The Popular Girl Manipulated Our Applications I Went To Stanford Chapter 07
The interview room fell silent.
Only the hum of the air conditioner broke the silence.
Chad stared at the text on my phone screen, his eyes bulging like they were about to pop out.
“Two-factor authentication. Biometric ID,” he muttered like he was hearing a foreign language.
“You knew the password spreadsheet wasn’t safe. You knew Tiffany couldn’t change your application. Why didn’t you tell us? Why didn’t you warn us to change our passwords?”
He lunged at me like a wild animal, but the two officers behind him grabbed him and shoved him to the ground.
“Jennifer, you selfish bitch! You wanted to watch us fail.”
I looked down at his twisted face and felt nothing but disgust.
“Chad, how many times did I warn you? I told you to check your application in the group chat, and you said I was being a downer.”
“I told you to call the police, and you said I was ruining class unity. You chose to believe a complete idiot’s lies. And now you’re blaming me?”
Lindsay collapsed on the floor, sobbing. “It’s over. It’s all over. My mom is going to kill me.”
The next day, the scene outside Riverview High was pure chaos.
Over thirty parents held signs and blocked the school entrance.
“Justice for our children’s futures! Fire the incompetent teacher.”
“The popular girl ruined lives. She should go to jail.”
Tiffany’s parents were surrounded by furious parents. Their clothes were torn, and their faces were scratched.
“How dare you raise such a monster?”
Lindsay’s mother slapped Tiffany’s mother across the face, crying hysterically.
“My daughter studied until two in the morning every night. Your little monster destroyed everything.”
Chad’s mother ran at the front of the crowd, swinging a broom at Tiffany’s father.
“Give us back our fifteen thousand dollars!”
The principal hid behind the locked gate with a few security guards, sweating profusely and refusing to open the doors.
The state board’s announcement came quickly.
Due to the fact that the incident resulted from students failing to secure their own passwords and the teacher’s improper conduct, all applications would remain as locked in the system. No changes would be made.
Meaning that over thirty students, except for me, were all locked into the technical college.
Leonard was fired from his teaching position and charged with criminal negligence.
Tiffany was formally charged with computer system sabotage and fraud.
The once famous honors class had become a public laughingstock.
News crews swarmed the school, pointing cameras at the humiliated former star students.
A reporter shoved a microphone in Chad’s face. “Why did you believe a classmate’s obvious lie?”
Chad covered his face. “Stop filming. Please stop filming.”
I walked out the side entrance with my backpack and smiled at the security guard.
“Nice weather today.”
Mid-August. Acceptance letters arrived.
I got my admission package from Stanford’s Computer Science Department.
Red cover, elegant and bright.
My parents were so happy they booked three tables at the best restaurant in town. They only invited relatives and a few real friends, no one from high school.
Halfway through the dinner, the door to our private room burst open.
Chad and his parents stood there, looking ten years older.
Chad’s hair was a mess. He had dark circles under his eyes.
When he saw the Stanford letter in my hand, his eyes turned red.
“Jennifer.” He dropped to his knees right there in front of all my relatives.
The room went quiet. My parents stood up with frowns.
“Chad, what are you doing?” I looked at him coldly.
“Jennifer, I was wrong. I know I was wrong.” Chad cried and begged.
“I should have listened to you. I shouldn’t have let Tiffany blind me.”
“I have nothing now. I don’t want to go to that technical college. My parents have no money left. I can’t even afford community college.”
Chad’s mother grabbed my mother’s hand and wailed.
“Please, Mrs. Morrison. Our families have been neighbors for ten years. Chad made a mistake, but he still loves Jennifer.”
“Jennifer is going to Stanford now. Could you loan us fifty thousand dollars so Chad can study abroad? When he comes back, they could still be together.”
I was shocked by the sheer audacity.
“Ma’am, did you forget to take your medication this morning, or are you just delusional?”
I pulled my mother behind me and looked at Chad’s mother with cold eyes.
“Chad emptied your bank account to send money to another woman. And now you want me to pay for it?”
“Jennifer, I really love you!” Chad crawled forward on his knees, trying to grab my leg.
I stepped back in disgust and shoved him back with my foot, sending him onto his back.
“Chad, the only person you love is yourself. Remember how you treated me when you were defending Tiffany?”
“You said she was kind and sweet. You said it was youthful fun. How does it feel now that the joke’s on you?”
I looked down at him, my words cutting deep. “You got exactly what you deserved.”
“Security! Get these people out of here!” my father shouted.
Chad was dragged out, screaming desperately. “Jennifer, give me one more chance!”
I raised my glass of juice and drank it all.
“Close the door. Don’t let the trash ruin our dinner.”