Don't Mess with the Girl with Candy novel Chapter 166

A world-class foodie, indeed!

Shanley stared at her for a second before a deep, melodious laugh escaped him, filling the car.

From the driver's seat, Flint glanced in the rearview mirror, his eyes widening. His boss was laughing. Actually, genuinely laughing. He never thought he’d live to see the day. It was… unsettling.

...

Meanwhile, the moment the final bell rang, Qadir and Queenie turned in their exams and bolted from the classroom.

“Juniper still isn’t back. I wonder what’s happening,” Qadir said, his face grim as he hurried down the hall.

“Mr. Schwartz should be here by now, right?” Queenie added, jogging to keep up. Her eyes were red-rimmed with worry. “Do you think she’s cleared her name?”

As they reached the stairwell, they saw the dean leading a group of senior-year teachers across the courtyard.

“Looks like they’re done dealing with Juniper’s cheating incident,” a student nearby whispered. “I wonder what the verdict was.”

“The verdict?” Jolene sneered, emerging from her classroom with a triumphant smirk. “Just look at the teachers’ faces. Does that look like good news to you? Juniper isn’t in the office and she isn’t back in class. There’s only one explanation.”

“What?” another student asked eagerly.

“Her parents obviously came and picked her up,” Jolene said, letting out a smug laugh. “Fighting, cheating on exams… What school would keep a student like that?!”

“That’s bullshit!” Qadir roared, spinning around to face her. “My friend Juniper would never cheat!”

Jolene’s face paled at his outburst, and she bit her lip, looking wounded. “But she—”

“I’m going to see Principal Salma,” Qadir said, ready to storm the principal’s office to demand justice for his friend.

“I’m coming with you,” Queenie declared.

“No, wait!” Dolce grabbed Qadir’s arm, finally catching her breath. “You’ve got it all wrong. Juniper wasn’t expelled.”

“What?” Qadir and Queenie froze, while the smile on Jolene’s face vanished.

“Nope,” Dolce said, a huge grin spreading across her face. “I just ran into the physics teacher. He said Juniper took the retest… and got perfect scores on both subjects. Again.”

A stunned silence fell over the hallway.

Perfect scores? Again?