Chapter 2

"Janelle, where are you headed?" my seatmate called out from behind.

"I'm off to do a good deed," I replied.

Without looking back, I walked straight to the main bulletin board at school.

It was break time, and the hallway was packed with students.

I squeezed through the crowd and smeared a thick layer of glue right in the center of the bulletin board.

Then, with a loud smack, I slammed the pink love letter onto it, making sure it was stuck for good.

For a split second, the whole place went dead silent.

Then, I whipped out the marker I'd prepared and, right next to the love letter, scribbled away in bright red.

I wrote: [Hot scoop! Emmett Dumas from Senior Year Class 2 and Danica Stratton from Senior Year Class 5 are totally into each other. Emmett confessed he's crazy about Danica.

[Wishing them a lifetime of happiness together and may them be blessed with many kids.]

Once I finished, I tossed the marker aside and brushed the dust off my hands.

The crowd erupted.

"Holy crap! Emmett and Danica?"

"Wait, wasn't that Danica's love letter? Why's it posted here?"

"Is Janelle making it public?"

Everyone was buzzing.

I stood right in the middle of the crowd, staring at that eye-catching love letter, my grin getting colder and colder.

Emmett, Danica, this was simply a taste of payback.

The real drama was only starting to kick off.

"Janelle, are you out of your mind?" A furious voice sliced through the crowd.

Emmett came charging over, clutching a basketball and drenched in sweat. Danica was right behind him, her eyes rimmed with red, panic written all over her face.

When Emmett saw the words on the bulletin board, his face turned as dark as a thundercloud.

He lunged forward, trying to rip the letter off, but I'd slathered on so much glue that the paper was basically fused to the board. Any attempt to tear it made it crumble in his hands.

Emmett spun around, his eyes practically shooting daggers at me, like he was ready to rip me to shreds.

He yelled, "Janelle, is this your idea of dealing with it?

"Are you out of your mind? Who told you to post this? Who told you to write all this crap?"

Danica was cowering behind Emmett, her tears falling nonstop like a broken string of pearls, her voice so shaky it could break one's heart.

She said, "Janelle, I know you never liked me, but how could you put my private business out there for everyone to see? How am I supposed to show up around here now?"

She was crying like a pitiful heroine, and everyone instantly started feeling sorry for her. Just like that, all the blame landed on me.

"Janelle's way out of line!"

"Yeah, writing a love letter is supposed to be private. Why'd Janelle have to post it for everyone?"

"Janelle is jealous. Everyone knows she's always glued to Emmett."

When I heard all those familiar accusations and seeing Emmett's face twisted with anger, not even a flicker of emotion crossed my heart.

All I felt was overwhelming disgust.

I crossed my arms and gave Emmett a cold stare. My voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it clear as day.

I said, "Emmett, wasn't this exactly what you asked for?

"You said you were fed up with Danica, wanted me to take care of it, and told me to make it 'as final as possible.'

"I figured, since you hated Danica chasing after you so much, why not shut it down in front of everyone and kill any hope she had?

"But then I thought, Danica's got it bad for you. Dumping her outright would be way too cruel."

I pointed at the big red words and gave him my most innocent look.

I said, "So I put a little spin on it for you. You two are always flirting anyway. Everyone in school knows it. I'm helping you both out, making things easier for everyone.

"What, you're not going to thank me? Instead, you're going to yell at me?"

Emmett was shaking with rage, pointing right at me. He was so furious he was rendered speechless.

He probably never thought that I, who always followed his lead, would embarrass him in front of the whole school.

"Janelle, you're unbelievable." Emmett clenched his teeth, raising his hand as if he was about to slap me.

"Stop!" A commanding shout sliced through the chaos.

The dean stormed out from behind the crowd, scowling, hands behind his back.

He said, "Why are you all stirring up trouble here? Which class are you from? All of you, to my office, right now."

Emmett's hand froze, and he shot me a death glare. There was warning and threat in his eyes.

Danica bawled even harder, her whole body shaking like she might collapse any second.

I watched them, snorting inwardly.

Going to the dean's office?

Perfect.

I was curious to see what kind of tricks this trashy couple would try to pull in front of the dean.

The tension in the dean's office was so heavy, it felt like one could barely breathe.

SMACK.

The dean slapped the shredded remains of the love letter onto the desk, making his cup rattle.

He shouted, "You're seniors! Only two months left until the SATs. What are you doing? Dating? Making public announcements? Is your homework not keeping you busy enough?"