Betrayed By Friends I Choose To Close The Inn To Them Chapter 08

Betrayed By Friends I Choose To Close The Inn To Them Chapter 08

I sat in the last row and heard every word clearly.

My fingers tightened around my pencil until my knuckles slowly turned white.

I set down the pencil, took a deep breath, picked up my backpack, and walked out of the

classroom.

Low whispers rose behind me again.

I didn’t look back.

When I walked out of the school entrance, I saw a familiar figure.

Mr. Harris was standing by the gate, talking to school security.

paved me over.

When he saw me come out, he

“Maya, come here for a second.”

I walked over and stopped in

front of him.

Mr. Harris looked at me for 2 seconds before speaking.

“You okay?”

I froze for a moment, then nodded.

“I’m fine.”

“Don’t take what they said to heart.”

Mr. Harris’s voice wasn’t loud, but it was serious.

“Bennett Inn is your family’s business. It has nothing to do with them. If you want to help, that’s kindness. If you don’t, that’s your choice. No one has the right to blame you for it.”

My nose suddenly stung.

I quickly lowered my head.

“Thank you, Mr. Harris.”

“Go home. Study hard. Don’t let this get to you.”

I nodded and turned to leave.

After walking about 10 steps, I heard Mr. Harris sigh behind me and say to school security, “Some

kids learn entitlement way too fast.”

I didn’t hear what the security guard said back.

On the way home, I sat on the school bus, put in my earbuds, and played a random song.

The music was loud.

Loud enough to cover every sound in the bus.

3 days before the SAT, school let us out for test prep.

When I packed up and walked out of the classroom I looked back once.

On the whiteboard, the countdown read, “3 Days Until SAT.”

The dry–erase marker writing was crooked. Someone had written it that morning.

The desks and chairs were messy, and review sheets and used scratch paper were scattered on

the floor.

I would never come back to this classroom again.

I carried my backpack out of the school.

The sun was bright, warm against my face.

My phone buzzed.

It was a message from Laura.

“Maya, the 5 canceled rooms at Bennett Inn have already sold at full price. Not one left.”

I stood outside the school and typed a few words, then deleted them.

In the end, I still only replied with 1 word.

“Okay.”

I had just put my phone into my pocket when hurried footsteps sounded behind me.

“Maya!”

I turned around and saw Chloe chasing after me.

She was wearing a white hoodie, her hair tied in a ponytail, and a thin layer of sweat shone on her

forehead.

She looked anxious.

As she ran up, she nearly tripped, then stopped 2 steps away from me and bent over to catch her

breath.

“Why were you walking so fast? I called you like 3 times.”

There was a little complaint in her voice.

“I didn’t hear you,” I said.

Chloe straightened and looked at me.

Then she bit her lip.

“Maya, I want to talk to you.”‘

“About what?”

“We’ve sat together for so long. We’re friends. You’ve been avoiding me for days, and it really hurts.”

Her eyes reddened as she spoke.

Her voice trembled slightly, like she had truly been hurt.

I looked at her and suddenly found it a little funny.

The first time around, when my family’s hotel was reported into a temporary closure, she had cried even more convincingly in front of the camera.

“Chloe, I’m not avoiding you.”

“Then why did you move to the back? Why don’t you eat lunch with me anymore? Why do you keep dodging the hotel question whenever I ask?”

She asked 3 questions in a row.

Short passages, grammar, logical transitions, expression revision.

I had practiced all of it over and over.

Halfway through, I suddenly thought of David.

Of Bennett Inn.

Of the people who had stayed for free and chosen silence.

I took a deep breath and pulled my attention back to the questions.

The second section was Math.

That was my strength.

The first time around, I had done pretty well on Math.

This time, I didn’t dare be careless. I had reviewed common question types and the mistakes I was

most likely to make.

When I clicked the final submit button, I was sure I hadn’t come for nothing.

When the test complete screen popped up, I leaned back in my chair and let out a long breath.

It was over.

When I walked out of the test center, the sun was so bright I could barely keep my eyes open.

David was waiting by the school entrance, holding a bouquet of flowers, grinning so hard his eyes

crinkled.

“Maya!”

He waved at me, his smile impossible to hide.

I ran over, took the flowers, and hugged him tightly

“How’d it go?” he asked.

“Pretty good.”

“That’s good.” David patted my back. “Come on. I’m taking you out for something good.”

Laura walked over from the side, also holding a bouquet.