Here's an expanded and emotionally rich version of your scene with improved clarity, structure, and vivid reactions. I've preserved the sarcasm, tension, and dark humor between Maria, Chole, and Ivy while polishing the dialogue flow and atmosphere:
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Chapter Title: "A Diagnosis of Convenience"
The shrill sound of the bell echoed through the room as the English teacher walked in briskly.
"Everyone to your seats. Now," the teacher commanded.
The class instantly settled, chairs scraping against the floor. For the next thirty minutes, only the teacher's voice and the occasional rustling of pages filled the room.
As the break bell rang, chatter returned like a flood. Maria sat calmly, eating her snacks, her expression unreadable. Chole, seated beside her, helped herself to the food without a trace of shame, ignoring Maria's repeated glares. Maria snatched her snack bag back, only for Chole to swipe it again and stuff her mouth full, chewing innocently like nothing had happened.
Their little tug-of-war caught a few curious glances, but no one dared say a word.
Suddenly, a student burst into the room, panting. "Maria! Your parents… they're causing a scene in the school hall!"
Maria barely looked up. "And that concerns me… how?"
The boy blinked, confused. "Um… your mother is demanding to see you. She's making a big deal out of something—"
Maria cut in, her voice calm but cold. "She's an adult. If she chooses to disgrace herself in public, that's her decision. Actions have consequences. I owe her nothing."
The class fell into stunned silence. The messenger scratched his head awkwardly and slowly backed out of the room.
Ivy, who had been lingering nearby, approached with a carefully constructed expression of concern.
"Maria," she began softly, "you shouldn't do this. I know you're upset, but ignoring your mom like this isn't right. At the end of the day, it's still your family. You leaving home and cutting ties... it's wrong."
Maria's gaze sharpened. "Who told you I'm angry with my parents? And who told you I left?"
Ivy opened her mouth, only to falter. "I… I just thought…"
"Oh, you thought?" Maria snapped. "When Oliver stays over with her friends or disappears to her private apartment, it's considered normal. But when it's me, suddenly I'm the bad daughter?"
"I'm just trying to help," Ivy replied, her eyes welling with tears.
Chole, who had been casually munching beside Maria, suddenly straightened. "Maria, don't raise your voice. She's clearly ill."
"Huh?" Maria raised an eyebrow.
"Yes," Chole said, voice deadpan. "She must have memory issues. Probably forgot you already explained everything to her. And her eyes—she cries every time someone speaks the truth. Very serious symptom. I think I should call a hospital."
She whipped out her phone.
Maria's lips twitched. "Right, right! My poor Bestie Ivy. She must have... a split personality disorder. One personality always tries to ruin my life while the other cries for sympathy."
Gasps rippled across the classroom. Students began whispering.
Ivy's face turned red. "Maria!" she shouted, slamming her hand on the desk.
Chole flinched dramatically. "Oh no. There it is. Another symptom—aggression. We learned in psychology class that the removal of a second personality takes at least a month to stabilize."
Maria leaned back, eyes wide in mock concern. "And the side effects? Emotional instability, sudden tantrums, delusions…"
"She was so gentle a moment ago. Now look," Chole sighed, shaking her head.
A girl near the back muttered, "Ivy… maybe you really should see a doctor."
Another student whispered, "Yeah, she's usually so sweet. That outburst just now was scary."
"I always thought she hadn't fully recovered," a third girl added with a nervous glance.
Ivy's breathing quickened. Her face drained of color as she realized the shift in the room. The very sympathy she had sought was now turning into doubt and distance.
"I think you should visit the counselor or something, Ivy," a boy said kindly, though he was slowly inching his desk away from hers. "It's not that we're afraid or anything... it's for your sake."
With her hands clenched and her pride shattered, Ivy turned on her heel and stormed out of the classroom.
As the door slammed behind her, silence hung for a moment—before Maria and Chole both exhaled, dramatically shaking their heads.
Maria heard a student saying it has even reached the junior student group Maria took out her phone to check the school group
Maria's eyes scanned the screen—and sure enough, rumors had already started spreading.
> [Group Chat: Skyline Seniors ]
"Did you hear Ivy has a mental illness?"
"Split personality or something???"
"She almost attacked Maria! Crazy."
"i thought she was cured "
"Seem not "
Chole clutched her stomach, muffling her laughter. Maria covered her mouth, her shoulders trembling from the effort to stay silent.
"Oh, Ivy," Maria murmured between chuckles, "you made up a mental illness to avoid punishment... and now you've diagnosed yourself out of everyone's sympathy."
---
Their class teacher came in and called Maria out.
"Maria, your mother is here, and she's making a ruckus. She won't leave without seeing you. You can go if you like. She's saying that you've eloped and have a man outside. She's damaging your name," he said. "I know you don't want to see her, but you're a girl, and you shouldn't let your reputation be damaged. Go talk to her. I'll be there to support you. But if you feel like you don't want to go, it's fine. I'll handle it, okay?" the class teacher said gently as he studied her, afraid she might have an emotional breakdown because her own mother was dragging her name through the mud.
Instead, Maria was calm—mocking even—as if she was used to it.
"I'll see her. Alone, sir. And… thanks," Maria said, nodding at him.
"If you like, you can call Childcare Services against your parents. They'll educate them to see their wrongs," the teacher added.
Maria stopped for a moment, but continued walking away.
---
"Where is that brat? Her family is in trouble and she's out enjoying her life? Slut! She ran away from home! I thought she'd come back, but no! Instead, she continues to stay outside! Even after we froze her accounts, she still didn't return! It's because she has a man outside! Disgusting! What did I give birth to!?" Maria's mother cried, screaming through the hall.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Maria's mother froze and turned to see Maria clapping slowly for her.
"What a drama queen you are, Mom. I never knew you were so good at acting. Wonderful. Truly. And anyway, whether I have a man or not… does it really matter to you?" Maria said, tapping her cheek as if in deep thought. "You don't care, so why does it bother you?"
"You rat! Why would it not bother me? You're my child! You're destroying my reputation—and the family's reputation! You should have died, you stupid child! Everything you do always ends in disaster! You joined a variety show and it got canceled! You should have just died!" Maria's mother yelled.
"See? You don't even worry about me," Maria said, her voice calm and sharp. "It's all about reputation, reputation, reputation. You already said I'd destroy it, so clearly you don't care about me. So why are you here now? Hmm… something's up."
She pulled out her phone and opened her message app to the hundreds of unread messages from her mother. Smiling, she clicked into the thread.
"This one is from two days after I left," Maria said, reading aloud.
> 'You stupid brat. Good you didn't come home. Fresh air at last.'
"Another one," Maria continued.
> 'If you don't come home now, don't bother coming back. You ungrateful brat. Because of you, your grandma is insulting me. Never come back!'
"This one's from four days after I left."
> 'Since you're now big enough, that means you should be able to take care of yourself. So we're cutting off all your accounts. The family is in serious trouble now, so we're freezing your funds. We've also sold all the things in your room.'
Maria paused and turned to look at her mother, who had now noticed the strange and disgusted stares coming from the people gathered in the school lounge—students, non-teaching staff, teachers, and even some parents.
"You brat! How far will you go?! Maria, control yourself right now—you're damaging my reputation! Don't you have any manners? This is a family problem, and here you are, airing it in public!" her mom screamed.
"Oh, this is a family issue?" Maria blinked, pretending to be surprised. "I thought when you were screaming that I'm a slut and damaging my reputation, we were allowed to damage others' reputations too."
Maria looked at her with innocent eyes, then continued reading the messages out loud.
"Oh, this one's interesting," she said with a giggle.
> "I've seen the variety show, Maria, and you destroyed our reputation. You're a brat. From now on, we are no longer family. We have nothing to do with each other. Because of you, I have the worst luck. If Oliver is an angel, you're a demon—a cursed child. Go die. Go die. Go die."
Maria snorted lightly.
> "Maria, Tessa gave us some money. If you know what's good for you, quit the show and leave the country. I'll use the last bit of parental love I have left to prepare a house for you in the village. You can be queen there."
She chuckled and looked up. "So you sold me out for some money? Did Dad know?" Maria tilted her head, eyes sharp. "He doesn't, right? You did it just to have a few bucks in your account. Because if Dad knew, he would've bargained for a higher price."
"It was your grandma who sold you out! Go blame her! That hag doesn't want to bring out a single thing from her account. She sold all my jewelry and bags. Disgusting!" her mom hissed, her voice laced with resentment as she recalled her mother-in-law.
Maria nodded and calmly scrolled through her phone again.
"This is from last week—while I was still recovering—up until now," she said, then began reading.
> "Maria, I heard you're with a man, sleeping with different men. Are you crazy?"
"Maria, how dare you? The family company is in trouble, and you're sleeping around. This one's from Dad."
> "Maria, never step foot into this family again."
> "Maria, since you have a backer, come take care of the family. Maria, don't ignore me. Reply. Don't deny it—your—"
Before Maria could finish, her phone was snatched out of her hand by Ivy.
"Maria, enough! Look—people are staring at you, at your parents, at all of us! Classmates, teachers, staff—everyone's here. If you want to solve this, do it in private. I know you're angry, but your reputation matters," Ivy said quickly as she began deleting all the messages from Maria's phone.
Maria snatched it back from her, eyes cold.
"Aunty, I know you're angry with Maria, but please think about her education," Ivy said with tears in her eyes. "If you need money, I can give you some. But please don't damage my friend's reputation."
Maria's mom looked at her weirdly, then a strange light flashed in her eyes.
"Child, first of all, this is a family matter—you shouldn't involve yourself. Secondly, do you really think I would take money from your hand? I won't go that low, you crazy bitch. Do I look like my mother-in-law? And thirdly—aren't you the one—"
Before Maria's mother could continue, Ivy suddenly fell to the ground.
"I sprained my ankle! Aunty, why did you push me so hard? It hurts so much!" Ivy sobbed, clutching her foot as students rushed to her and glared at Maria's mom.
"Hey, Maria! Control your mom!" one boy yelled. "Look at what she did—she injured Ivy! If you want to ruin each other's reputations, do it somewhere else!"
Maria and her parents are like parasite to ivy a girl said
"For what I know, this school lounge is private," said a girl entering the room—Chloe. "It's where parents meet their children. So actually, you all are the ones eavesdropping on a private conversation. Look at the way you're all gathered here—even videoing."
"So what? We paid school fees—we can go anywhere we like!" another boy shouted. "That doesn't give her mom the right to push Ivy. Ivy was just being kind, even offering money. Maria and her mom are just parasites."
"Oh? Good. Very good." Chloe smiled. "Since you think paying school fees gives you rights, let me tell you—I paid school fees too. In fact, I gave the principal a hundred million to fund this school."
She snapped her fingers.
From the shadows, bodyguards in black suits stepped out and raised their guns, pointing them at everyone in the room. Screams and gasps echoed as fear spread.
"Destroy their phones. Anyone who dared to record—wipe it. And anyone who insulted Maria... slap their mouths," Chloe said calmly.
"W-what? Whose… whose people are these?" Maria's mom stammered, shocked.
Ivy's tears froze in her eyes.
"She… she has hidden bodyguards? She's rich? No… no way… Is she the—" Ivy couldn't finish the sentence.
"Chloe, this is a family matter. Don't do this," Ivy said softly, panicked.
"A family matter?" Chloe raised a brow. "It stopped being a family matter the moment you took Maria's phone and deleted her messages. It stopped being a family matter when all of you barged in here like flies."
Chloe walked over to Maria's mom and snatched the phone from her hand. The device opened immediately with her password.
"Ivy," Chloe said without even looking at her. "Did you visit Maria's family during the past two weeks?"
"I… I… Why are you asking?" Ivy bit her lip nervously.
"Yes, she did," Maria said calmly, tilting her head mockingly. "She told me she visited. Isn't that right, Ivy?"
Ivy lowered her gaze. "I… I… Maria, why are you teaming up with her to bully me?"
Maria ignored her and turned to their classmates.
"Did Ivy not say she visited my house? Don't lie. The bodyguards are armed. They'll shoot."
"And yes," Chloe added, folding her arms, "they have lie detectors too. So choose your words wisely."
"Yes, Ivy said she visited," one girl whispered.
"She did. I remember," another chimed in.
"Maria, are you planning to kill her or something?" a boy yelled angrily.
One of the bodyguards fired a bullet—just past his head. It hit the wall, leaving a large hole.
The boy screamed and wet himself. Students burst into tears.
"Be careful," Chloe warned. "That was a warning shot. There won't be another. Try me—and see if your life can get me arrested."
Everyone started crying, nodding, quickly confirming that Ivy had visited Maria's house.
"Good. Now, Ivy—explain this," Chloe said and began reading from the phone.
> "Your friend Ivy told us you have a man. An old man at that. A powerful one, who helped you deal with Tessa. That's what Ivy told me."
Chloe lowered the phone and looked at Ivy coldly.
"So you're the one spreading false information?"
Ivy clutched her head and swayed like she was about to faint—until a bodyguard slapped her so hard, a five-finger mark bloomed instantly on her cheek.
"You want to faint? You dare? If you faint—everyone dies. If you lie—everyone dies. If you cry—everyone dies," Chloe said coldly.
Just as Ivy was about to sob, the bodyguards cocked their guns.
A girl who was holding Ivy suddenly slapped her across the mouth.
"If you cry again, I swear I'll kill you!" she screamed.
"You have five seconds," Chloe said.
Ivy clamped her mouth shut, trembling.
But then the students began to beat her—punching, kicking, slapping her.
Before Ivy could scream, she cried out, "No, I didn't!"
But the red button on the lie detector glowed.
"It seems you're lying," Chloe said, raising her hand.
That was all the students needed.
They lunged at Ivy again—tearing her clothes, biting, punching, kicking.
Even Maria's mother joined in, slapping her hard.
"Yes! Yes, I did!" Ivy cried, nearly beaten half to death. "I told her! I told Maria's mom she had a backer!"
"So you're the one who also told Maria's mom to come here and create a scene?" Chloe asked, expression darkening.
"Very bad, Ivy. Very bad."
---
Chole walked up to Maria and dusted imaginary lint off her blazer, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Well, Maria, it seems your classmates love you so much… they even beat their 'school goddess' for your sake." She smirked, then glanced at Ivy. "Touched, aren't you?"
"It's because of you, you bitch!" Ivy screamed, pointing a shaking finger at the bodyguards still standing with their stun guns.
"Oh? That?" Chole raised an eyebrow, unfazed. "Did you really think those were real guns? I'm not a gangster, Ivy. They're stun guns—props, used for performance purposes. But you all thought it was some kind of live act, so you played along."
She pointed at the glowing button on their chests. "That's not a lie detector either. Please, we're too broke for that. But you believed it… and that's all that mattered. Because what you said, Ivy, you meant it. You told your best friend's mom that Maria had a backer. That she was a mistress." Her voice dropped. "Disgusting."
"You bitch!" a boy shouted. "I'm reporting you to the principal! You should be expelled!"
"Expelled?" Chole laughed, not even blinking. "Are you serious? You almost beat a classmate half-dead—did I tell you to do that? I just stood here, said nothing. If this is a prank, it's one you all chose to escalate."
At that moment, the door opened. Several teachers, parents, and students entered the lounge, staring at the scene in disbelief.
The head of school discipline stepped forward, adjusting his glasses as he looked around the wrecked lounge.
"Yes," he said slowly, pointing toward the stunned crowd, "Chole did inform us that she was preparing a performance today—in front of the teachers and parents present."
He glanced at the bruised and trembling Ivy, then at the students trying to avoid eye contact.
"But what I didn't expect…" he continued, his voice hardening, "…was for you all to lose control. To beat your own classmate like this. Or for that classmate to spread false and slanderous accusations about another student to her parents."
The lounge fell into stunned silence.
The students who had joined the chaos earlier began trembling, shifting behind one another, trying to disappear. Ivy sobbed quietly, broken and exposed. Maria remained seated, calm and silent, while Chole stood tall, a satisfied smirk tugging at her lips.