Class Villainess

"Wow, Elise, that's vicious, no wonder she hates your guts… nice," I complimented Elise for her ingenious idea. She really turned a very rough and somewhat messy plan into a good plan here.

It made me wonder if Elise had an experience of dealing with something like this in the past. Because she was just so well-versed. 

My suspicion grew. As someone who had experienced getting backstabbed in my previous life, I didn't want to experience the same thing after what happened. 

"Elise, may I ask something?"

"Hm? Do ask."

"You seem to be well prepared in this. I wonder if you have an experience of scheming someone before."

"Ah, that—I mean, you can say that…." Elise admitted. "But not exactly scheming, I don't think you need to know…."

This.

This was what I hated the most when someone sounded so wishy-washy about her own decision. Because it reminded me of Cerise and her weak-willed personality. 

She acted as the most bullied kid on earth but wouldn't even think twice about ditching you when someone tried to bribe her with something, even something as cheap as empty sweet words. 

"I can't work with someone who keeps a secret with me, you know. I'm here to help, but if I feel insecure because of something, that'd definitely affect our cooperation," I said ruthlessly. I refused to work with someone that might hurt me in the future. "That's why to be clear and honest, Elise."

Elise gasped and paused for a moment, "I'm sorry, I was just surprised. But if you want me to tell you, I can do that. It's just more embarrassing than scary…."

"Embarrassing?" I frowned. What kind of scheme would be embarrassing? I wouldn't call my previous schemes to take Kristen and Leah as embarrassing.

"I never actually scheme against anyone. It's just my imagination. I have animosity against anyone who hurt me. I just can't forget if anyone ridiculed or insulted me."

"That's why I kept making scenarios in my head and planned it intricately. While it's only a fake scenario, but it was enough to make me feel better about myself."

…

"O—Okay, I believe you now. No need to explain more," I said. Now I know why she was embarrassed because I was also like that in my previous life. Since I couldn't do anything against those bullies, I just made a fake scenario in my head, murdering them one by one like an edgy kid. 

When I recalled it again, I couldn't help but get embarrassed as well. Mostly because I was just a coward who couldn't do the real thing in real life.

"Okay, let's summarize our plan together," I mentioned. "So we will start by making a risky but highly rewarding request for those bastards. When those bastards finally accepted it, then we could set up a good place for the 'accident' to happen with that involuntary witness."

"After that involuntary witness saw something she shouldn't, then she'd probably freak out, and those bastards would be forced to chase that witness to beat her up and threatened her not to report this."

"And of course, it'll be our job to record everything and send it to the police and school board, making sure they would get expelled at least. Since they ruined my life, then they should be ruined as well," Elise added. She sounded so malicious, which I understood because she must have felt tormented by that physical and sexual assault. "I will not be relieved unless we can take down those bastards because they have ruined me, so I shall ruin them too!"

"How about that girl who paid those bastards to beat you up?" I asked. I didn't remember her name, but Mona mentioned her once. 

"Oh, you mean, Natasha?" 

"Ah, yes, that girl."

"She's kind of tricky, you know… because she is one of the popular girls in my batch right now, and she's allied with Barbie Cornwell. If we want to take her down, then we need to face Barbie too."

Oh perfect! Just absolutely perfect!

Because I also wanted to take Barbie down, that would be hitting two birds with one stone. 

It seemed that Elise hadn't realized the three bastards were allied with Barbie because they were all enamored by her beauty. 

So they would do anything for her. 

"Do you not know that Thomas, Jorge, and Jackson are all Barbie Cornwell's admirers?" I leaked it to her. I mean, she was literally in the same batch with Barbie and the rest of those people. How could she not know?

"Wait, they what?!" 

"I mean, I got it from rumors that Barbie has a lot of men around her, so it's not really surprising those stooges become her admirers as well." 

"I mean—I know she's popular and stuff, but I never heard about that—"

"I mean, the evidence is already clear, right?" I started creating a scenario in my head to influence Elise. I needed to make our interest aligned to take down Barbie as well. 

"Clear?"

"Yes, do you think those bastards would accept Natasha's request? Beating a girl and, even worse, sexually assaulting her is not an easy task. I bet they also have hesitation in their hearts," I said. This was a logical explanation. I doubted Natasha didn't get any external help. "From what I heard, even the smallest task needs 1000 dollars for them. Do you really think Natasha could get more than a thousand dollars easily?"

Of course, that last sentence was just a wild guess. I just remembered that nobody beat Leah and Ashley in terms of money. Of course, there were plenty of rich kids in my school, but nobody topped those two, even for our seniors. 

After Elise told me that Natasha and Barbie were close, I basically summarized it in my head. 

"You know, I suspect that Barbie Cornwell participated in this. I bet Natasha asked Barbie to convince those bastards to take the mission to beat you before. With Barbie asking them personally, I don't think Thomas, Jorge, and Jackson would refuse. She probably told them there would be more than just money from Natasha as a reward," I said, hinting that she might've used her body as a reward, maybe let them peek or at least kiss them. 

It was what Barbara 'Barbie' Cornwell did in my last life. From what I heard after they beat me up, they said they'd get a kiss from Barbie.

…

…

After listening to my assumption, Elise seemed to be in a shocking state. I waited until she opened her mouth again, and the first thing she said was, "That makes sense…."

"See? It does make perfect sense!" I convinced her. "Both Barbie and Natasha were accountable for your assault. They did it together to ruin you. That's why, if you want to make sure you will have a normal school life again, then we must take down Natasha and Barbie together."

I was hoping that Elise would agree immediately, but she actually hesitated, "Honestly, the reason why I only targeted those three bastards, because I don't think I can actually take Natasha and Barbie down. Natasha's Dad is a constant donator in the school, while Barbie has an army of boys behind her, ready to do her bidding."

"Oh, so you're afraid we cannot do it?" I asked. I got challenged by her statement. Because I had taken down someone as big as Leah before, I had enough confidence that I could do the same with those bastards. 

"How about this, Elise. We will see whether this mission of taking Thomas, Jorge and Jackson is successful or not. If it's not successful, then you can draw out of the mess, and I will take all accountability for what happened."

"But if it is a success, then promise to work together with me to take down Natasha and Barbie together.

I waited until Elise accepted the offer because my gut feeling was sad that Elise would be a great female partner-in-crime that might understand me more than Logan.

I mean, I liked Logan—not in romantic ways, of course. I just like how efficient and competent he was. 

But I also wanted someone who could connect with me on a personal level. 

…

…

"Emmy, why are you so eager for this revenge, and why do I feel like you're actually targeting Barbie here?" Elise suddenly asked.

I choked on air because what she said was absolutely shocking for me. Because she could perceive through my glib. 

Elise was definitely a good catch if I could take her on my side. She wasn't an idiot like Cerise. 

"What makes you think like that?" I challenged her. 

"Because from your voice, I could tell that you got fired up when talking about Barbie Cornwell. So that's why I assumed that you have a personal grudge against her.. That's why you want to make this a bridge for you to do it, am I right, Emmy?" Elise asked.