Over the course of a week, Mike didn't bother with Sam at all. He stuck to his routine, training steadily and by the time the weekend rolled around, he'd pushed his physical stats up to 140.
Meanwhile, after a full week of Cady constantly "supplying" fattening drinks, Regina's face had noticeably filled out and looked a lot rounder.
As the weekend arrived and the Summer Cup tournament drew closer, the school cheerleaders started a signature drive to drum up support.
On the main street of the shopping district, a temporary booth was set up where residents could sign in support of the Melford Public High football team.
Janis and Damian were dragged in as free labor, tasked with handling signatures at the booth.
With the cheerleaders' long legs and loud cheers drawing attention nearby, plenty of passersby stopped to watch.
During a break, Regina pulled Cady aside and pointed at her tight mini skirt, demanding, "Are you sure that Vietnamese diet drink actually works? I've gained over one pound this week alone."
Lose weight and you lose it in your chest first. Gain weight and it goes straight to your legs.
Regina had been feeling that difference very clearly this week. Still, thanks to her natural figure, she could barely manage to hold it together—for now.
Faced with Regina's sharp questioning, Cady felt a little guilty. Her eyes darted around as she made something up on the spot. "W-well, that drink works like this—it first replenishes the nutrients your body needs, and then it starts burning fat…"
The more she talked, the calmer she became. By the end, she even pretended to be concerned. "Don't you feel like your body's been healthier lately?"
Regina had never really used diet products before, so she had no idea about the tricks behind them.
Besides, what Cady gave her was actually a muscle-gain drink for athletes, packed with nutrients that really were good for the body.
"I guess that's true," Regina thought for a moment. "My skin's been better, I've had a good appetite, and I'm sleeping well…"
With her doubts gone, she asked again, "So when is my weight going to go back down?"
Regina took body management very seriously.
"Well… if it's fast, maybe a month. Could be two," Cady replied uncertainly.
At a gain of over one pound a week, Regina would easily put on six or seven pounds in a month.
Three or four kilos would be more than enough to ruin the "perfect" body Regina prided herself on.
Clueless about what was really happening, Regina thought it over, clearly annoyed. "Another month? Ugh. But I guess I can tolerate it for a good figure."
Just as their conversation ended and they were about to go back to collecting signatures, Regina casually spotted Sharon, the senior-year math teacher, standing in a corner of the street.
Standing across from Sharon was a Black man in his thirties, dressed scruffily, looking like a homeless guy.
Labels like "Black" and "homeless" immediately screamed crime and trouble to some people.
"Look over there…" Regina said excitedly, thinking she'd uncovered the teacher's secret.
Cady followed her gaze and froze. "Why is Ms. Sharon over there?"
Because she'd lived in Africa before, Cady didn't have much prejudice against Black people.
What surprised her was the contrast—Ms. Sharon was always sharp and authoritative at school. It was hard to imagine what she was like in her personal life.
At that moment, Sharon pulled out some loose change and handed it to the man. After exchanging a few words, they went their separate ways.
"Don't you think Ms. Sharon was buying something illegal?" Regina sneered maliciously.
At school, Ms. Sharon's aloof personality already clashed with Regina's domineering nature.
Convinced she'd grabbed hold of some dirt, Regina was definitely planning to add another entry about Sharon to her notebook later.
Just then, Sharon turned around and noticed Cady and Regina.
She smiled and called out, "Cady, come over here for a second. I'd like to talk to you."
Cady was still thinking about how to convince Regina not to spread rumors about Sharon.
Before she could decide what to do, Regina shoved her forward and whispered, "Go. See if you can get something even juicier out of her."
Forced to approach the teacher, Cady was clearly distracted, her mind elsewhere.
Sharon got straight to the point. "Cady, the rules for this year's Academic Math Cup have changed. Each school has to include at least one female team member.
"You're very talented in math, and I'd like you to join the team. Placing well would help your college applications. You can think about it."
Still not fully present, Cady nodded vaguely. "Okay… I'll think about it."
Thinking her student was just lacking confidence, Sharon reassured her. "No rush. The competition isn't until the end of the year—we've got plenty of time. I'm also planning to recruit some promising juniors for the team this year."
After saying that, Sharon prepared to leave.
"Wait—" Cady hesitated.
"Yes?" Sharon asked patiently.
"Um… that man earlier—what were you talking about? Why did you give him money?" Cady finally voiced her doubt.
"Oh, you mean Danny," Sharon said after a brief pause. "He lives in the same neighborhood as I do. He's not homeless. His child's been sick lately, and he asked me for help."
In this area, especially in Texas, anyone who didn't fit the local stereotype tended to face discrimination. People who looked rough—especially Black men—had an even harder time getting by.
"So that's what it was," Cady said, finally relieved.
She promised Sharon she'd seriously consider the math competition and then said goodbye.
Unaware of what her student had been thinking, Sharon shook her head and left the shopping district.
When Cady returned to the cheerleader group, Janis immediately pulled her aside.
"What did Ms. Sharon say to you just now?" Janis asked, clearly worried.
"Nothing much—just about the math competition," Cady replied.
"She didn't mention anything about illegal substances?" Janis pressed.
It turned out that after coming back, Regina had already spread her speculation about Sharon buying drugs to the cheerleaders.
Janis wasn't just worried about Sharon—she was also worried Cady might get dragged into it.
After hearing what Regina had done, Cady was furious. "How could she say that? Ms. Sharon was helping someone. She was doing a good thing."
She then explained to Janis in detail about Sharon helping a neighbor from the same community.
"That makes this really bad," Janis sighed. "Regina's already spread the rumor. It could seriously hurt Ms. Sharon."
One lie starts with a sentence, and the truth has to run a marathon to catch up.
"No. I'm going to explain everything to Regina and make her clear this up," Cady said firmly. Remembering how much Sharon had looked out for her, she knew she had to do something.
Besides, this mess had started because of her.
"I'm coming with you," Janis said, rolling up her sleeves. "If Regina doesn't clear this up, I swear I'll teach her a lesson."
She'd had enough of Regina trash-talking people behind their backs.
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