22. Apology

After years of torturing himself, Lance, Tasha, Paige, and everyone around them, Jace was kicked out and suddenly had no place to live or work. Losing his war with Lance left him with a criminal record, so no company wanted to hire him. 

So yes, he admitted, after being reborn, he had been hasty. He would have never thought that something had changed in this timeline. He wanted to directly smash Lance's image at school, especially in front of Tasha while she wasn't deeply in love with him.

And getting rid of Paige, whom he hated passionately for everything she tried to do to the girl he loved, was essential. It would be sufficient if it could be proved that Lance was high; then Paige would be implicated with him.

After talking with Tasha yesterday, he clearly perceived that she did not believe him. He wanted to manipulate the test results but had no idea where it was held, as it was not in school. He feared that this test would not result in his favor after seeing the reactions of Lance and Paige, as well as noticing how well Lance appeared.

Something had changed. 

Was he reborn too, but at an earlier point than Jace had been? Then why was he being friendly with Paige? He should be her biggest enemy, and the other way around. He couldn't piece the puzzle together, so it was time for countermeasures.

He knew of a fat boy who peeped at the girls in the changing room. It would be revealed in the future, so Jace remembered. He contacted the boy at night, describing precisely where he would hide himself and what he was doing while peeping. The boy got so scared that he would willingly take the blame. Thank God he had not claimed he saw himself as Lance and Paige engaging in illegal activities.

Now, being outraged, he could still display moderation, but when he saw that messed-up T-shirt and the mockery in Lance's eyes, he had to do everything in his power not to throw himself at Lance and kill him on the spot.

Paige was still laughing hard, the director's left eyelid still twitched, and Lance was still proud of himself for purchasing this shirt.

He had never seen Paige laugh this hard. For a moment, he was scared that she didn't find this funny and would admonish him for not being mature enough, or that she would feel offended or something. But it seemed the old lady still had it in her. He chimed in and chuckled. 

"You!" The director pointed at him angrily and then sighed resignedly, putting his hand down. 

"You have really been wronged. Just button up your jacket; I know how teenage boys joke, so there is no punishment for the shirt. But keep it hidden." 

"Thank you, sir." Lance replied. 

"Can I wear it openly as long as I am still here in the office?" 

The principal wanted to praise him for being polite, but the words caught in his throat.

"Just while you are here," he compromised, his eyes wandering to Jace. 

Before he could say anything, Jace stepped forward and bowed deeply twice to Lance and Paige. 

"I'm really sorry for accusing you wrongly and believing fabricated stories. I trusted my friend without verifying the facts and put you through an unpleasant experience." 

The director nodded; he knew Jace was a good kid. As expected. The principal turned to the overweight boy he saw for the first time that day. 

The boy, too, deeply bowed to both of them and neatly confessed,

"I'm really sorry! I was jealous of your good looks and manipulated my good friend while lying to him. I knew he would trust me and fight for a good school environment." 

"And why drag Paige in?" Lance asked, finding it fascinating how an apology turned into a speech about Jace's glorification.