Chapter 4

"Alaya, is this the poor girl who's been mooching off your family? She's actually pretty cute," one girl said.

"Yeah, she looks all innocent, but she actually got into a fight with Alaya and ended up in the hospital. Serves her right," another girl scoffed.

"Ugh, it's so annoying. Who wants to go to school with a filthy broke girl like her? Who knows what kind of diseases she might have? I'm honestly thinking about faking sick and going home," a third girl complained.

"At least you don't have to deal with her every day. Alaya has to see her all the time. That must be disgusting," another girl added.

"Guys, use your heads. Don't hang out with her. She's bad luck," one of the girls warned.

Thanks to those girls spreading rumors everywhere, I was already marked as an outcast.

As soon as I walked into my new class, I could feel the cold shoulder from everyone.

Everyone kept their distance, like I was carrying some kind of virus.

I just decided to make the most of my time and focus on my studies.

I had just pulled out my book when my phone buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

My phone suddenly buzzed with a message from an unknown number.

[Sophia, heard you lost your memory? Send me the money, and I'll spill all the tea. How many guys you've crushed on, who you've lost fights to... No tricks, guaranteed satisfaction!]

What the hell?

I just rolled my eyes, deleted the message, and blocked the number. I couldn't even be bothered to reply.

Then I just went back to my books.

Back in the village, my mom used to help me with my homework all the time.

She was crazy smart. Honestly, she knew way more than even the top teachers here.

Still, I had to figure out how to keep up with the way they taught things at this school.

Burying myself in my studies was actually pretty nice. The only downside was having to deal with a few mean girls who just couldn't leave me alone.

Alaya and her crew would always make a point to talk about all these luxury brands right in front of me.

Then they'd all turn and stare at me, just waiting for me to embarrass myself.

"Sophia, do you even know what that is?" one of them would ask, trying to trip me up.

I'd usually just set my pen down, give a polite shake of my head, and say, "Not really."

If I didn't give them what they wanted, they'd just keep bugging me.

Once they'd finished laughing way too loud and calling me a country bumpkin, I could finally get back to my book.

This was pretty much my everyday life now.

After school that day, I headed to the restroom.

There, I ran into a group of girls I'd never seen before. They were basically taking over the place and making everyone else leave.

I shot them a quick look, noticed the other students hurrying out, and decided not to stick around.

But before I could get out, one of them stopped me.

"Hold up, did I say you could leave?" one of the girls sneered, pointing right at me.

I stopped and asked, "What do you want?"

"Actually, I do," she said with a cold smirk, walked over, and gave my cheek a mocking tap.

"What, I'm not allowed to dislike you?" she sneered.

"Fighting isn't allowed on campus," I said, just stating the school rules.

She burst out laughing, and her friends joined in.

"Dumb girl, there aren't any cameras here. Just tell the teacher you fell, easy as that," she sneered.

I nodded, playing along. "Oh, guess you're right."

I took off my backpack and set it down on the sink, making sure it stayed dry.

Then I loosened up my wrists, shooting a grin at the girls who looked totally stunned.

"Man, it's been ages since I got into a fight. Guess I should stretch a little first," I said.

"Who's first? Or do you all want to come at me together?" I asked.

The good news? These girls were total rookies at this kind of thing.

They went down easy.

The bad news? One of them bolted.

So, yeah, they called my folks in.

Bailey showed up in person, his face darkened, to pick me up.

The whole Hopkins household was heavy with tension.

Before I even walked in, I could hear Alaya already fanning the flames.

"Mom, Dad, look at Sophia! She's barely been at school and she's already getting into fights!" Alaya complained.

"Now everyone's saying the Hopkins family is full of savages. How am I supposed to hold my head up or make any friends after this?" she wailed.

Millie said softly, "Don't worry, sweetie. When she gets home, your dad will give her a good talking-to."

For once, Bailey didn't look like he was getting a kick out of my trouble. Instead, he shot me a rare look of sympathy before opening the door.

"Mom, Dad, we're back," he said.

The next second, an ashtray came flying at me, barely missing my forehead before crashing to the floor.

"Sophia, how dare you show your face here?" Jasiah snapped.

Millie gasped when she saw blood trickling down my forehead and rushed to stop the furious Jasiah. "Jasiah, why did you have to be so rough? She's bleeding, for god's sake!"

She quickly turned to me, her voice frantic. "Sophia, come on. Apologize to your dad... to Jasiah. Promise him it won't happen again!"

"Don't hold me back!" Jasiah snapped.

"Tonight, I'm going to make sure she learns what it means to be a Hopkins!" he shouted.

He was so furious his hand was shaking as he pointed at me. "Kids raised out in the countryside will never be good enough for this family!"

"I wasn't the one who started it," I said firmly.

I gave Alaya a pointed look. She was clearly loving every second of this mess and kept my cool as I explained.

She couldn't hold my gaze and quickly looked away, suddenly looking guilty.

"You must've done something to make people hate you!" Jasiah accused.