Chapter 3
I promised I wouldn't hold Zoe legally responsible for any of this.
I stared at that line of words for a long time.
Then I looked up at Elaine.
I asked, "Did you draft this agreement?"
"Yes," she replied, tucking her hair behind her ear.
She continued, "Just a basic template. I tweaked it a bit."
She'd drafted it herself.
She had personally drafted a waiver agreement for the person who hurt me.
I closed the file and put it back, making it clear I wanted nothing to do with it.
I said, "I won't sign it."
Elaine's expression finally changed.
She snapped, "Iris, don't be stubborn.
"150 thousand dollars plus all your medical bills paid? You think just anyone gets a deal like that?
"If you don't sign and decide to take this to court, you really think you're guaranteed to win?
"Have you ever thought about who will pay for the lawsuit?
"Can Nathan afford it?"
She stood up, picked up her bag, and knocked her high heels twice on the ground.
She continued coldly, "I'll give you three days to think it over.
"If the Sterling family regrets after three days, you won't get any money."
The door closed behind her.
Nathan stood by the window, his back to me, his shoulders shaking.
He said, "Iris, trust me."
His voice was very hoarse.
He continued, "I might not have much money, but I won't let you suffer this."
I replied, "I trust you, Dad."
After I said those words did the tears fell.
It wasn't because of the pain from wounds.
Because I finally understood one thing.
Elaine had chosen Zoe instead of me.
Zoe transferred to our school this semester.
Her dad, Richard, was a real estate tycoon in the city, worth at least hundreds of millions.
No one knew why she transferred, but she made everyone notice her on the first day of school. She drove a white Porsche and parked in front of the school building.
Toby reminded her to move her car.
She didn't even glance at him.
Zoe said, "Go talk to my Dad."
From that day on, no one had the guts to cross her.
She set her sights on me because of a monthly test.
The topic for our essay was "The Person I Admire Most."
I wrote about Nathan. He ran a bookstore on his own after the divorce, and even when his hands were cracked and red from the winter cold, he still wrote study notes and sent them to me.
My teacher read it in class as a model essay.
After class, Zoe poured a cup of milk on my essay book.
She sneered, "This kind of poor article can also be used as a model?
"Your dad runs a crappy bookstore, and you actually think he's worth writing about?
"My dad could buy that crappy bookstore easily."
Everyone around us laughed.
I didn't say a word. I just wiped the milk off my essay and shoved it into my schoolbag.
That was the first time.
After that, it kept happening more and more.
In March, she had someone throw my schoolbag into the boys' bathroom.
She was standing in the hallway taking a picture with her phone when I bent over to pick it up from next to the urinal.
Zoe said, mocking, "Look at Iris, down on the floor in the boys' bathroom. Is she waiting for someone?"
The video was sent to the grade group chat.
I told Toby this.
He just sighed and said, "Iris, I'm going to be real with you.
"Zoe's dad donated an entire lab building to the school last month.
"The principal made it clear to me that when it comes to Zoe, try not to make a big deal out of it."
That night, I sent Elaine the first text.
Iris: [Mom, there's someone at school who is always bullying me. Today, she threw my schoolbag into the boys' bathroom.]
She saw it.
But no reply.
On April 2nd, in the cafeteria, Zoe smashed a plate of pork right on top of my head.
Oil ran down my hair, soaking into my school uniform.
The entire cafeteria was watching me.
But no one tried to help me.
That night, I texted Elaine once more.
Iris: [Mom, she bullied me again. It's worse than before. Could you help me talk to the school?]
I waited for her reply all night.
At two in the morning, she finally replied to me.
Elaine: [Handle it yourself.]
On May 14th, Zoe blocked me in the bathroom, grabbed my hair, and forced me to kneel and apologize to her.
The reason was that I scored higher than her in the exam, which made her lose face.
I didn't kneel.
She kicked me twice, right in the lower back.
That day, I was hunched over in that bathroom for half an hour before I could finally stand up, and the bruises on my lower back stuck around for a whole week.
For the third time, I sent Elaine a message.
Iris: [Mom, Zoe kept hitting me at school. I'm really scared.]
She didn't even open it this time.
The day everything went down was on Friday.
After school, there were few people in the school building.
Zoe came with her two sidekicks, blocking me in the third-floor hallway.