Chapter 47

On one hand, I was grateful for Lucas's support and the chance to stand up to Jessica. On the other hand, I was worried that her fathe r's Alpha status would still somehow be able to protect her from trouble.

I could see the worry in the dean's eyes, not wanting to escalate the issue further. Possibly, he was thinking about how this would affect the school's reputation.

If this was how Jessica got through life, it's no wonder she has terrible behavior. Her mother is just like her, using things to her advantage in order to get her way.

Suddenly, the dean's office opened again with more angry-looking parents.

"What is going on?" one of the parents demanded, pushing their way toward the dean's desk. "Why is my child crying in the hallway claiming they're expelled?"

"Why is my child being punished?" another parent chimed in, walking further into the room.

I looked at Lucas with dread in my eyes. This was not looking good.

"They're trying to expel your child, too?" Jessica's mother asked the parents, trying to rally them to her side.

The parents all mumbled in agreement, their frustration palpable.

"Is your child Jessica?" one parent asked, narrowing their eyes. "Is she expelled?"

"I don't know," Jessica's mother said defensively. "But I'll be damned if she is!"

"If Jessica isn't getting expelled, why should my child be expelled? He wasn't even involved!" one of the parents shouted.

The rest of them began to bicker amongst each other, raising their voices in a heated exchange.

"We want to see the evidence!"

"Why should our children be punished for something they didn't do?"

"Enough!" the dean finally shouted from his spot behind the desk. "Please, everyone just calm down. We're still investigating what happened. For right now, nobody is expelled."

My heart sank, and I looked at the dean. It seemed like he was trying to diffuse the situation, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't provide enough support for what happened to me.

Maybe he didn't care enough about the issue.

"Shana, keep your distance from Jessica and try not to provoke her in the future," the dean advised his tone more cautious now. "We don't want an incident like this to be repeated."

I nodded, feeling somewhat defeated. Why was I being told what to do? He should be telling Jessica to stay away from me!

It seemed like the dean was more concerned about avoiding controversy than addressing the real problem of bullying at the school.

Lucas, noticing how sour my mood had turned, placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder, his grip firm yet gentle.

In a low voice, he said, "Don't worry, Shana. We'll figure this out together. We won't let Jessica and her followers get away with their actions. This isn't right."

I tried to smile, appreciating Lucas's unwavering support. "Thank you, Lucas. I know I can count on you."

As the parents continued to express their concerns and demands, Lucas leaned in and whispered, "I think I have a plan. Let's meet after school, and I'll tell you everything."

Surprised by his determination, I whispered back, "What's your plan?"

"After school," he reiterated. Clearly, he didn't want to talk about it now with all the parents here.

I nodded in agreement. "Okay, after school it is."

For the rest of the day, the tension at school remained high. Students whispered and exchanged rumors about the potential expulsions, and I could feel the weight of uncertainty hanging in the air.

As I walked down the halls, I noticed that people were watching me very closely. I realized that most of them had probably heard about what happened with Jessica and me last week.

I wondered if any of them had seen the school's group chat...

Just then a light bulb went off in my head.

"That's it! The school's group chat! How could I forget?" I exclaimed, realizing the potential goldmine of evidence that might be hidden in those digital conversations.

After the final bell rang, I rushed to the school's computer lab, where the chat logs were stored.

I frantically searched through the messages, looking for any incriminating evidence of Jessica and her followers' bullying behavior.

As I scrolled through the chat history, my heart sank.

There were countless hurtful comments, mean-spirited jokes, and even photos and videos of the bullying incidents. Not even just me, some of them involved other students as well.

It was clear that Jessica and her followers had been tormenting multiple students, and they left behind a digital trail of their malicious actions. Their reign of hatred went beyond just me.

Armed with the screenshots, I quickly rejoined Lucas and James at our meeting spot. The three of us huddled together, and Lucas began to explain his plan.

"Before you start," I said, "I remembered something that could help us."

"If it's about the school's group chat, I thought of that first," James said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Bro." Lucas frowned at him. "I literally told you that was my plan!"

"Guys! Now is not the time to argue," I butted in, trying to save the conversation.

"Anyway," Lucas continued, "I called a bunch of news reporters to come to the school to expose this whole situation."

"You did what?!" James and I said at the same time.

"I called the news," Lucas explained like it wasn't a big deal.

"Wait, Lucas, you called the news without telling us?" James asked, incredulous.

"I didn't think you guys would be okay with it," Lucas replied, looking a bit sheepish. "But I knew we needed a way to make sure Jessica and her followers couldn't sweep this under the rug. The more attention this gets, the less likely they'll be able to get away with it."

"I get your intention, but this is going to be huge," I said, feeling a mix of anxiety and excitement. "The whole school, maybe even the entire town, is going to see this."

"That's the whole point, Shana," Lucas said firmly. "People need to know what's going on here. They can't just get away with bullying and tormenting others without any consequences. They need to pay for their actions."

"I actually agree with Lucas on this," James said. "Plus, I really want to see Jessica and all her followers go down. They've been making people's lives hell for far too long now. It's time for us to turn the tables on them."

Just then, I saw a van full of reporters pull up by the school gates. There were so many of them, I felt a sense of overwhelmingness take over me.

"How many news outlets did you contact?" I asked Lucas in a panic.

"As many as I could. At first, I didn't think they'd come," Lucas said, "but once I told them I was a Busch, they agreed to report on it."

"Using your status to win favors?" I asked Lucas, raising my brow inquisitively.

"I'm using my status for you," Lucas stated. "And it's worth it. It'll be worth it to see Jessica go down."

We walked over to the school gates where the reporters were standing.

"We're here to report on a bullying incident," one of the reporters said, holding a microphone up to a camera.

I saw several Omega girls speaking with the reporters, and to my astonishment, it was the same group that Jessica had forced to ask Lucas out to prom the other day.

I turned to Lucas in surprise and saw that he was wearing a mischievous grin on his face.