Chapter 6: Cornered in the Classroom
She started explaining, painting Jamie as the saint and me as the villain.
"I heard she loves doing good deeds. But is she really as nice as she acts?"
"Maybe she’s just pretending. Small stuff is easy, but helping at the group home is real work. She’s just looking out for herself."
"Maddie, you need to prove you’re not just a poser. Jamie’s always so good to everyone—aren’t you just making her look bad?"
Classmates crowded in, voices rising, all demanding I sign the volunteer form.
I glanced at the faces of people I’d helped before. Now, they watched me like I was the star of some twisted reality show.
I braced myself.
"I said I need to keep up with the new curriculum. I don’t have time to volunteer. It’s not about being scared of hard work."
"If you care so much, and you’ve got time, why don’t you do it? Why make me?"
My anger left them speechless, the crowd shrinking back a little.
Jamie was caught off guard too. She’d always pegged me as the pushover, never expecting me to fight back.
Seeing I wasn’t budging, she didn’t dare push the class any further. For now, she was out of moves.
"Guys, don’t blame Maddie. Her grandpa always expected her to be something special. She’s got a lot going on. I get it."
"Let’s head back to our desks. It’s on me—I just wanted to help. Volunteering gets you service hours, but when others asked, I told them to wait for next time."
Her words only made me look worse. The crowd’s glare burned through me.
But I didn’t care. After graduation, none of this would matter.
Out of nowhere, Jamie grabbed my hand and tried to force the pen into my grip so I’d sign.
My stomach dropped. Did a signature count too?
I jerked my hand back, knocking the form aside, and shouted:
"Jamie, what part of ‘no’ don’t you understand? Do you want my signature now?"










