CHAPTER 293: CHAPTER 293: MISUNDERSTANDING ELEANOR?

Without another word, she turned on her heel and walked away, hoping to shake off the unease that had settled in her chest.

As Eleanor walked away, Olivia rolled her eyes and was about to continue with her sketching when she suddenly felt something slippery underfoot. Her foot landed directly on the banana peel Eleanor had carelessly thrown aside.

’No!’ Olivia tried to catch her balance, but it was too late. Her feet slipped out from under her, and with a surprised gasp, she found herself falling, straight into the river.

Eleanor, watching from behind, couldn’t help but smile, thinking that this was the moment she had been waiting for.

But the smile quickly faded when she saw that Olivia didn’t go under the water.

She had fallen on the edge, landing on the grass near the riverbank.

Eleanor’s excitement crashed, and she stood there, her hands clenched at her sides in frustration. ’Why didn’t she fall in?!’

Olivia stood up slowly, brushing herself off. She was wet, but the fall hadn’t been as dramatic as Eleanor had hoped.

Eleanor was cursing Olivia in her heart for being too careful now.

’Why didn’t she fall all the way in?’ she thought angrily.

’How is Mateo supposed to show his caring side if she didn’t even need help? Ugh!’ Her hands clenched tightly. She felt so furious, she actually wanted to slap Olivia.

On the other hand, several students ran toward Olivia to check if she was okay.

"Are you hurt?" one girl asked, looking really worried.

Olivia stood up slowly and brushed the grass off her skirt. "I’m fine. Just a little wet," she said calmly.

"How did you trip?" Someone from the crowd asked, and Olivia’s eyes fell on the banana peel on the on side.

Someone followed the direction she was looking and pointed at the ground. "Wait, isn’t that a banana peel?"

Everyone followed the finger and saw the peel lying right next to where Olivia had slipped.

"Who is the one who had littered here?"

"Indeed! And they were even so clueless that they threw a banana peel near the riverside. See, now Olivia almost fell into the pond!"

Their eyes slowly scanned around, confused at first, until one boy suddenly said,

"Hey! I saw Eleanor eating a banana just a few minutes ago!"

All eyes turned toward Eleanor.

Eleanor blinked, forcing a smile on her face. "Oh! Maybe I dropped it by mistake. I’ll pick it up right now."

But this time, the crowd wasn’t buying it.

One girl shouted, "Are you serious? You just left it there?"

Another boy added, "It’s not just about littering! Olivia could’ve gotten hurt or worse!"

"Yeah! What if she had hit her head or fallen into the river?! That’s so dangerous!"

"Eleanor’s always acting fake sweet, but now it’s clear," someone whispered loudly.

"She’s jealous that Mateo likes Olivia. That’s why she did it!"

"No, I didn’t!" Eleanor cried, shaking her head, her eyes filling with tears. "I swear, I didn’t mean for her to fall! It was just a mistake!"

But the crowd didn’t feel sorry for her anymore. They were too angry and too worried about what could’ve happened to Olivia.

Just then, Mateo stepped forward and gently hugged Eleanor.

"Don’t cry," he said softly. "I believe you."

Then he turned toward the crowd, his face serious.

"Eleanor didn’t throw the peel on purpose. I saw her. She just dropped it without realizing. It’s not a big deal."

The crowd looked unsure, but Mateo continued, now facing Olivia.

"I know you got wet because of it, but Eleanor is your best friend. You should be more understanding."

Olivia looked at him for a moment, her expression unreadable. Then she nodded slowly. "You’re right. It’s no big deal."

Mateo looked relieved.

But then Olivia added calmly,

"Since it’s not a big deal, then you wouldn’t mind if Eleanor throws another peel and you step on it, fall into the river, and almost drown, right?"

Mateo’s eyes widened, and he turned pale. "W-What?"

Olivia continued in the same calm voice.

"I don’t know how to swim. If no one was looking and I slipped just a little more, I might have drowned."

The whole crowd went silent.

Everyone slowly turned to look at Eleanor again, this time with even colder expressions.

Olivia straightened her wet clothes and gave Mateo a faint smile. "Next time, don’t speak for people when you don’t know what they went through."

With that, she calmly walked toward the school van area, leaving everyone speechless.

Some girls whispered, "She’s so cool..."

"She didn’t even yell. That was scarier than yelling."

Everyone stared at Eleanor, who stood frozen, tears rolling down her cheeks, but this time no one comforted her.

................

On the ride back, no one sat next to Eleanor. People kept whispering behind her back, calling her "fake," "green tea," "white lotus," and "snake in disguise."

She felt everyone’s eyes on her, but she just rubbed her temples and looked outside the window.

’This happened in the original story too,’ she reminded herself.

’Olivia always made me look bad in front of everyone. It’s fine. I just have to wait. I still have Mateo.’

But when she looked around, she noticed something strange. Mateo hadn’t even looked at her once. He wasn’t talking to her or texting her either.

Eleanor’s heart sank.

’Is something going wrong with the plot? Why is he acting cold now?’

.................

When they returned to school, students began heading home. Some were catching buses, while others were calling Ubers.

Eleanor stood awkwardly to the side, hoping Mateo would come talk to her. But instead, he walked straight toward Olivia.

He smiled nervously and said, "Do you want me to give you a ride home?"

Olivia looked up at him and replied calmly, "Thank you, but I don’t need a ride."

Mateo frowned. "You won’t get an Uber at this time. The app’s been saying no drivers for the past ten minutes."