Chapter 79: ten steps ahead

"I will show you what’s in my bag, but Mr. Sandford, what consequences would the accuser get if I prove I didn’t steal anything?"

Penny’s voice, upon asking, was innocent and sweet. But everyone momentarily blanked as that didn’t cross their minds until now.

They were all so sure that Penny stole it with witnesses around. Moreover, everything was pointing in her direction.

Miss Sandford sighed because this was what she was thinking before Mr. Anderson barged in. Stealing was a big case and not something to be handled lightly. It was why she wanted Patricia to calm down, because if Patricia simply misplaced it, then she would also need to face the consequences of accusing an innocent student.

"Hah!" Mr. Anderson snorted. "Are you still saying you’re innocent when all the evidence points at you?"

"Mr. Anderson, the eyewitnesses only saw Patricia approach me to welcome me to the class. But no one saw me snatch anything from her. And also, that one eyewitness who saw me last Friday stay in the classroom didn’t see me anywhere near Patricia’s desk." Penny frowned while everyone knitted their brows.

The eyewitness scratched the back of his head and said, "Well, that’s kinda true. I only saw her in the classroom, but she was just at her desk."

Even so, that also didn’t clear up Penny’s name.

"Are you saying you’re not the thief, but someone else?!" Patricia grumbled. "Impossible! Why are you still haggling?! Just show us your bag or your desk if you’re really innocent!"

"Penny, if you’re innocent, then we’d know if it’s not in there," Nina chimed in worriedly. "Moreover, you’re wasting everyone’s time here. We should be studying, but we cannot because you kept stalling."

Hearing Nina’s remarks, the student’s faces darkened.

"That’s true. We should be having our class now, but she’s wasting everyone’s time."

"Even if she stalls, did she think she will salvage the situation?"

"Goodness. How shameless."

"Well, I’m not the one wasting everyone’s time. After all, I am being dragged through the mud. This is slander and even if I proved my name, the emotional distress of being accused may affect my studies. I’m sure the headmaster will not tolerate something like this if he heard that one of his students was accused wrongly, and the accuser got away from it without consequences." This time, Penny’s tone grew firm as she gazed straight at Mr. Anderson. "Mr. Anderson, since you’re a senior teacher, the headmaster surely trusts you to handle this case before it reaches the administration."

Mr. Anderson’s face contorted as he assessed Penny from head to toe. ’She didn’t have evidence to prove her innocence, did she?’

Even if the necklace wasn’t in Penny’s bag, that wouldn’t prove she didn’t do it. In his mind, since the incident happened last week, he could simply use the argument she probably didn’t bring it to school. Glancing at the aggrieved Patricia Miller, Mr. Anderson raised his chin high.

’I can’t disappoint her when I just applied to the Miller’s to be their children’s tutors.’

"There’s no need for the headmaster to be involved in this! Of course, there will be consequences for Miss Miller if she’s wrong!" Mr. Anderson exclaimed, giving Patricia a meaningful look. "She will have disciplinary action!"

Patricia frowned in displeasure, but seeing Mr. Anderson give her a reassuring look, she calmed down. ’There’s no need to be scared. She has it,’ because Patricia was the one who put the necklace in Penny’s drawer early this morning. She came to school earlier than usual just for this, after all.

"A disciplinary action?" Penny nodded in understanding. "That’s not bad."

Being thirteen, consequences like this were already heavy. It was the first offense, so she expected it to be light. The punishment wasn’t Penny’s goal, after all. But it was to discredit Patricia, so next time she does this, her credibility won’t be as strong as this one.

"Alright!" Penny smiled and faced the class president. "President, it’s not in my bag."

"That’s for us to judge. Take off your bag."

Penny shook her head. "It’s on my desk."

"Huh?"

"Look. It should be there." Penny urged and pointed at her desk.

"Hah! So, you did steal it, huh?!" Mr. Anderson harrumphed while Penny stepped aside to give way to the class president.

All their classmates also glared at Penny, as this was, for them, a form of confession. Even Miss Sandford frowned, but unlike everyone, she was confused at Penny’s plans.

"Is this the necklace?" the class president held the necklace up.

"That’s it! That’s my necklace!" Patricia yelled, and everyone’s frown deepened even more.

"She did steal it."

"Gosh. I don’t feel safe in this classroom anymore."

"How could a thief be proud of what she did?"

"She really is shameless."

Hearing all of these hushed comments, Nina looked around and bit her inner bottom lips. Deep inside, she was more than satisfied at the turn of events.

’Serves her right!’ Nina mentally sneered. ’Well, even if she didn’t do it, she’s a thief for stealing my life. I’ll definitely tell my brothers and my parents about this. Hah! Let’s see if they can still see you as their precious daughter.’

"That’s it!" Mr. Anderson erupted. "You come with me quick! I’ll punish you myself. How could you steal other people’s stuff, huh? Do you think this is a place where you can bring your bad upbringing?!"

Just as those words slipped past Mr. Anderson’s mouth, the class president noticed this strange paint on her fingers. "Huh, what’s this?" she studied the necklace and saw that the necklace had remnants of the same red paint.

"What’s this smell?" the class president sniffed the necklace. "It smells like ink."

"I’m glad you noticed!" Penny smiled and pretended to tip her imaginary glasses to look smarter. "Teacher, the reason I stayed last Friday is that I am decorating my drawers to make them look pretty! So when my classmate saw me, I was painting my drawers with ink!"

Everyone furrowed their brows while Mr. Anderson scoffed.

"So what if that’s what you did?" he sneered. "That doesn’t change the fact that you stole Patricia’s necklace."

"Mr. Anderson, I didn’t steal it. Miss President, I’m sorry that your hands are now tainted, but since it’s already come to this, can you please check my desk and the drawers? Used a flashlight to see it better." Penny asked, and the president nodded.

The class president called for one of the class officers and they quickly came to help. They moved the chair and flashed the drawers some light for the president to inspect.

"Huh?" the class president furrowed her brows as she noticed something.

"Miss President, what did you see?" Penny asked, and the president looked up at her.

"There were some more things inside."

"And?"

"From their position, there weren’t any red inks. It was as though it was painted without moving them, so there weren’t any inks underneath them."

Penny nodded in satisfaction. "How about the place where the necklace was placed?"

The president gazed down again, only to see her own fingerprint. Seeing this, she quickly understood Penny’s argument.

"There’s an ink to where I found it," she said and the entire class went silent. "It looks like someone just put it there."

Everyone was confused, although they grasped the conversation.

Penny, on the other hand, nodded in satisfaction. "Patricia, have you seen your hand?"

"Patricia’s hand?" someone in class murmured and they all inevitably gazed down at Patricia’s hand. They instantly caught some red ink on the back of her hand and some on her fingers. She even had it on her skirt and some on the hem of her blouse.

Patricia quickly looked at her hand, and her complexion instantly paled.

"I wonder..." Penny hummed while tapping her chin. "... how did you get that ink in your hand, Patricia? Did you touch my things? Or... are you the thief we’ve all been looking for?"