When They Beg, I Rise!

Lemira was enjoying a rare sleep-in when the shrill ring of her phone cut through the air. Glancing at the caller ID, she recognized it as possibly belonging to the Sinclair family's lawyer. She got up and walked over to the balcony, and answered the call.

"Lemira, this incident with Jackson - it was your orchestration, wasn't it? Taking on the Sinclairs so brazenly won't end well for you. It could even drag your family into this mess!" Family?

Lemira's voice was calm, "I didn't force Jackson to cross-dress into the girls' dorm. Besides, he gave me some dirt on the Sinclairs last night, begging for mercy."

The lawyer's tone edged into panic, "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

"Believe it or not, that's your problem."

Lemira hung up squarely, a smirk spreading across her face. She had said it on purpose, knowing full well the Sinclairs would stir trouble for Jackson. She had no intention of letting that scumbag off easy.

Scrolling through her phone, she saw that last night's dorm incident had exploded online. Everyone was talking about it, and given Jackson's role as captain of the Orvin Team, it had even caught the gaming community's eye - unsurprisingly, he was the one getting flamed.

Lemira decided to sift through the data she'd gotten from Jackson the night before on her computer, looking for evidence of the Sinclairs' money laundering. That would keep them from acting rashly.

Soon, there was a knock on the door. Janice opened it to find a few female teachers stepping in, "We heard about last night's incident here, so we wanted to ask what exactly happened?"

Lemira closed her laptop. She noticed Clara hiding under her bed canopy, probably too guilty to speak up.

Janice was the first to speak, "We had no idea someone was hiding in the bathroom. He just burst out suddenly. Turns out he'd bribed the dorm keeper to sneak in."

The teachers turned to Lemira, "Is that so?"

Just as Lemira, unperturbed, was about to respond, Clara abruptly threw back her curtain, her eyes red and puffy as if a ghost.

Speaking in a hoarse whisper, Clara

said, "That's exactly what happened. And Jackson hid in our room because he was bitter about being rejected by Lemira. It's got nothing to do with the rest of us."

Janice's expression darkened, "Clara, do you even hear yourself?"

Clara shrank back, "But it's true."

Janice turned away, eyes closed, feeling Clara was beyond saving.

As Lemira heard Clara's explanation, her lips twisted into a cold smile. She hadn't planned to counter. Janice or add anything else. But some people was born ungrateful; they'd never change.

One teacher asked, "So, Lemira, was him searching you in the girls' dorm all because of some personal vendetta between you and Jackson?"

"Absolutely not! Last night, when I got back and found we were out of water, Clara handed me a tampered bottle just as Jackson emerged from the bathroom!"

Clara screamed and questioned, "Lemira, you promised Janice you wouldn't rat me out!"

"I had no intention of mentioning it, but if you're going to play dirty, why should I hold back? I'm no saint. Why should I cover for you?"

Lemira laid out the whole story

happening the previous night,

omitting only the part about Janice's

tip-off as well as her and Janice

setting the trap for Jackson

together.

Clara was hysterical, "Lemira, you traitor, you betrayed me! You'll get a miserable end!"

Lemira grabbed a glass of water and doused her.

"Get a grip, roomie. Wake up!"she cussed out silently.