When Ava escaped from the nightclub and returned home, it was almost seven o'clock in the morning.
Realizing that her brother had gone to school by himself, she quickly changed into a casual dress regardless of her exhausted body and rushed to the school campus.
However, just as she arrived at the school gate, the alarm on her phone rang, indicating the start of the lecture class.
When she arrived at the lecture hall, she saw the teaching assistant, talking to a student but stopped when he saw her. "Ava, what happened to you? You've never been this late before, why?"
Ava bowed her head and apologized. "I'm sorry, Mr. Smiths. Something important came up at home. I'm so sorry."
"This is the Midwood. We have rules and regulations set in stones. When you know you have something to do at home, why didn't you ask for leave of absence? For someone on scholarship, you shouldn't have come late at all. You know this college never allowed any bad academic behavior from anyone."
"I promise that this won't happen again, Mr. Smiths." Ava felt so aggrieved that she couldn't express it in words. She stood there as the teaching assistant criticized her.
The Midwood College was one of the best and most acclaimed institutions of higher learning. If any student had a bad study behaviors or made costly mistakes which drew negative attentions or comments from the outside world, he or she would be suspended, or even expelled from the school.
That was the law of the school.
That was why the credits and requirements for admission into the school were the strictest in the country, so Ava never allowed herself to make any mistakes since she enrolled on scholarship.
The students in the lecture room crossed their fingers and looked on as the teaching assistant was questioning Ava.
Although they couldn't hear what was being said, most of them appeared to be having fun, except for a couple of them which included Tristan Kelleway, who looked at Ava with concerned eyes.
Tristan stood up, excused himself, and walked out of the lecture room, closing the door behind him. "Hello, Mr. Smiths. I didn't want to intervene, but you know Ava is never like that. Why don't you just let it go, instead of sending her to the provost for suspension?"
Ava was surprised to see the gentle Tristan, actually pleading with the head teacher for her.
Tristan was the son of the powerful president of the Titan Group of Companies and the biggest shareholder in the school finances. So the teaching assistant had to be courteous to him. Moreover, he was in good grace of most of the lecturers.
There was nothing more he could say at this point, but to give Tristan his due and let the matter go mildly. "Well, since Mr. Kelleway spoke on your behalf, I'll let it go this time, but you'll have to sit out the lecture. And don't let it happen next time,"
When Ava heard that the head teacher would only give her a minor punishment, she quickly thanked. "Thank you, Mr. Smiths. I promise."
Tristan looked at Ava tenderly, sighed and walked back into the lecture room.
Ava, sitting in the waiting room, burst into tears that she had been holding back for a long time.
Her life couldn't be more miserable than now, could it? Not only was her innocence taken away from her overnight, she almost put her degrees in jeopardy. Why did misfortune keep falling on her?
After the lecture was over, Tristan found Ava and pulled her to the quieter side, and asked anxiously. "Ava, what's wrong? I've never seen you come late before. What happened, is it about your brother?"
"No." Ava knew that Tristan was worried about her, so she shook her head and said. "I was just too tired after working my shift last night, so I took a nap. By the time I woke up, time was already gone." She didn't dare to tell him the truth, so she could only lie to him.
"Hey, don't you think this night shift stuff is a bit too much for you? You know you have to come to school in the morning no matter what. I understand your situation, but you have to do something about it, you know." Hearing the words of Ava, Tristan felt very distressed for her.
He knew she was really a hard-working girl who had to cater for herself and her brother, so he couldn't help but be worried for her.