Electrocuted at the Gate

Thinking of this, I accepted the student ID and gave the dorm supervisor a well-behaved smile.

"Ma'am, I lost a card back in middle school, so I am worried this one might have issues too. Could you take me to the entrance gate to test it first? That way, if I cannot get back into the dorm later, I won't have to trouble you to come downstairs and open the door."

Mrs. Mercer froze for a moment. Seeing my sincere attitude, she still waved her hand impatiently. "Fine, fine. Hurry up."

I took a deep breath and walked to the turnstile at the dorm entrance, pressing my student ID steadily against the sensor.

Beep.

A crisp confirmation sound rang out, and the gate opened in response.

I let out a quiet breath. It seemed that after restarting everything, some things had not happened yet.

Mrs. Mercer rolled her eyes. "See? It works just fine. Young girls should stop being so suspicious all day long."

I smiled, thanked her, and headed straight for the academic building.

In my previous life, this was where I had first humiliated myself in front of everyone.

Mr. Whitaker stood at the podium to introduce me, "This is our new transfer student, Wynn Stone. Wynn, come up and say hello to everyone. While you are here, why don't you play us your introduction for this week's homeroom slide show?"

My heart started pounding wildly.

In my previous life, the moment I touched the computer, the multimedia system immediately blacked out and froze. No amount of restarting had worked.

In the end, the class monitor, Jenna Reed, had gone up to the podium. With just a few quick moves, she fixed everything. Then, she had pointedly said, "Mr. Whitaker, some people might not be very good with this equipment. Maybe I should handle it from now on."

From that moment on, my reputation for being clumsy and incompetent spread.

This time, I walked up to the podium but did not touch the computer right away.

I turned to look at Jenna, who was sitting in the front row, watching me coldly.

I gave her a look of helpless appeal. "Jenna, I just transferred here and am not familiar with the school equipment. I am afraid of wasting everyone's time. Could I trouble you to operate it for me?"

Jenna clearly did not expect this move. She frowned.

Mr. Whitaker spoke up as well, "Jenna, help the new student."

Left with no choice, Jenna reluctantly stood and walked to the computer. She plugged in the USB drive and opened the file. The projection screen immediately displayed a clear image.

Everything worked perfectly.

She shot me a disdainful glance, as if to say, "Such a simple thing! Is it really worth making such a fuss over?"

I ignored her look, picked up the presentation clicker, and smiled at the class. "Hello, everyone, my name is Wynn Stone. I'm delighted to be your classmate."

Then I pressed the button to move to the next slide.

Click.

The projection screen went black instantly.

The entire classroom fell into dead silence.

Everyone froze.

Jenna's eyes widened as she stared at the black screen in disbelief.

I pressed the button a few more times in feigned panic. "It is not responding! How could this happen? Jenna, it was working just fine a moment ago!"

I deliberately raised my voice, making sure everyone could hear.

In my previous life, I had stood alone on the podium, flustered and helpless, becoming the butt of everyone's jokes.

This time, I wanted Jenna and the entire class to be witnesses.

Jenna hurried up to the podium, snatched the clicker from my hand, and started operating the computer frantically.

There was no response.

She tried restarting it, unplugging and reconnecting the power several times.

The multimedia system was like a brick. Completely dead.

Mr. Whitaker's expression darkened. "What is going on? Jenna, did we not just have this equipment serviced last week?"

Jenna was drenched in sweat, and her face was flushed red. "I do not know, Mr. Whitaker! It was working perfectly before Wynn came up. The moment she touched it, it broke!"

I immediately lowered my head, twisting my fingers together aggrievedly and said softly, "I am sorry, sir. Maybe... maybe I am just unlucky."

The way I looked made me appear, in the eyes of the other students, like a pitiful victim being publicly scapegoated by Jenna.

Whispers immediately broke out.

"What does Jenna mean by that? She messed it up herself and is blaming the new student?"

"Exactly. If the machine is broken, it is broken. Is there really a need to dump the blame like that? That is pretty low."

"The newcomer is kind of pitiful. She got targeted the moment she arrived."

Hearing the murmurs around her, Jenna's face shifted between pale and green. She trembled with rage.

Mr. Whitaker frowned and cut her off. "That is enough. Stop messing with it. This period will be self-study."

Then he looked at me, his tone softening. "Wynn, go back to your seat. This is not your fault."

I looked at him with gratitude, hugged my backpack, and walked off the podium.

As I passed by Jenna, I clearly heard her squeeze out through clenched teeth, "Just you wait."

I lowered my head, a cold smile curling at the corner of my lips.

Wait, then.

In this life, I was not the one who should be afraid.