Chapter 4
The next day, my dad took me to school to get me signed up.
Lillian was grounded, forced to stay home and think about what she'd done.
While I was giving my little intro to the class, my dad watched from the hallway. Everybody in the room instantly knew I was the Burton family heiress.
That was not how it went down in my previous life.
Last time, I was the one who got burned, and Lillian still managed to flip the whole thing and make me the bad guy.
My parents told me to be the bigger person. I threw a fit. Then, my dad took Lillian to register for school while I was stuck at home.
They made me go sign up by myself the next day.
In the end, I was the one treated like the outsider.
This time, Lillian, you could just enjoy your little house arrest.
*****
The next few days at school were great. Knowing everyone from my previous life, it was a piece of cake to work my way into the right friend groups.
I was nice to everyone except one person—Ryan Linwood, a straight-A student in my class.
He was one of those "nice guys" who was always "doing the right thing," but he just ended up hurting people who didn't deserve it.
Lillian, meanwhile, spent that whole time at home acting like a perfect little angel.
She laid it on so thick with my mom, buttering her up with apologies and promises. And my mom, being a total softie, ate up every word.
So, naturally, my mom forgave her.
The day Lillian finally came to school, my dad got stuck in a meeting. So, she had to show up by herself.
She wore this little white dress, trying to look all sweet and innocent.
Lillian stood at the front of the class, looking like some delicate little flower.
"Hi, everyone. My name is Lillian Goodman," she said, her voice soft. "I'm Charlotte Burton's sister. It's a pleasure to meet you all."
I snorted. She was using my name to get in with everyone.
Immediately, the whole class started buzzing. Everyone was confused about why our last names were different.
A bunch of heads turned my way, waiting for an answer.
"I met her back when I was at the orphanage," I said, my voice casual.
I didn't say it loudly, but the room was dead silent. Everyone heard.
"Oh, so she's adopted?" someone whispered.
"That explains the name thing," said another.
"No way, I thought they were real sisters. She's from an orphanage?" someone else chimed in.
The whispers grew louder, and pretty soon everyone was gossiping.
Lillian's face went ghost-white. She looked like she wanted to both scream and disappear. She was furious and humiliated.
The teacher scrambled to get control. "Alright, class, quiet down! Lillian, why don't you find a seat?"
Lillian's eyes welled up with tears. She put on her most pitiful, innocent face.
I was sure she could feel every single person in that room staring at her, judging.
Ryan just couldn't sit there and watch.
He stood up and offered warmly, "Lillian, if you want, you can take the seat next to me."
Then he turned to the whole class. "Seriously, guys, we should all show a little respect. It's not cool to just gossip about her."
Lillian gave him this look like he was her knight in shining armor. So, Ryan, puffing his chest out, kept going. "Whatever happened at the orphanage is in her past. She's our classmate, and she's Charlotte's sister."
That last part was meant for me. I knew it.
I just looked at his dead-serious face and smiled.
"You're so right, Ryan," I sneered. "Lillian is my sister. You know what? She wanted to be my sister so badly. She literally chased our car as we were driving away from the orphanage."
The class, which had started to settle down, erupted again.
"Charlotte," Lillian hissed. She was bright red and looked so embarrassed.
The teacher, desperate, quickly waved Lillian into the seat next to Ryan and tried to start the lesson.
The whole class period was this close to being a total loss.
*****
The second the bell rang, I was swarmed. Everyone wanted all the details about Lillian.
And I was more than happy to share the story.
Just then, Ryan marched right over, with Lillian hiding behind him like he was her personal bodyguard.
"Charlotte, you're taking this too far," he said, all preachy. "Your family took her in. You should be treating her right, not just talking crap about her."
I looked at Ryan like he'd just grown a second head. Seriously, I had no idea how a guy like him could ace all the tests.
"But I wasn't being mean," I said, putting on my most wounded voice. "I was just telling the truth."
The students around me were quick to jump in and back me up.
"Charlotte's just saying what happened. Why can't she talk about it?" one girl said.
"Totally," said another.
Ryan was stumped for a second.
"Even if it's the truth," he finally sputtered, "you have to respect Lillian. Some things are better left unsaid, you know?"
I snorted. "Oh yeah? And what exactly did Lillian tell you?"
I looked right past him at Lillian, who was still trying to look all small and scared.
I kept going. "Did she tell you how awful I am to her?
"How she's just so good to my family?
"Did she tell you, 'Oh, it's fine, I know they don't mean it... After all, it's just a fact that I'm an orphan'?"
Ryan looked stunned.
I shot him a sideways glance. "Is that the 'stuff that's better left unsaid' you were just lecturing me about?"
I had him. He was totally speechless.
Ryan got so pissed his face swelled up and turned beet-red. He looked ridiculous.
He just huffed and pulled Lillian back to their seats.
The second they were gone, my little circle of friends started cheering.
"That was epic, Charlotte. You totally shut him down," one girl said.
"For real, we can just tell Lillian is sketchy. Only a moron like Ryan would fall for her act," said another.
I just smiled and spun my pen, letting them all talk.
This was just the beginning.
Just like that, the whole class was on my side.
In my previous life, it was a different story. Back then, everyone took Lillian's side. They were the ones who said I was the jealous one, the unloved daughter who was bitter about the new favorite.
They laughed at me. They said I was bullying her. Not a single person had my back.