"I heard they don't let cheaters take exams," she said a little too loudly to Jessica and Lydia. "It's an old rule, but one that they stand by."
"Ms. Metzler, please refrain from any and all commentary," Professor Jackson said sternly. "I don't want to hear another word."
"Yes, ma’am," she said sweetly, but I could hear her and her buddies whispering behind my back as I threw my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the room.
I decided to head over to student accounts and see what I could do about delaying my tuition payment for a couple of days until the decision had been made about my case.
"Miss Pierce?" the cashier asked as she looked from my student ID to the screen in front of her.
"Yes, that's me," I said impatiently.
"You don't have a balance to pay, Miss Pierce," she said with a big smile. "All good!"
"Wait, what?" I did a double take. "When was that balance paid?"
"It looks like, um, this morning," she said. "A few hours ago."
"Very well, thank you," I said, taking my ID and stuffing it in my bag. Cam Connor strikes again. Now I was furious. I was angry with him for paying these bills without consulting me, and I was mad that it made me angry.
I pulled out my phone, erased the message I'd been typing and simply tapped out the message, "Call me. Now," before hitting send. Since I had no idea how long it was going to take him to get back to me, I decided to head over to the diner for breakfast and a cup of strong coffee.
I might be angry, but that didn't mean I was going to punish myself by going hungry.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Cam
After I paid Alex's and Liz’s tuition bill, I headed over to the station to tell Chief Riley that I needed to take a couple of days off. I had vacation time coming, and I couldn't think of a better reason to use it than to help Alex find Liz. I also needed to talk with Leo and be at the press conference for Richard Metzler later in the week, but first thing's first.
"Connor, what's up? Isn't this your day off?" Chief asked as he looked up from his paperwork.
"It is, but I need a favor," I said as I stood in front of his desk. "I need some time off, Chief."
"Is that so?" he said, leaning back in his chair. "And what brought this on? I hope it's not something that's going to interfere with your duties here at the station."
"No, sir," I said, shaking my head vigorously. "I just need a few days to straighten out a few things and tie up some loose ends."
"Well, this is rather inconvenient, Connor," he said as he studied me. "Given that Vangel has called out sick for the week."
"Oh? That's weird; I didn't know he was ill," I said in a sarcastic voice.
"He's not, but I'm not his daddy, so I'm not going to go digging around in his business," Chief said as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his desk. "I'm going to assume that this is something important."
"It is, sir, or I wouldn't be asking." I nodded. "I've got some things that need to be taken care of and they are urgent."
"All right, I guess we can transfer a guy over from one of the other stations for a few days," Chief said as he picked up the schedule and drew a line through my name on it. "This had better be good, Connor."
"It is, sir," I said as I turned and headed for the door. "It's of vital importance."
As I left the station, I felt my phone buzzing in my pocket, and when I pulled it out and saw the message from Alex, I knew she knew. She was mad, and probably rightfully so, and I was going to have to answer for my actions. It wasn't going to be an easy conversation, but first I needed to talk to Leo.
I drove to the office, but Leo was out, so I left a note on his desk telling him to let me know when and where I needed to be for Metzler's announcement and that I'd be there.
After I'd taken care of the first three things on my list, I knew it was time to call Alex. This was going to be a difficult discussion and I knew it was possible she wouldn't understand my reasoning behind paying her bills, but I crossed my fingers and hoped that, at the very least, she'd hear me out before she dumped me.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alex