "Mrs. Higgins, you can't just favor her because of her grades! She insulted me and attacked me! Look, I'm bleeding!" She grabbed a tissue, dabbing at a scratch on her forehead, sobbing loudly. Mrs. Higgins looked at Chloe's swollen face and saw the blood on the tissue. Her sharp gaze immediately landed on me. "Ethan, you're the class president. Tell me exactly what happened." Ethan stood up, looking hesitant. "I... I'm not entirely sure about the details, but it was indeed Grace who initiated the fight." Mrs. Higgins' eyes filled with disappointment as she looked at me. She pushed her glasses up and ordered someone to take Chloe to the nurse's office. "Grace, come with me to the principal's office. If anything serious happens to Chloe, pack your bags. You're looking at suspension or worse." A smirk twitched on Chloe's lips. Mrs. Higgins absolutely loathed bullies. Since I had crossed her, I was done for. Chloe couldn't help but gloat. "Oh, our school's number one student is getting expelled. Mrs. Higgins must be devastated." "Or, if she just writes a public apology and reads it in front of the whole school, maybe we can let it go." Chloe leaned weakly into Ethan's arms, acting like a fragile victim. Her fake, manipulative tone made my fists clench. Ignoring her pathetic whimpers, I stepped in front of Ethan. "When did I ever lay a hand on Chloe? She tripped and fell on her own. Ethan, don't spread lies just because you like her." "What?!" Chloe was so outraged by my shamelessness that she screamed, "How could I fall and end up like this?! Grace, you liar!" Ethan looked at me in shock, clearly thinking I had lost my mind to lie so boldly. "I'm not taking sides, Mrs. Higgins. If you don't believe me, you can ask the class." The slackers in the back row took the cue and yelled: "We all saw it! Grace just went crazy and attacked her!" "She probably targeted Chloe because Chloe's the new girl. She's a bully!" The classroom erupted into loud murmurs. Mrs. Higgins raised her hand for silence, then let out a heavy sigh. "Chloe, go to the nurse. Grace, come with me to the security office. We need to pull the hallway security footage." The classroom instantly went dead silent. Whenever Chloe bullied me, these kids had happily joined in. But Mrs. Higgins was a veteran teacher close to retirement. If a bullying scandal reached the school board, not even the Vice Principal could save his daughter. The boys suddenly worried about their phones being confiscated, and Chloe panicked about the footage exposing her. She didn't dare push it further. She grabbed Mrs. Higgins' arm, suddenly acting sweet: "Actually, Mrs. Higgins, it's my fault too. I said some mean things first, which is why Grace got mad." "It's just a small misunderstanding. Let's not trouble the security office. The other AP classes are waiting for you." But Mrs. Higgins wasn't born yesterday. She scanned the room and instantly knew something was wrong. "Chloe, I'm giving you one last chance. How did you get that scratch?" I stood next to Mrs. Higgins, wearing a calm smile. Chloe looked at me like she wanted to tear me apart, taking deep breaths to hold back her tears. "I... I fell on my own." "If you fell on your own, why did you accuse Grace? And as for the rest of you who were cheering... Ethan, and those boys in the back, stand up!" Mrs. Higgins slammed her textbook onto the podium so hard that the girl in the front row nearly burst into tears. "You think because your families have connections, you can bully people? Tell me! Why did you lie?!" They all looked at each other, none of them daring to speak. I picked up Chloe's phone from the floor. It had been smashed and soaked; it was completely dead. "Mrs. Higgins, it's because when Chloe fell, I couldn't help but laugh. She got mad, smashed my phone, and blamed me so she wouldn't have to pay for it." I showed Chloe's brand-new phone to Mrs. Higgins, my eyes welling up with fake tears. "My dad saved up to buy this for me. I haven't even had it for a week. I really loved this phone. Chloe, can you please pay me back?" Chloe's eyes nearly popped out of her head. Her lips trembled, probably dying to scream curses at me. But under Mrs. Higgins' stern glare, she could only swallow her rage. "I didn't mean to. I'll have my dad pay her tomorrow." "Why wait until tomorrow?" Mrs. Higgins handed her the phone. "Your dad is in his office right now. Call him up here." Chloe hung her head, refusing to move. Her dad hated dealing with Mrs. Higgins. If he found out she got caught causing trouble, he would blow a fuse. As the tension mounted, Ethan pulled a book out of his bag and took out three thousand dollars in cash. "Mrs. Higgins, Chloe didn't mean it. She's new and she was just scared, which is why she lied." "This is my fault. I shouldn't have lied for her. I'll pay for the broken phone." But the money inside that book... was mine.