Chapter 198
The school arranged for different departments to go in batches. The Acting Department’s trip was scheduled for the following week. After collecting the number of participants over the next two days, they were ready to depart.
After some discussion, most of the class signed up, though a few preferred to go home instead. Overall, the majority were excited about joining the trip.
After counting the participants, the advisor instructed them to select a team leader to coordinate with the student council. “Everyone can sign up. If no one volunteers, I’ll assign someone,” the advisor said.
In the back row, Stella whispered, “Who would want to lead? It’s so exhausting. What if the students don’t listen and something goes wrong? Who will take responsibility? Maybe Willow would be willing…”
Before Stella could finish speaking, Willow in the front row eagerly volunteered. Stella muttered, “See? I knew it. Willow was going to volunteer.”
However, Willow responded unexpectedly. “Advisor, Eliana, is better suited to be our class leader. She has great leadership skills. During military training, she led the team to good results. Plus, her professional abilities are the best in our class. I’m sure she can be an excellent leader.”
Eliana was speechless. Stella whispered, “What the heck? Willow has lost it.”
Everyone in the class knew Willow and Eliana didn’t get along, but they never expected Willow to recommend Eliana as the team leader.
The advisor nodded after hearing Willow’s words. “Indeed, I also have a preference for her. Eliana, what do you think?”
Eliana hesitated, “Advisor, I’m afraid I’m not up to the task.
Willow quickly turned to her and said, “Eliana, how can you say you’re not up to it? If you can’t do it, who in the class would dare to claim they’re better than you?”
With that flattering praise, Willow essentially pushed Eliana into a high position, making it hard for her to back down. Eliana’s academic performance had rightfully earned her the top spot in the class, and no one could surpass her.
The advisor was most pleased with Eliana. If no one else volunteered, he had already planned to choose her. Since Willow had now recommended her, it gave him the perfect excuse to decide that Eliana would officially be the team leader.
“Eliana, there’s no need to decline. This time, you’ll be the team leader, the advisor said.
“Alright,” Eliana replied. The advisor was quite pleased that she agreed and immediately handed over the class fund, instructing her to manage it appropriately.
The class fund was collected at the beginning of the semester. Although a significant amount had already been spent on previous activities, Willow had also contributed, leaving a surplus from last semester.
This semester, the total amount was just over 2,000 dollars. 2,000 dollars wasn’t a huge sum, but it wasn’t small either.
After all, there were few wealthy students like Willow and Wendy. Most regular university students had a monthly allowance of only a few hundred dollars, almost equivalent to their living expenses for two months,
Handing the money over to Eliana was a sign of trust. Losing it would undoubtedly damage her credibility among the class.
In the afternoon, three students who weren’t going to the town came to Eliana after finishing the physical education class. After discussing it with the advisor, they were here to claim their share of the class funds. “Eliana, the advisor asked us to come collect our portion.”
The three of them were supposed to receive 200 dollars. Eliana said little since the advisor requested, leading them to the locker to get the money. However, when they reached the locker and opened it, she was shocked to find that all the class funds in her bag were gone.
Eliana’s expression momentarily froze as she flipped through the compartments of her bag, but the money was still missing. Stella noticed something was off and stepped forward, whispering, “Eliana, what’s wrong?”
Eliana said, “The class funds are gone.”
Stella widened her eyes in disbelief. “How could that be?”
Eliana remained calm, but Stella was visibly shocked. As an ordinary student, she could easily understand how devastating it would feel if the money disappeared from her hands.
The three students waiting nearby noticed that Eliana was taking too long to get the money and walked over to ask, “How much longer?”
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Chapter 198
“What’s going on? Are you not planning to give it to us?”
“The advisor said so, so either you don’t want to give it, or you can’t get it out!”
Eliana calmly returned her bag to the locker and said, “Yes, I can’t give it to you. The class funds have been stolen.”
The three of them were taken aback. “What!”
One of them shouted, “Everyone, come quick! Eliana lost the class fund! Our money’s gone!”
At that moment, everyone was changing clothes after their physical education class. The loud shout instantly drew everyone’s attention to the
room.
“What? Our money is gone?”
“What’s going on? Does that mean we can’t go to the ancient town?”
“Eliana is so unreliable. She was just given the class funds this morning, and now, by the afternoon, is it gone? She didn’t end up using it herself, did she?”
“Is the class fund gone for sure? What are we going to do now?”
Although the amount wasn’t much, the class funds comprised everyone’s contributions, and losing them would cause an uproar. Faced with their doubts, Eliana could only respond, “I didn’t use the class funds. They’re lost, but I’ll get them back.”
“Get it back? How are you going to do that? It’s money, and we don’t know when it went missing. It might have already been used!”
“Yeah, seriously. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have gone. At least I could have gotten my share back this morning instead of finding out the class funds were gone by the afternoon.”
“Eliana, you’re responsible for this!”
“If you can’t get the money back, you’ll have to pay it from your pocket…”
The crowd continued to murmur, and in the corner of the room, Willow smiled faintly and thought, ‘The show has begun!‘
Soon, someone reported the incident to the advisor. He was shocked–he hadn’t expected something like this to happen. He had trusted Eliana so much and wondered how the money could disappear just hours after he handed it to her.
However, the advisor didn’t suspect that Eliana had taken the money for herself since she wasn’t lacking in funds. It seemed much more likely that the money had been stolen.
“The girls‘ locker room needs to be scoured. Was there anyone who left while you were in physical education class?” the advisor asked.
“Yes,” Shaeryl said, “I remember Stella went out!”
Stella widened her eyes in disbelief. “I just went to the restroom! And I even saw Willow and Charlene go out together. Why aren’t you mentioning that?”
There were no surveillance cameras in the girls‘ changing room, so it was challenging to determine who had stolen the money. The only footage. available was from the hallway cameras, but that wouldn’t help much, as many people passed through the corridor at various times.
Willow said, “Advisor, I have nothing to hide. I wouldn’t bother stealing 2,000 dollars. Feel free to check my locker first.”
Seeing Willow’s eagerness, Eliana remained calm, furrowing her brows just a little.
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