The Graduation Photo Betrayal

The door to Mr. Harper’s office stood slightly ajar.

I was about to knock when I heard Hayden’s earnest and respectful voice coming from inside.

“Mr. Harper, over the past four years, I organized more than twenty class activities and even received the Most Outstanding Class Monitor award…”

I pushed the door open and saw Hayden sitting across from Mr. Harper, a stack of documents spread across the desk.

They both looked up at the same time, and Hayden’s expression froze instantly.

“Everett?” Mr. Harper said with some surprise.

“What’s the matter?”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

“I want to report that Hayden has been maliciously excluding classmates.”

I tried to remain calm.

“He collected the graduation photo fee but deliberately failed to inform me of the shooting time, which resulted in the entire class photo being taken without me.”

Hayden immediately jumped to his feet.

“What nonsense are you talking about! You’re the one who didn’t check the group messages!”

“Which group?” I said as I stared at him.

“Do you mean that small group chat you created without me?”

Hayden’s expression shifted slightly, and he turned to Mr. Harper.

“Mr. Harper, our class has three group chats. Everett left it himself—”

“I didn’t leave any group,” I cut him off.

“You kicked me out. During that class dinner in our sophomore year, you asked everyone to pay fifty dollars, and after I objected, you removed me.”

Hayden let out a cold laugh, but when he turned to Mr. Harper, he replaced it with a wounded expression.

“You see, Mr. Harper? Everett is always like this, constantly nitpicking our class affairs.

“That dinner was at an upscale restaurant. Fifty dollars wasn’t even enough, and I had to cover the extra cost with class funds…”

“That’s a lie!”

My voice trembled with anger.

“The actual cost was less than thirty dollars per person, and you never released the account records afterward!”

Mr. Harper frowned.

“All right, all right. Graduation is approaching, so don’t argue over such trivial matters.

“The two of you are both at fault. Hayden, you really should have informed every classmate about the graduation photo…”

“But I did notify everyone!” Hayden protested as he took out his phone.

“Look, I posted the announcement in the main year group chat and even tagged everyone. If he muted the group messages, how is that my fault?”

I leaned over to check and saw that he had indeed posted a brief notice in the year group chat.

But that chat had long been flooded with advertisements, and I had muted it a long time ago.

“And besides,” Hayden added smugly, “before the photos yesterday, I even asked someone to go to his dorm to look for him, but he wasn’t there.”

I turned to him sharply.

“Who came looking for me? I was in my dorm the entire day yesterday, preparing materials for my thesis defense!”

“Corin said he knocked for a long time, but no one answered,” Hayden shrugged.

“Maybe you were wearing headphones and didn’t hear him.”

My whole body trembled with anger.

Corin had never come to look for me.

Seizing the moment, Hayden added, “You know how it is, Mr. Harper. Everett never participates in class activities and always needs to be invited again and again.

“This time it was the same with the graduation photo. He was the only one in the entire class who wanted to change the time…”

“That was because I had my thesis defense!”

My voice shook with anger.

“And didn’t I cooperate and adjust my schedule in the end?”

“All right, all right.”

Mr. Harper interrupted us with a frown.

“The graduation photo has already been taken, so there’s no point discussing it now.

“Everett, you should learn to fit in with the group. After four years of school, not even having a graduation photo would be such a pity.”

I stared at Mr. Harper in disbelief. “This isn’t my fault…”

“Hayden has been very responsible as class monitor,” Mr. Harper said quietly as he patted Hayden on the shoulder.

“How about this? I’ll ask the photographer to edit you into the photo separately, and the cost will come from the class funds.”

“Then what about the fees I paid?” I asked.

Hayden immediately replied, “It’s already been paid to the photographer. There’s no way it can be refunded.”

Mr. Harper nodded. “Yes, the photographer worked very hard as well.”

I stood there, feeling a chill spread through my body.

This was the school where I had spent four years, and these were the teachers and classmates I had known.

“There’s no need to edit the photo,” I said.

“I won’t pay for a fake group picture.”

As I turned to leave, I heard Hayden say behind me, “You see, Mr. Harper? That’s exactly the kind of antisocial attitude…”