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Novel Catalog
Chapter 52
“Why didn’t you say anything, Bonnie?” Trina’s voice was sharp, dripping with feigned concern. “Look at what you did to poor Grandpa. Did you even think about Grandma? She—”
Bonnie cut her off, her voice cool but biting. “Do you remember who tried to say the painting was a counterfeit? Who led everyone down that train of thought? Do you think everyone’s forgotten about that? Or do you think we’re all fools?”
In an instant, Trina became the target of the room’s growing ire.
“That’s right! I knew it was a genuine painting the moment I laid eyes on it, but Trina claimed it was a counterfeit,” one of the guests spoke up, pointing at her. “That led me to believe Bonnie couldn’t have known Master Orson, so how could she have gotten her hands on a painting of his? It was utter nonsense!”
“Exactly! It’s all Trina’s fault,” another guest added, their voice dripping with frustration. “If it weren’t for her, Yolanda wouldn’t have gotten so angry and torn up the painting. It was worth fifty million dollars! And now it’s gone.”
One of the other guests spoke up, voice laced with annoyance, “Come on, do you think this is really about the fifty million dollars? It’s virtually impossible to get your hands on a painting by Master Orson, no matter how much you’re willing to pay. Bonnie must have called in a great favor to get one for Harold and Yolanda. But now… it’s gone.”
“Hush,” another voice interrupted sharply. “Master Orson can’t find out about this. If he does, he might be furious. What will happen to the Shepard family then?”
The guests’ words lingered in the air like a heavy weight. Harold and Yolanda, still recovering from the shock of the destroyed painting, were visibly pale as they overheard these discussions. The family’s reputation hung in the balance, and they knew it. It was all Trina’s fault.
Trina recoiled in fear, her eyes flickering with fake vulnerability. She tried to shift the blame. “This was all your fault, Bonnie! You put me through this embarrassment. Just you wait and see. I’m going to humiliate you in front of Master Orson!”
The tension in the room was unbearable as Trina stormed away, muttering to herself. But the party was far from over.
With a sly smile, Trina walked up to Bonnie and deliberately said, “The SAT results are out. I’m worried about you, Bonnie. Can you even get into college?”
Fernanda, not missing a beat, chimed in with a pout. “Do you think she can? You’d have better odds at winning the lottery!”
Bonnie didn’t flinch. “Well, I sure hope she can get into college.”
Fernanda scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Just forget about it. There’s no way she could pull that off.”
Bonnie raised an eyebrow, but didn’t respond.
“How are you so sure?” another voice asked, one of the less involved guests, curious about the direction of this new conversation.
Fernanda smirked, crossing her arms. “You’re such an idiot! They announced the results today. Bonnie must have checked them, but she hasn’t said a word about it. That proves she flunked!”
Trina hesitated, her mind turning with malicious intent. “Not necessarily,” she countered. “She could have forgotten about it or gotten the dates mixed up. To be honest, I’m pretty confident she did well in the SATs.”
“You might not know this,” Trina continued, her voice sweet and calculating, “but she moved out of the house just to study for it. I’m sure she studied hard. Who knows? She might surprise everyone with her scores!!”
Fernanda scoffed. “I’ll peel my own skin off if she did well on the test. It’s a pity she won’t talk about it. Nobody knows how she did.”
Trina hesitated for a moment, then a wicked idea flashed through her eyes. “I know her student ID. We can check it.”
“Really?” Fernanda’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Here it is.” Trina pulled out her phone with a grin, showing Fernanda the student ID she had sneakily swiped from Bonnie’s room.
“Haha! Let’s do it now,” Fernanda said, her excitement bubbling over. “You know what? Let’s project her SAT scores onto the big screen. Didn’t she declare she could get into Pyralis University?”
“No, we shouldn’t do that, Fernanda! Let’s just check it ourselves. We don’t have to put it on the big screen!” Trina’s voice held a feigned hesitation, but her eyes sparkled with the anticipation of the humiliation to come. She was not about to stop Fernanda now.
Suddenly, Fernanda grabbed the microphone. “Can I have your attention, please, everyone?” she called out to the room. All eyes turned toward her. “Bonnie said she could get into Pyralis University. I have her student ID in my hands. Let’s all witness this critical moment. Let’s see if she can really get into the university.”
Bonnie had been listening to Kay chat animatedly about something when she heard her name and turned just in time to see Fernanda working her phone. She caught sight of the big screen as Fernanda typed in Bonnie’s student ID and name.
Gresham and Vera stood frozen, horrified. The tension in the room reached a boiling point as they realized what Fernanda was about to do. The guests, however, seemed eager to see how this would unfold. Would Bonnie’s academic future be as disastrous as they hoped?
Fernanda clicked “Enter” on her phone.