True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee Episode 19

📖 The Story Continues

True Heiress vs. Fake Queen Bee — Episode 19

Mr. Dalton pointed Hailey toward the station beside Candice before either girl could object. “You’ll be partners,” he said, already moving down the list. Their simultaneous refusal made several students laugh. The teacher ignored both and instructed everyone to put on goggles.

Candice dropped onto the stool as though manual effort were beneath her. “Unbelievable,” she muttered, looking at Hailey with disgust. “I’m stuck with the freak.” She pushed the worksheet across the table without reading it and told Hailey to begin.

Hailey glanced toward CeCe, who had been paired with another careful student across the room. After the hallway confrontation, she would have preferred keeping her friend close. Instead, a tray of reactive chemicals now sat between her and the person most likely to use carelessness as another weapon. She fastened her goggles and reviewed the instructions twice.

Candice leaned back with folded arms. When Hailey asked her to measure the first solution, she refused. “You do the work. I watch,” she said, enunciating each word as though speaking to a servant. Gail laughed from the next station.

“Do I need to use smaller words?” Candice added. The insult carried echoes of the way she spoke about Dedra, though Hailey had not yet confirmed their relationship. It revealed a contempt for labor that no genuine Kaplan had taught. Frank respected the employees who kept their world functioning and expected Hailey to do the same.

Hailey set down the graduated cylinder. She told Candice she could conduct the experiment herself. Hailey would rather accept a failing grade than carry someone who contributed nothing and claimed all the credit. The statement drew attention from nearby groups.

Candice’s face tightened. Being refused in public had become intolerable since the dodgeball game. She called Hailey a thrift-store reject and said manual labor was what people like her were built for. Unless Hailey wanted her future to become even more pathetic, she should complete the assignment alone.

Hailey turned the worksheet toward Candice and invited her to test that theory. “Or what?” she asked when Candice threatened her. “Are you going to run crying to Daddy?” The reference to Frank made Hailey’s anger rise again.

Candice smiled cruelly and added, “Oh, wait. He’s not actually your daddy, is he?” She had stolen Hailey’s father before the entire school and now used that theft to deny their relationship. The casual violation landed harder than the surrounding insults. Hailey’s hand tightened around the edge of the table.

She warned Candice that she had no idea whom she was dealing with. Candice leaned forward until only the laboratory stand separated them and replied that neither did Hailey. The words carried more fear than certainty. Each girl knew the other possessed information capable of destruction.

Mr. Dalton called from the front of the room for everyone to proceed to the second step. Other groups began combining their measured solutions. Hailey looked down and discovered Candice had already poured one liquid into the flask while they argued. The amount was far above the marked line.

“What did you do?” Hailey demanded. Candice shrugged and claimed she was only helping, though satisfaction flickered in her expression. Whether the mistake was deliberate or careless, admitting fault did not interest her. She reached for the next container.

Hailey caught her wrist before she could pour. The instructions required the second substance to be added one drop at a time after the mixture cooled. The flask was already warming against the stand. Tiny bubbles formed along the glass.

Candice pulled free, knocking the dropper from Hailey’s hand. It struck the rim, releasing a stream of reagent into the mixture. A sharp hiss rose from the flask. Both girls froze as the liquid changed color far faster than the demonstration indicated.

CeCe looked over from her station. She saw vapor curling above the glass and called Hailey’s name in warning. Mr. Dalton was helping a group at the far end, his back turned. Around them, students continued working, unaware of the reaction accelerating in the center of the room. The ordinary classroom chatter made the danger feel even more surreal, as though disaster were gathering behind a curtain no one else could see.

Hailey reached for the heatproof tongs. Candice slapped her hand away and accused her of ruining the experiment. She insisted the noise was normal and refused to attract the teacher’s attention. A bad grade threatened her image more than a danger she did not understand.

The flask rattled against the metal clamp. Pressure swelled beneath the stopper, making it rise and settle like a pulse. Hailey remembered the safety instructions and searched for the nearest emergency shield. It stood three feet away, blocked by Candice’s bag.

“Move your things,” Hailey ordered. Candice refused, still arguing that the problem belonged to her partner. Hailey shoved the bag aside and dragged the shield toward the station. The hissing deepened into a high, unstable whine.

Mr. Dalton finally turned. His expression changed when he saw the vapor, but the crowded room stood between him and the flask. He shouted for no one to touch it. Several students looked up, confused, while Gail stepped closer to see.

Hailey watched a thin crack appear near the base of the glass. Heat rippled above the table, and the stopper bulged against its seal. There was no longer time to identify blame or salvage the experiment. She grabbed Candice’s arm and said the only thing that mattered: “It’s going to blow.”