Chapter 17

Judy’s POV

I went to the student lounge after my morning class. I just finished taking an exam and I was completely beaten. I was pleased to see Nan seated near the window, snaking on a pop tart and studying. When I approached her, she looked up from her book and smiled.

“Hey,” she said, sliding an iced coffee across the table. “I got you some caffeine.”

“You are a lifesaver,” I said, taking the coffee and sitting in the seat across from hers. I took a large sip of the coffee and sighed in contentment.

“What happened to you last night? I thought you were going to call me?” She asked, closing her book.

I groaned as I took another sip of the coffee.

“Sorry, I kind of ran a bit behind last night. When I got home, I crashed immediately,” I told her.

She raised her brows.

“What were you doing that caused you to be so tired?”

I knew I had to be careful with what I said to Nan. The contract that Gavin made me sign stated that I’m not to mention him by name or whom I’m tutoring. Gavin and his family were famous in the werewolf world and if people knew that I was working for him, it could cause issues. I trusted Nan, but I also couldn’t risk breaking the contract. This job was good money, and I couldn’t lose it.

“I got a job,” I told her.

“A job?” She asked. “What kind of job?”

“As a tutor,” I answered. “I’m tutoring a boy from the neighboring pack. It’s good money and it’ll help my family out a lot.”

“That’s awesome, Judy!” She gushed. “Tutoring is a perfect job for you. There isn’t anything you can’t do.”

I laughed.

“You are being so extra,” I chuckled.

She rolled her eyes, but I could see the playfulness on her face.

“As if,” she replied. “Name one thing you can’t do.”

I thought about it for a moment.

“I’m not great at knitting,” I confessed.

She burst into laughter and shook her head.

“But you can still do it even if you aren’t great at it,” she retorted.

I laughed with her.

Goddess, it was good to laugh with my best friend and pretend everything was normal for once.

Too bad that didn’t last long because soon, we were joined by none other than Carol and her entourage.

I had known Carol since middle school; at one point, we were friends. But then I beat her in the spelling bee, and she grew hateful. She’s been my archenemy since. We’ve always competed for the top spot throughout our schooling years and now that we are in college, things haven’t changed.

Carol was stunning; she had a model’s body and a rocket scientist's brain. She had long curly locks of blonde hair and ocean-blue eyes with long dark lashes. Her full lips were always glossy pink, and she wore a little blush on her upper cheekbones to highlight her features. She always wore designer clothes that her mother, Natasha Declaire, a famous fashion designer, created.

She was the total package in the eyes of men; too bad she was a total bitch.

“Hey, Judy,” she sneered, stopping in front of our table. Her friends stopped with her and glared at us like we were nothing but bugs they had just stepped on.

“Carol,” I greeted, my tone dry.

“Heard you got rejected by your fated mate. What did you do to make him dump you?” She asked, putting her hands on her hips.

Her friends chuckled.

“Werewolves never reject their fated mate unless something crucial happened,” I heard one of her friends laughing.

“Judy must have done something really bad to chase Ethan away,” another one of her friends added, also laughing.

“That’s not any of your business, Carol,” I told her through my teeth.

“Don’t you have better things to do?” Nan asked, folding her arms across her chest. “Aren’t we a little too old for that mean girl act?”

“And if it isn’t Nan the invisible sidekick,” Carol muttered before turning back to me. “I also heard your father is in prison because he owes a lot of money. It’s really shameful for your family. How are you ever going to pay for your next semester at college with your family going bankrupt and all?”

“Are you just trying to make up for the fact that I’ve beaten you for the top student spot again this year by attacking my personal life?” I asked her, narrowing my eyes.

Her eyes grew wide, not expecting that I would hit her where it hurt the most. Her face grew pale, and her friends were also silent.

Nan sat back in her seat looking proud.

“It won’t last,” Carol muttered. “Soon enough, I’ll knock you off your high horse. Let’s go girls.”

She turned, her hair whipping around her shoulders, and then she walked off with her friends trailing behind her. As soon as she was out of sight, I let out the breath I hadn’t known I was holding.

“That was awesome,” Nan laughed. “Did you see her face?”

“I have a feeling she’s going to get me back some other way,” I murmured.

“Speaking of top students, are you going to the award ceremony for top students tomorrow? The winner gets a full scholarship for next year.”

I completely forgot about that ceremony; I was sent an invitation weeks ago but with everything going on, I completely spaced it.

“Yeah, I guess I must. I could definitely use that scholarship.” I glanced at the clock across the room and sighed. “I have to get to my second class. I’ll see you later, Nan.”

“Bye!”

After I was done with class, I stood outside in the parking lot and was about to call for an Uber to take me home. I wanted to change before I went to Gavin’s house for the tutoring session, but before I could pull up the Uber app, a luxurious car pulled up in front of me. I gasped at the fast movement and then the window rolled down.

I immediately recognized Leroy.

“Good afternoon, Miss Montague. I was sent to pick you up for work,” he said, unlocking the back door.

I smiled at him, feeling a bit uneasy over the fact that he had come to my school to pick me up.

“Thanks,” I said as I slid into the car.

As I shut the door, I paused for a moment, I couldn’t help but feel I was being watched. I brushed the thought out of my mind as the car pulled away from the school.

….

Third Person POV

It made no sense as to how that bitch got so much confidence! How dare she speak to Carol in such a way. Her friends trailed after her after she left the student lounge, but once Carol got outside, she turned to them and narrowed her eyes.

“Leave me,” she ordered, putting her hand up to halt their steps.

“W…what?” One of them asked. “Why?”

“I need to be alone,” Carol said, folding her arms across her chest. “Leave.”

They pouted, but they knew better than to argue with Carol. They soon left, leaving Carol alone with her thoughts. Carol walked around the campus; she had no other classes, and she was thinking about returning to her on-campus suite for a bubble bath. She needed to rid her mind of every thought of Judy.

As Carol walked through the campus and towards the dorms, she paused when she saw a familiar figure sitting in the quad. They had a dark hoodie pulled over their face and a smile spread across Carol’s lips as their eyes met from across the campus.

She knew this person as a friend, and she had known them for quite a while. She also knew that this friend couldn’t stand Judy. She straightened her posture as she walked across the campus and towards this friend.

“Judy is so annoying,” Carol muttered as she sat beside her friend in the quad. “You’ll never believe what she said to me. She had the nerve to insinuate that she was smarter than me.”

“What did you expect?” Her friend mustered. “She’s always been on a high horse. That’s one of the reasons I can’t stand her.”

“What are you even doing out here?” Carol asked, staring at her friend with a pointed expression. “You never hang out on the quad. Isn’t this beneath your scene? Or so you always say.”

Her friend rolled their eyes and sighed.

“I was actually waiting for you.”

Carol raised her brows.

“For what reason?”

“Because I need your help,” they said, turning so they were facing Carol completely. “I need whatever dirt you can find on Judy; can you do that?”

“And how do you expect me to do that?” She asked. “It’s public knowledge that she was rejected, and her family went bankrupt.”

Her friend nodded thoughtfully.

“There must be more information. Something we are overlooking. There’s no way she’s that good at everything. She’s up to something and I need you to find out what it is.”

“And what’s in it for me?” Carol asked, raising her brows.

Her friend smirked.

“Because if we play our cards right, we could get rid of Judy once and for all. Then, you’d be the top student,” her friend replied.

Carol’s eyes lit up.

“I like the way you think,” she said with a wink. “I’m in. I’ll follow her after school and see what she’s really up to.”

After she parted ways with her friend, she noticed Judy walking out of the academic center. She was typing away on her phone, concentrating, when a luxury car pulled up in front of her. Carol hid around the corner upon seeing Judy and her brows furrowed when she noticed Judy talking to someone in the car.

Carol held her breath when Judy opened the back door and slid into the back seat, shutting the door behind her.

That car was a low-key Rolls-Royce Phantom!

How did she manage such a ride even though her family was bankrupt?!

Carol screamed internally.

It was no wonder she still strutted around with all that confidence!!