On the other side of campus, Levi's counselor was even more baffled.
Being summoned like an errant child's parent by a professor from an entirely different faculty was completely absurd.
Over the phone, she relentlessly tried to figure out what Levi had done.
But Levi stubbornly refused to answer.
He was smart enough to know that confessing now would only guarantee a brutal lecture.
"Who the hell is bullying Claire?"
Zane Harrison barged into the office with an aggressive demand.
He didn't care what kind of management was in the room; he was going to dominate the conversation from the start.
"Mr. Harrison, please. Who would dare lay a finger on your precious student?"
The voice belonged to Levi's counselor, Lillian Vance, a strict-looking woman in her forties wearing thin-rimmed glasses who had arrived just before him.
"Lillian! It's been a while. You're looking even more beautiful today."
Zane was a master of smooth-talking, effortlessly charming his way through any social interaction.
"Don't think a little cheap flattery is going to get you out of this, Zane."
"We haven't even established the facts yet, so don't jump to conclusions about my student bullying yours."
Lillian sounded strict, but her normally rigid features clearly softened at the compliment.
As always, a little praise went a long way.
"I'm not just kissing up to protect my student, you know."
"That was a completely genuine compliment from the heart."
"But I know my student. She would never instigate a conflict without a very good reason."
Zane stood firmly in Claire's corner.
Lillian?
She didn't seem to possess Zane's absolute confidence in her own pupil.
She leveled a calculating stare at her students.
Levi wasn't the only one there; Sloane was standing nearby.
Sloane was an exemplary student, and Levi usually maintained a decent record.
But Levi's constant, obsessive shadowing of Sloane deeply annoyed Lillian.
You managed to get into The Cabinda University, so what was the point of wasting all that potential chasing romance?
He should have been hitting the books and securing a high-paying career for after graduation.
What was the benefit of being a pathetic lapdog?
It wasn't like he was even the only one.
Sloane had a dozen guys trailing after her just like him.
It was painfully obvious to every bystander, yet Levi was too foolish to see the truth.
"My student..." Lillian truly wanted to defend Levi.
But
by Norris's icy tone, even
on his head he was obviously
the instigator.
Losing her self-righteousness, Lillian demanded, "Levi, explain yourself. What
exactly happened out there?"
"Why did Claire dump a plate of food on your head?"
Levi tasted bitter defeat. He opened his mouth, desperate to write the whole thing
off as a misunderstanding.
What else could he do?
He only started panicking when Claire insisted on calling the police.
With a bright future ahead of him, who would willingly risk catching a criminal record?
Lillian's temper flared at his agonizing silence.
èt
It was agonizingly obvious that he had bullied the younger girl. Why else would he take a plate of food to the face and still be too terrified to speak
"Spit it out! If you messed up, apologize!" Lillian snapped, delivering a sharp kick to his shin.
Levi stumbled forward from the impact.
Yet he didn't dare show an ounce of anger toward his counselor.
Lillian was usually decent to her students, but she had a famously explosive temper.
Everyone on campus whispered that she was a complete tyrant when provoked, akin to a fire-breathing dragon.
Sloane finally stepped forward,
adopting a placating tone. "Ms..
Vance, Mr Harrison, this whole thing really is just a huge
misunderstanding." fo FindNovel.net
"Please, don't be angry."
"Levi, hurry up and apologize to Claire."
"I'm sure Claire is generous enough to forgive you."
Lillian narrowed her eyes at Sloane and waved a dismissive hand. "Enough. Stay
out of this and let him speak for himself."
"Levi, did you lose your tongue?"
Flinching at the roar, Levi shot a miserable, defeated look at Claire. "Claire... I'm sorry. This is all my fault."