Chapter 42: Finding an easy target

"Okay, class. This is your new classmate. I know it’s almost at the end of the year, but be nice to her, alright?" the homeroom teacher announced before casting the headmaster a look. When her eyes were on the adorable little girl, she smiled.

"Please introduce yourself."

Penny nodded and stepped in the front. "My name is Penelope. You can call me Penny. Let’s get along well."

The class assessed the girl, who seemed to be just ten. She was short, but also very wide. One could tell she spent most of her time in the kitchen. But aside from her appearance and weird match of clothing colors, the students instinctively thought of her family name, Reed.

Was there a family in the upper echelon named Reed?

"Penny, you may take a seat over there." The homeroom teacher pointed at the vacant chair in the farthest corner before facing the headmaster.

As Penny marched to her seat, the teacher politely walked out to the headmaster.

Eyes remained on Penny’s figure even after she sat down. When she glanced at her classmates, the students didn’t even look away, as if they wanted Penny to know they were assessing her value.

’Hmp. Kids.’ Penny ignored them and placed her purple backpack on the desk.

"That’s her?" Patricia smiled in satisfaction. Her initial worry was that the transferee was pretty. But seeing this chubby girl, she felt at ease. However, suddenly, she furrowed her brows.

"Why does she look so familiar?" she murmured.

Nina, on the other hand, peeled her gaze from Penny. ’She used the surname Reed.’

"Oh, Nina, you’re here?"

Nina froze as she felt everyone’s eyes fall on her. Her little face slightly twitched as she slowly glanced at Penny.

Nina offered a kind smile to Penny but said nothing. She didn’t want any interaction with Penny because then her friends would ask how she knew her.

"How did you know Nina?" Patricia blurted out, and Nina froze.

Penny blinked as her eyes veered to the girl next to Nina. She blinked and blinked before her eyes slowly widened.

’The crazy girl!’

Patricia arched a brow the second Penny’s face formed in terror. "Why are you..." she trailed off, as her mouth fell open while her pupils dilated. She pointed a finger at Penny and gasped. "That’s you!"

"Huh?" Nina, who was nervous at Penny’s answer to Patricia’s inquiry, furrowed her brows. "You know her?"

"Hah! Of course! How can I forget that very wide face!" Patricia hissed as she crossed her arms. "Nina, she’s the one I told you about."

"The one who spilled juice on your limited-edition Chanel shoes?"

Patricia snorted, glaring at Penny. But right before she could continue her anger, she heard the sliding door open, followed by their homeroom teacher.

"Okay, class. Get back on your respective seats..."

"Mhmp!" Patricia rolled her eyes at Penny and stormed back into her seat.

Nina, who was observing Patricia, couldn’t help but heave a sigh of relief. As for Penny, her face twitched, and she made a mental note not to associate herself with a troublesome girl like Patricia.

’That girl is friends with Nina?’ Penny scrunched up her nose in dismay. ’Goodness. What a taste in friends. How did that girl enter the top section? She didn’t look very reasonable.’

Penny shook her head, thinking she didn’t remember Patricia from her first life. Though she remembered Nina having a friend named Patricia, she couldn’t remember her face as a young lady. After all, when Penny got into this school in her first lifetime, she often kept her head down.

Penny didn’t have so many good memories in her first life, so she only focused on the important things and certain people.

’Whatever. It’s not like I plan to compete with anyone in this class.’ She already planned to move up and graduate early. The only reason she was here today was because of Slater.

’It’s still too early for recess and lunchtime.’ Penny cupped her chubby cheeks and gazed at the window on the side. ’That’s Slater’s building. I wonder what that stubborn coward is doing.’

Penny was quiet and did her best not to garner too much attention throughout the classes. No one also bothered her, although her classmate’s eyes would constantly fall on her every once in a while.

When the first bell for recess rang, Penny quickly took her bag with her and left the room first.

"She’s leaving so quickly?" one of the classmates followed Penny’s figure.

One of the girls laughed. "She’s probably excited to eat."

"Hey, don’t pick on her. Didn’t you see the headmaster walked her in here personally?"

The other girl went quiet and clicked her tongue.

"Hah! That piglet is running to the cafeteria to eat. What a glutton." Patricia hissed aloud, not caring if the headmaster walked her in here. "She hadn’t even apologized for what that brat did."

"Patricia, don’t mind her," said Nina, thinking if Patricia pick on Penny, she’ll eventually find out about the situation in the Bennet household. "How about we eat something first?"

Patricia snapped her tongue and looked at the meek Nina. "Nina, you are always so kind to others. It’s not good if people take advantage of you!"

Nina just smiled. "I’m not that kind, and who would take advantage of me?"

"Hmp! Nevermind. I don’t want to buy something and see that piglet!" Patricia whistled to one of the students in the corner. "Hey, you! Didn’t you hear the school bell?!"

The student with the short bob-cut hair that only reached under her earlobe flinched. She pushed her glasses up, reluctantly getting away from her desk to Nina and Patricia.

Patricia crossed her arms as she glared at the petite young girl in front of her. "What’s the use of being smart when you don’t even use your head? Go. Buy us some snacks."

The student’s mouth opened and closed before her meek voice came out quietly. "Patricia, I don’t have any more allowances..."

"Useless!" Patricia picked up anything on the desk and threw it at the girl. The pen hit the girl’s temple, but all she did was tremble and shrink in fear. "What a loser. The scholarship thing this school offers should be banned since it wastes the family donations to finance a loser like you."

"Patricia, don’t be like that." Nina frowned and quickly approached the student. "Ginnie, are you okay?"

Ginnie, the girl with bob hair, looked up at the angelic face, looking at her with worry. Unlike Patricia’s explosive temperament, Nina was the opposite.

"I — I’m alright." Ginne hung her head low, hoping Nina would stop Patricia this time. But much to her dismay, she saw a folded bill in front of her.

When she looked up, Nina offered her a kind smile.

"Take this and buy her something," said Nina kindly. "Patricia isn’t in a good mood because of the transfer student. I don’t want her to vent her anger on you."

Ginnie pursed her lips and looked down to hide the thin layer of tears coating her eyes. What was she hoping for? She reluctantly took the money and dragged her feet to buy these girls some snacks.

Patricia wasn’t appeased, though. She looked at Nina with a deep frown as the latter sat down again.

"Why would you give her the money?"

Nina kindly smiled and said quietly, "Patricia, Ginnie has been helping you with your school and even during the exam. If she drops out, who will help you with your studies?"

Patricia frowned, but she understood Nina was simply doing her a favor. Pushing Ginnie so much, she might voluntarily drop out. If that happened, Patricia would fall back from the star section. Even so, Patricia was prejudiced against scholars as she saw them as freeloaders.

"Nina, that piglet..." she looked at Nina, intrigued. "Do you think she can replace Ginnie?"