Flora’s Guide to a Second Chance at Love and Life

"Fiona, can you step out for a moment?"

Out of the blue, Mr. Keaton, our homeroom teacher, appeared at the door looking none too pleased.

Fiona let out a soft "Oh" and stood up from her seat.

Seeing Mr. Keaton call Fiona out, Robert and the other boys started to fret even more.

"Dang, is Mr. Keaton about to bring down the hammer on her?"

"It must be about that forum drama. They're probably going to come down hard on Fiona, maybe even slap her with some kind of punishment."

"Mr. Keaton, you can't believe the stuff on that forum! It's all a bunch of lies. Let us track down the person who started it, and we'll make sure they regret it."

"Yeah, it's all made-up nonsense. Please, don't let this mess cloud your opinion of Fiona."

"Quiet, all of you."

Mr. Keaton shot them a sharp look, clearly annoyed.

Who does he think Fiona is, anyway?

"What's all this about Fiona? Enough with the nonsense, class is starting. Sit down and get ready to learn."

Just then, Mr. Smith walked in with his stack of textbooks, greeted Mr. Keaton at the door, and gave Fiona a look that was hard to read.

"Mr. Smith, you go ahead with the class. I've got some other matters to sort out."

Mr. Keaton gave a polite nod, then gently took Fiona by the arm to lead her out into the hallway.

Robert and his friends watched with growing concern, worried that the school might actually punish Fiona over this forum fiasco.

Nash, with a stormy look on his face, stared out the window. He watched as Fiona and Mr. Keaton vanished around the corner of the hallway. Suddenly, he stood up, his jaw set, and walked out without saying a word. "Nash, where do you think you're going? We're in the middle of class!" Mrs. Smith was writing on the blackboard, and when she caught sight of him heading for the door, she shouted after him. "I'm out. Skipping class."

Nash tossed those words over his shoulder as he exited swiftly.

Robert and a few of the other boys exchanged a look, then they too got up and left in unison.

Honestly, they weren't exactly the most diligent students anyway. Skipping a class or two was nothing new for them.

But now, with Fiona's reputation

hanging in the balance and her facing the teacher and school authorities all alone, she must be scared out of her wits.

They had to be there for her.

"Hey, you all can't just "

Mrs. Smith watched them leave without so much as a backward glance, completely flabbergasted.

She had never seen anything quite like this in her classroom before.

...

"Fiona, I know you're blameless in all

this, but you know how brutal public opinion can be. You've got to set the record straight, fast," Mr. Keaton said earnestly. "Do you know the guy in the photo with you? Can he help

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clear things up?"

"I know him, sure, but it's no big deal," Fiona said with a light laugh.

She wasn't going to bother him to show up here.

He was busy running the Golden Hotel, raking in the cash every hour. This little hiccup was something she could handle on her own.

He just needed to keep bringing in the money for her.

Mr. Keaton was beside himself with worry, but he couldn't help but chuckle at Fiona's laid-back attitude.

"You're a chip off the old block, just like your mom."

Back in the day at Westbrook High,

Flora was always getting into scrapes not because she wanted

to, but because she was so brilliant that trouble seemed to find her.

en FindNovel

And now, it was Fiona's turn in the hot seat.

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Even the way those kids in class called her Flora reminded him so much of when Flora was in school, and everyone used to call her by that name.

"When we get to Mr. Garcia's office, just give a quick rundown of what really happened, and leave the rest to me."