Bethany always treated Evelyn like one of her own . Now that something had gone wrong , her first reaction wasn't to get mad -it was fear . Evelyn stepped forward calmly . Bethany handed her a copy of the submitted thesis . It was a total mess . A disaster from the school year - po question abou Bethany had seen many students gra affect Evelyn's future . to finish . If that paper had actually come from Evelyn , she'd be looking at repeating from Southville University over the years , and she knew just how badly this could " There's still time , Bethany urged . If you start rewriting now , you might still make the deadline . " Evelyn shook her head . " It's already too late . Too late ? It wasn't even close to the defense time . The presentation wasn't until 2:00 p.m. , and it was only 10:00 am . There were still four hours to go Then Evelyn turned to Hannah . " Where exactly did you hear about this ? " Hannah paused to think . " I was walking past the cafeteria when I overheard a couple people talking . They said your paper was a train wreck and that you copied someone else's work . They also said Professor Lloyd was furious , so I rushed over to find you I wasn't angry ! " Bethany cut in , frustrated . " I was just worried ." Then she stopped , a confused look spreading across her face . " But ... I haven't told anyone yet . I was waiting for Evelyn to show up to class . So how did anyone outside find out ? " Hannah frowned . " I didn't know the people talking . I think they were from a different department . I guess even students from other programs are gossiping ." There could only be one reason . Someone had set this up - and they had made sure the rumor spread fast . Even if Evelyn rewrote her paper now , everyone would say she rushed to cover it up after getting caught . People would talk , twist the story , and turn it into something worse . That alone could ruin Evelyn's reputation . Bethany felt her hands grow cold . Evelyn did you piss someone off ? " she asked in a low voice . This wasn't just a mistake or some careless error . Someone clearly wanted Evelyn out for good . Bethany's thoughts were all over the place , trying to connect the dots , but nothing added up . " I swear it . In front of the whole class ! " Alice nodded solemnly . " Swapping someone's thesis right before graduation - that's basically trying to destroy someone's life . We can't let a person like that stay in our class ! " With that , Alice successfully riled up the crowd . A university was a miniature version of society - but it wasn't quite the real world . Students were still idealistic , still drawn to justice . In unison , they agreed that whoever did it needed to be held accountable . Evelyn's sobs only grew louder . Right then , Bethany emerged from the classroom holding a crumpled , creased thesis - the original one . She'd actually found it .. The The students gasped and rushed over , crowding around her , asking where it had been found . Bethany's face was stone cold as she scanned the group . " I'm not going to publicly shame anyone here . But whoever it was come find me before noon today . If you do , I might consider leniency . Evelyn , take your thesis back and recopy it quickly . You still have time to make the defense this afternoon . " Evelyn sniffled , took the thesis from her , and allowed Hannah to help her walk away . Bethany called out again , loud and clear , " If no one shows up before noon , then don't blame me for what comes next . " The class exchar uneasy glances murmuring guesses , trying to figure out who the culprit might be . But no matter how they looked at each other , they couldn't tell . That day's lecture had been delayed for nearly half an hour due to the search . The professor decided to end it early . Everyone scattered . After seeing what happed to Evelyn , they were suddenly anxious about their own papers and rushed back to double - check everything . But Alice ... Her hands had gone cold . She stayed frozen in her seat long after the classroom had emptied out . Finally , she snapped back to reality , stood up , and headed toward the garden behind the school . She needed to be sure . Her steps quickened before turning into a full - on sprint . Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might leap out of her throat . Once she reached a hidden corner of the garden, she didn't care about the dirt . She dropped to her knees and began digging through the mess . She pulled out a handful of torn paper scraps and frantically tried to piece them together on the ground , hoping against . hope that what she feared wasn't true . But then - a voice , cool and disappointed , rang out behind her . " Alice , what exactly do you think you're doing ? " She froze . Turning around in panic , she saw Bethany standing there ... along with the entire class . And among them was Evelyn , smiling quietly .