I'd always been a top student, while Oliver consistently scraped the bottom of the barrel.
Louise, our homeroom teacher, hadn't raised a single eyebrow at this sudden role reversal.
Talk about playing favorites!
My best friend, Jane Pemberton, jumped to my defense. "Mrs. Clarke, there's no way Grace bombed this test."
Louise deliberately kept a stern face, trying to assert her authority, but she didn't expect us to stand up to her unfairness.
"No need to check the papers. Grace, have you considered why you performed so poorly?
"Oliver reported that Grace and Gilbert are dating. We've got the love letters right here. Quit denying it, you shameless brats!
"How dare you start dating at your age? What would your parents say? Have you no self-respect?"
Louise smirked as she held up the love letter for everyone to see. There was no mistaking Gilbert's handwriting.
She was covering for him and throwing me under the bus at the same time!
I clenched my fists, wanting to ask why, but swallowed my words.
What could I do? She was my dear "mom" and the "homeroom teacher Mrs. Clarke" who held my academic future in her hands.
She barked, "Get out and stand in the hall until school's over.