Gordon held Abby’s hand and reassured her, “Don’t worry. She might come out in a bit.”
Summer, who was with the other medical students, was also on edge. She asked Sharon in a puzzled tone, “Could it be that Janet had forgotten her speech?”
Sharon shook her head with uncertainty. “I don’t think so. Back in the classroom, she didn’t look nervous. Even if she forgot her speech, she wouldn’t be like this.”
Besides, Janet was the nation’s top scorer, so memorizing the speech was of little difficulty to her.
Madelaine, who was a freshman in the performance arts school, had her lips curled up in a slight smile. Who knew that Lynette had the wits to actually pull this off? It seems like in the future, she will be a strong opponent against Janet. She’s rather obedient too!
With every passing second, the students’ voices became louder and louder.
Many of those voices belonged to the girls.
“New campus belle? She’s clearly a joke! She doesn’t even know how to be punctual!”
“Perhaps she’s been pursued by so many people that she’s forgotten her place!”
“She’s so haughty. How dare she let Mr. Goldstein wait this long?”
“Exactly. Janet Jackson is the first person to ever be late to deliver a speech!”
“I bet she’s forgotten her speech. The top scorer in the college entrance exams? So much for that.”
“Even if she’s forgotten her speech, she could always read from her script. Her lack of appearance now is a matter of attitude!”
“I think that she’s doing this on purpose to attract the school’s attention!”
At this moment, the boys began to speak up for Janet.
“You’re all just jealous. You’re jealous that the campus belle is beautiful and talented!”
“That’s right. It’s not like she’s being late on purpose. For all we know, something might have happened to her!”
“The campus belle already has a great reputation. She doesn’t have to make a late appearance to increase her popularity!”
The girls retaliated while the boys continued to defend her. The two groups contradicted each other like fire and water.
On stage, Robert listened to the quarreling until his head began to buzz.
Finally, the teacher who went backstage to find Janet hurried over to pass a message.
Panting, she leaned into the principal’s ear and reported, “Mr. Goldstein, Miss Jackson is having a wardrobe malfunction!” Upon hearing that, Robert broke out in a cold sweat.
What were they supposed to do now that there’s a sudden problem with the outfit?
More and more doubts were surfacing in the crowd, and Robert’s face was turning darker by the second.
The teacher who went to check on Janet suggested, “Mr. Goldstein, how about we cancel today’s speech and postpone it to next semester?”
A wardrobe malfunction was a huge problem. Many media outlets had come to the school today, so if there was anything wrong with Janet’s outfit, her reputation would be ruined.
To make matters worse, he would have to face Mason!
He thought that choosing Janet to go on stage was the right choice. He did not expect the plan to be disrupted by external factors.
“Sir, you have to say something!” The teacher by his side implored him to announce the cancellation of tonight’s speech.
After hesitating for a couple of seconds, Robert picked up the microphone and began in a calm and unhurried tone, “Regarding today’s opening ceremony, I’d like to officially announce the can—”
Just when he was about to say the word ‘cancellation’, he was interrupted by a voice coming from backstage. The cold, clear voice reverberated onto the stage. “There’s no need to cancel.”
At that, thousands of students swept their gaze to the entrance in unison.
“I’m coming!” Lifting her skirt, Janet ambled up onto the stage.
Robert was stunned. He looked like he wanted to help her with the dress, but Janet held up her hand to stop him. She said calmly, “It’s all right. I can do it.”
