Chapter 116
“But just so we’re clear up front. If he doesn’t meet the internship requirements and doesn’t get in, don’t come blaming me,” Delilah warned.
“I promise I won’t,” Josie assured her.
Josie thought to herself, ‘As long as Joseph gets this opportunity, he definitely won’t let anyone down. Sooner or later, he’ll earn his place here.’ But for now, she had to keep it to herself.
When Josie left Delilah’s office, her once-empty backpack was stuffed to the brim again. Delilah was dead serious about making sure Josie graduated. Her workload and assignments were as intense as prepping for the SAT. Josie slung her backpack over her shoulder and slowly made her way back to the dorm, trying to figure out how to break the good news to Adeline.
Before she could come up with anything, someone blocked her way again. This time, it was Gavin.
Josie let out a sigh, thinking, ‘Why am I having such rotten luck today? First, the kidnapping case is closed, but the real mastermind, Natalie, is still at large. When I get back, Kyle starts throwing dirt on my name. I was finally happy because Professor Wilcourt agreed to help Joseph, and now I have to deal with Gavin.’
“Haven’t seen you in a few days. Why are you looking at me like that? Don’t recognize me?” Gavin grinned at her, reaching out as if to ruffle her hair.
Josie instinctively dodged. “If you’ve got something to say, just say it. Keep your hands to yourself!” Not just anyone was allowed to touch her head these days.
“We’ve known each other for almost three years, you know. I thought we had at least some kind of bond. Why are you acting so distant?” Gavin said, looking disappointed.
Josie looked up at him. “Don’t tell me you’re here to ask me for money again.” She’d just set Gavin up with some real competition. Now that Delilah was backing him, Joseph might end up taking Gavin’s spot at the institute. Josie couldn’t help but feel a bit more sympathetic toward him.
Gavin looked like he was about to lose it, his eyes turning dark. Gavin said, “No, that’s not it. Do you think I always come to you for money? What happened last time was a misunderstanding. I wanted to clear things up, but you never gave me the chance. But looking at you now, it’s obvious you don’t care about my side of the story anymore, and I don’t want to make a fool of myself. I’m just here today because I have one question for you. Josie, just be straight with me. After you joined Professor Lawson’s team, have you been secretly studying acupuncture? Did you already know Professor Wilcourt from before?”
Josie was genuinely shocked. She thought, ‘I should’ve known better than to expect anything from these people. Why did I even bother being nicer to them? They never miss a chance to hit a new low. Guess I was just being stupidly naive.’
Josie shot back with a sarcastic grin, “Do you guys think I’m some kind of mole Professor Wilcourt planted in Professor Lawson’s team? Three years ago, Aiden was the one who showed me around when I first got here. My major’s cytology, and from day one, I’ve been working alongside Vincent. As for joining Professor Lawson’s team, that wasn’t even my idea. Aiden came to me just because I was the top student in my major back then. When sophomore year rolled around and they added a bunch of new required courses, I started struggling a bit. But seriously, was it because I couldn’t handle it, or was it just that I never even had the time to study? For the next two years, you guys basically took up all my time. I was either stuck cleaning the lab, running errands for one of you, or scrambling to prep for the next competition. The only time I actually got to study was during class, and even with that, I still came out on top in every single end-of-term exam. Gavin, if you’ve got memory loss or something, I can totally help you remember what I’ve been doing these past few years. If you think I had the time to learn another major and do shady stuff in the back, I have nothing left to say to you. But if you’re not suffering from amnesia, then do everyone a favor and use your brain before you open your mouth next time!”