University of Wonderland

Chapter Sixty-Three

When I arrived at the mock-trial - held in the music room - Kim Hyuna was relaxing at the music teacher's desk, leaning all the way back. She shot me a triumphant smile. Sickness swirled in my stomach. She was probably the start witness, with her photographic evidence against me. Evidence I futilely hoped was peacock bravado and not, you know, real.

Rows of chairs covered each level of three platforms carpeted in gray. Music stands in the back fenced off all of the instrument from the visiting students. Not very courtroom-like.

I tried my best to keep my posture straight and my face blank, like this was just another school assembly. Students stood between the filled seats while some occupied others' laps, all watching me with curious expressions. Do something shocking enough and everyone wants to pay attention to you. But then again, D-list idols had already figured out that particular key to popularity long ago. Everyone wanted to watch a mistake; it made them feel better about their own mistakes.

"Looks like the queen is on her throne." Sulli rolled her eyes at Hyuna.

"What if . . . what if she gets me expelled?" I played with my fingers.

"An eye for an eye." Sulli smiled.

Principal Yoon stood by the grand piano next to the teacher's desk tapping her pen impatiently against a notebook. I approached her. "Where should I go?"

"Nowhere yet. We don't have a verdict." She uncapped her pen and wrote something on the page. No ink came out. She lifted the pen and shook it against her ear. Her eyes met Sulli's. "Are you acting as her lawyer? Otherwise, I'm going to have to ask you to take a seat in the -"

"I'm a witness."

I loved the way Sulli spoke with such confidence; it was almost impossible to question her, even when she was making up her own rules.

"Witness?" Principal Yoon clicked her tongue. "Fine." She dug the pen into the page and etched then name like a bas-relief. "Why don't you sit behind Kim Hyuna on the floor and wait for her to call you to the stand?"

"Wait, is she the . . . judge?" The blood drained from my face. I'd always thought that school would benefit my future, but I was starting to wonder if maybe they didn't have my best interests at heart.

"I certainly can't be the judge. Mock trial is a student-run organization," Principal Yoon said, like that made any sense.

"Hyuna can't be impartial. She's the one accusing me."

"Well, she's the leader of the mock trial." Principal Yoona smiled and then walked - or perhaps flew - over to Hyuna.

If only I were naked; then I could've written this off as a nightmare.

"This is ridiculous!" My voice was so loud most f the students turned to me. I paced a two-foot tread on the carpet. "It's nonsense! I should -"

"Calm down." Sulli lowered herself to the floor behind Hyuna's desk and pulled me down with her.

I pressed my back stiff against the wall, using it like a stretched, anything to keep me supported and steady and not jittery. Tears ands a grand attempt to break through my eyes. Awesome. Crybabies only got sympathy when they were still young enough to actually deserve the term.

"This is good." Sulli said. "We can use this to our advantage."

I took a deep breath and decided to trust Sulli. After all, I had no other option right now. At least Hyuna's desk kept me hidden from the swelling audience. My future of gliding-through-college-undetected was fading under the cold gaze of my classmates.