Chapter 2

2

The next day, the Principal called me into her office.

She wasn't alone.

The Dean was there, along with the head of the disciplinary committee.

They were flipping through a thick stack of papers.

Lyra wasn't in the room―but her handiwork was.

“Zoe Harper, we received an anonymous report regarding your science project,” the Principal said.

Her tone was flat, like she was reading a weather report.

“The report claims you plagiarized the core components of your work.”

“The evidence shows that your algorithm is a near-perfect match to a version Lyra Vance submitted earlier.”

“The school is freezing your academic honors and scholarship eligibility pending a full investigation.”

My brain stalled for three seconds.

“That’s not her version―it’s mine. I built everything from scratch.”

“I have a year’s worth of lab logs, version histories, and raw data―”

“Zoe,” the Dean interrupted, cleaning his glasses slowly.

“The report was filed before you ever made an official claim.”

“Miss Vance has a complete submission record. What do you have?”

“Do you have anything dated earlier than hers?”

I opened my mouth, but the words died in my throat.

I realized the trap she had set.

Every single one of my original files was in our shared cloud folder.

Lyra was the one who created that folder. She controlled the permissions.

That meant she could manipulate the timestamps.

She could make it look like she created the files and I was just an observer.

And because I trusted her, I never made a separate, private backup.

When I walked out of the office, the hallway felt like a gauntlet.

Students were huddled in small groups, staring at me.

I could hear the whispers. I could see them scrolling through their phones.

Lyra had posted a status in the class group chat.

“No matter what happens, I never wanted to hurt anyone. Some things just aren't meant for you, no matter how hard you try to grab them.”

The replies were all comforting her.

“Don't be sad, Lyra.” “We’ve got your back.” “Some people are just bitter because they have no talent.”

I stood in the middle of the hall, and for the first time, I was invisible to everyone who mattered.

My phone buzzed.

It was a notification from the school portal.

“Student Zoe Harper: Academic honors frozen due to suspected misconduct. Please cooperate with the ongoing investigation.”

I screenshotted the notification.

Then, I turned around and headed straight for the computer lab.