Chapter 5: The VIP Turnaround

For a moment, the crowd was silent. Then everyone burst out laughing.

They looked at me with scorn, voices rising:

"The organizer gave you tickets? Maddie, who do you think you are? Are you rich, or well-connected? There are plenty of influential kids in our class—even Derek didn't get a ticket from the organizer. Why you?"

Her words drew a crowd. On one side, the girls were decked out in designer clothes; on the other, I stood there in my school hoodie. No matter how you looked at it, my story seemed absurd.

The homeroom teacher looked like he wished he could disappear. Derek wouldn't even look at me, as if my presence offended him.

Backed by the crowd, the girls grew bolder. One snatched my ticket out of my hand.

"Tickets like this are trash. Let me help you get rid of it."

She tore the ticket in half like it was a losing lottery scratcher. As I stared, a bit stunned, she leaned in and whispered:

"Let's see how you get in now. Still dreaming of getting close to Derek? Are you even worthy?"

Then she shoved me, hard.

I took a deep breath, finally at my limit, ready to snap back.

At that moment, the commotion caught the attention of the staff. The venue manager approached with several workers.

"What's going on here?"

The homeroom teacher rushed to explain: "Sorry, my student tried to scalp tickets, but we've handled it."

Scalpers are the lowest of the low at events like this.

The manager's face turned cold. He walked over, ready to throw me out. "Please leave."

The crowd cheered.

I met his eyes, jaw tight. Enough was enough. I pulled an invitation letter from my backpack. "And who are you to tell me to leave?"

The paper in my hand shook a little, but my voice stayed even. If there was ever a moment to stand my ground, it was now.