As soon as Carr noticed Claire sitting at the table next to theirs, his voice got
noticeably louder. The things he said became even more obnoxious. There was no question he was trying to make sure Claire heard every word.
Wendy picked up on it right away, so of course Claire did too.
“He's just trying to mess with my head,” Claire said quietly. She doubted he really believed she cheated. She knew guys like Carr all too well, always scheming, always looking for an angle. Growing up in a wealthy family, Claire had seen her fair share of drama and backstabbing. None of this was new to her.
"Can't the teachers just kick him out?” Nanette finally caught on to what was happening. She and Linsey were both fuming. They came from places where boys were always favored, so Carr's smug attitude rubbed them the wrong way from the start. Now, knowing he was trying to push out his classmates just to grab a competition spot, they found him completely disgusting.
"It's not that easy to expel someone," Claire explained. “But the teachers will definitely be keeping an eye on him from now on. At most, he'll get a warning for this." She hadn't been to a winter camp before, but she could guess how things worked.
Meanwhile, in the teachers' office, the staff was in the middle of a meeting about Carr. Norris, one of the instructors, couldn't stand students like him. Sure, Carr's grades were decent, but he definitely wasn't a top contender. Keeping someone like that around could ruin the whole group. Even if Norris put aside his personal feelings, he still hoped they could talk Carr into leaving. It didn't help that Carr had been picking on Claire.
"Carr's the only one from his city to make it to the winter camp," someone pointed out. "His school and city have high expectations for him. If we kick him out, his chaperone will definitely come and try to defend him.”
Fletcher shook his head. "I don't think we should expel him just like that. The camp cuts a few students anyway. Carr might not even make it past the next round. There's no point rushing it. If we force him out now and he starts spreading rumors online, it'll only create more problems for Claire."
The other teachers agreed. "Claire's already under enough scrutiny. If Carr gets expelled and it has anything to do with her, people will start making up stories.”
Sammie nodded. "You're right. Let's give Carr a formal warning and hope he focuses on his training from now on. If he tries anything shady again, he's out."
Norris stayed quiet. With Claire caught in the middle, there wasn't much more he could say.
Fletcher's prediction turned out to be
spot on. As soon as the incident happened, Carr ran straight to his chaperone. He downplayed his own behavior and made it sound like Claire hadjust attacked him out of nowhere.
His teacher was furious. "What kind of student hits people? Carr, don't worry. I'll take you to see Fletcher. He's in charge and if he gets. involved, we'll make Claire apologize to you. That girl is bad news She's surrounded by scandals and still acts like she owns the place!"
Hearing all that, Carr started to panic. If they went to Fletcher, his story would fall apart in seconds.
"Mr. Sean, maybe don't go,” Carr said
nervously. "The teachers here all seem to like Claire. I mean, she's really pretty... Young male teachers always like pretty girls. They made me apologize to her in the cafeteria. If you confront them, I'm worried they'll just..."
He trailed off, looking desperate. “I still need to compete in the international competition. I really don't want to get sent home because of this."
His hints were so obvious, Sean couldn't possibly miss what he was trying to say.