Part 2The Cheapest Trip Turned Nightmare

Once the refunds hit their accounts, the entire class officially defected to Jessica's group.

After school, I headed straight to the agency.

Summer vacation was peak season. The phones were ringing off the hook, and my parents were closing massive corporate retreats left and right.

"You can cancel the reservations for my class's European trip," I told them, dropping my backpack on a chair. "They thought the price was too high."

My parents stared at me in absolute disbelief.

"Two thousand five hundred is too high?" my mom asked, her jaw dropping. "I literally priced that at a loss just because they're your friends."

I gave a dry hum of agreement and laid out exactly what happened in the classroom.

My dad frowned, leaning back in his office chair. "Liam actually threw us under the bus? Our corporate contract with his parents' airline is up for renewal next week. They've been calling me non-stop begging me to sign. After this, I think we'll take our business elsewhere."

My mom scoffed, crossing her arms. "And that forced shopping rumor? What a joke. People love to run their mouths without knowing the facts."

The 'forced shopping' incident was a nightmare from last year. A married client went abroad and bought his mistress an authentic luxury bag. When he came back, he bought a cheap counterfeit replica and gave it to his wife. The wife noticed the bad stitching and lost her mind.

To cover his tracks, the husband blamed our tour guide, claiming they locked him in a counterfeit shop and forced him to buy it. The couple actually came to our agency and threw a massive tantrum demanding compensation.

Liam knew the truth. I had vented to him about the whole ridiculous drama when it happened.

Yet today, he deliberately twisted the story to smear my family's business in front of everyone.

"It's a blessing in disguise," my dad said, softening his tone to comfort me. "We were going to bleed money on that trip anyway. Weren't you begging to go to the Maldives? Next month, we'll shut off our phones and take a family vacation."

I smiled and agreed. Right on cue, a VIP client walked through the glass doors, and my parents snapped into professional mode, rushing over to greet them.

I sat down and checked my phone. I had a new message request.

It was Sarah, the class president from the homeroom next door. We knew each other from running the school radio station. She knew my family owned an agency and was asking about summer group rates.

I pulled up the exact same European itinerary I had designed for my class and forwarded it to her.

Except this time, I deleted the $2,500 charity rate and typed in the actual retail price. $3,500.

I was done doing favors.

My phone rang almost immediately. I braced myself for her to complain about the cost, but the second I answered, she sounded breathless.

"Thirty-five hundred? Harper, are you serious? Did you forget a zero or something?"

I blinked, genuinely caught off guard. "No, it's $3,500. But to be completely transparent, our tours have absolutely zero hidden fees or mandatory shopping stops. What you see is what you pay."

"I totally trust you," Sarah said happily. "My grandma went on one of your senior cruise packages last year and she hasn't stopped raving about your family's service."

We ironed out the details, and Sarah promised to come to the agency tomorrow to drop off the deposit for her entire class.

My parents had already spent hours securing block reservations for flights and hotels for my class. If my class backed out, we would have eaten the cancellation fees.

But now, Sarah's class was sliding perfectly into those reserved slots. It was a flawless save.

Just as I hung up, a notification popped up. Jessica had tagged everyone in our senior class group chat.

Every single person had officially booked her $900 trip. She had collected all the funds and was now demanding everyone send pictures of their passports to finalize the bookings.

I was about to mute the chat when a new notification popped up. Jessica had tagged me directly.

"@Harper, you haven't sent me your money yet. This is our final graduation trip. If you don't come, you're deliberately destroying our class unity."