"The performances are over. It's time to begin anonymous voting," Ms. Sarah said into the mic, addressing the audience in the auditorium. Although it was an internal dance club election, the school had invited the entire student body to ensure transparency. Votes would be cast anonymously on a digital system. As the numbers began jumping across the screen, Quinn's smile widened. She was certain she had it in the bag. But then- Elsa's name began climbing at an alarming rate. "No. no way!" Quinn stared in disbelief. She had bought so many people's votes-how could Elsa possibly have this much support? There had to be something shady going on! Els watched the final tally stop. 368 votes P Onstage, the emcee bowed deeply to the crowd. "Apologies for the delay. We received an anonymous report accusing Elsa's team of cheating." "Upon review, the claim was confirmed. Elsa's team is hereby disqualified." The moment he finished, chaos broke out in the audience. Whispers buzzed through the crowd-everyone wanted to know what rule had been broken to cause such a last-minute ban. Elsa had no idea how things had spiraled like this. She ran to center stage and grabbed the mic from the emcee, her voice trembling. "Tell me why we're disqualified!" "I demand a proper explanation!" From the judging panel, someone scoffed. Their voice echoed from the speakers. "You really want me to spell it out? You think we don't know what you did?" "I have nothing to hide! Give me a reason!" Someone saw you giving something to the judge late at night!" A gasp rippled through the crowd. +8 Pearls Chapter 8 Something's Definitely Off Even those unsure what had happened now had a target. The audience erupted with shouts, demanding Elsa confess and apologize. But Elsa had never done such a thing. Faced with a baseless accusation, she stood her ground. She shouted back at the crowd, "I never did that! How dare you accuse me without proof!" "Still denying it? Then let's show the surveillance footage!" Click- The screen lit up with a video of Elsa handing a stack of papers to the judge, who was sitting on the ground. The audience turned on her immediately. "That's so obvious! She was bribing him!" "Risky move-but if it worked, who would've questioned it?" "She nearly got away with it... if no one caught her, she could've actually pulled it off." Elsa couldn't believe it. The papers had been her team's registration documents. How had it become evidence of bribery? "No... that's not what happened..." she whispered. But her throat suddenly filled with the taste of blood. She gagged, unable to speak further. *Commence memory trial." The judge's gavel slammed down-and the courtroom screen lit up once again. The memory began. It was late at night. Rain poured outside the venue. Elsa hadn't brought an umbrella. She figured she'd wait for the storm to pass before heading home. To kill time, she sat curled up in the corner of the dance studio, mending her worn-out shoes, "Venue closes at eleven!" a security guard called, waving his flashlight. Send Gifts 20 B Discover our latest featured short drama reel. Watch now and enjoy the story!