I was grabbing breakfast with my roommates. All because I ordered a bowl of savory tofu pudding, one of them went ballistic on me in front of everyone. She kept a snake in our dorm despite everyone’s objections, and even stole stuff. The others were willing to put up with it, but not me. No way! 1. At the start of the semester, to bond with my roommates, we did everything together. Today, when we all went for breakfast, I ordered a bowl of savory tofu pudding. It came out steaming, spicy broth mixed with soft tofu, and smelled amazing. I was about to dig in when one of my roommates, Brittany, suddenly shrieked, pointing at me, looking like she’d seen a ghost. "Yulie, what the heck are you eating?" I was a little confused. "Tofu pudding." She looked horrified. "That gross stuff is tofu pudding? The only tofu pudding I've ever had is sweet." Being told my food was disgusting killed my appetite, and I frowned. But I tried to be patient. "It's a regional thing. Some people eat it sweet, some eat it savory. It's not that weird. Even if you don't like it, you should respect other people's preferences." Brittany just stared at me with a sour look on her face. She made no attempt to hide her disgust. The other roommates noticed the tension and tried to smooth things over. "Hey, we eat it savory back home, and nobody calls it gross." "We usually have the sweet stuff here, but I think savory tofu pudding sounds good. Live and let live, right? What’s the big deal?" But Brittany did something no one expected. She stood up and started yelling at me, right there in the crowded cafeteria. "Tofu pudding is supposed to be sweet! You hick, take your savory garbage and get outta here!" 2. Truth was, this wasn’t the first time Brittany had done something totally off the wall. On move-in day, she gathered the four of us together and, all smiles, announced she wanted to keep a snake in the dorm. "Hey, I wanted to get your thoughts on something... Would it be okay if I kept a snake here?" One of our roommates, Sarah, was a typical Southern girl, super sweet and gentle. She immediately voiced her opinion. "I'm sorry, but I'm terrified of snakes." I and the other roommate also voted no. People either loved or hated snakes. The ones who loved them couldn't get enough, but the ones who hated them would freak out at the sight of one. It wasn't that I was afraid of snakes, but the school clearly stated no pets allowed. It would be a huge hassle. Brittany insisted. "It's no big deal, the snake's super cute, non-venomous, and doesn't bite. You'll love it." "I'll keep it in a tank. I promise it won't get out." We still looked unconvinced. She muttered, "I can't believe you're all being so difficult." Then, right in front of us, she pulled a snake out of her backpack. "Too bad, I already brought it. I’m keeping it." Sarah burst into tears when she saw the snake’s flashy pattern and its tongue flicking at us. I frowned, annoyed by her "ask for forgiveness, not permission" attitude. This wasn’t a discussion, it was a heads-up. Brittany, holding the snake, declared, "It's not just your dorm, you know? I have a right to have a pet." It was a done deal. She swore up and down the snake wouldn't get out of the tank, so we had to agree. Chapter 2: Under the Radar 3. After the tofu pudding incident, Brittany apologized to me privately. She grabbed my hand, all fake sweetness. "Yulie, I'm so sorry. I just say what's on my mind, no filter. You're not mad, right?" I accepted her apology for the sake of peace, but I wasn't going to be as friendly as before. I started distancing myself from Brittany. I wasn't about to get close to someone who could go off like that at any moment. One day, I got back to the dorm, and Brittany was on my chair, holding her snake, flipping through my photo albums on the bookshelf. She didn't even offer to get up when she saw me. Instead, she started cackling. "Yulie, you were such an ugly kid! Total country bumpkin." I rushed over, snatched the album away, and snapped, "Who said you could go through my stuff? Didn't your parents teach you any manners?" Brittany shrugged. "Relax, it's not like it's valuable. What's the harm in looking?" She clearly didn't think she'd done anything wrong. Then, her eyes lit up, and she stared at the bag I was carrying. "Oh my god, Yulie, that bag looks so fake!" "That design just came out! It’s not even in stores yet." I subtly moved the bag behind me. Brittany took that as a sign I was ashamed of getting called out. She grinned, playing along. "So, you're into designer stuff, huh?" "But young people need to be realistic. Don't go chasing after labels. Carrying a fake won't turn you into a princess." "If you like them, I have tons of real bags you can borrow. No need to carry knockoffs. People will laugh at you." I politely declined. "No thanks. I don't want to catch anything." I saw a crack appear in Brittany's perfect smile. The bag wasn't actually mine. Luxury brands sent me the latest designs as soon as they came out. This bag was the cheapest one in my closet. My parents always said to be low-key. That’s why I picked it. Now someone was calling it a fake. I'd seen Brittany's "real" bags. They were heavily discounted designer brands, used so much the leather was peeling. She wasn't exactly clean. She sometimes tossed used tissues into her bags. I really did worry about catching something. I wasn’t trying to be snide. Brittany was the weirdest person in the dorm. When it was time to pay the water bill, she'd argue she barely used any water. When it was time to pay the electric bill, she'd calculate exactly how many hours she was in the dorm and only pay for those hours. When we went out for hot pot, she'd say she was on a diet and only eat greens, so she should only pay for the greens. Then, when we were done, she'd scarf down all the leftover meat, saying we couldn't waste it. That was who she was, and now she was trying to act generous. Hilarious. Brittany’s face turned red. "Fine, be that way. I wouldn't want you to get my bag dirty." Chapter 3: Fake Rich 4. Brittany was a "beauty" influencer with a million followers. She streamed live every night from the dorm, sometimes doing crazy live chats with fans. The rest of us usually went to bed at a decent hour, but Ms. Brittany had to mess that up. Her streams were a nightmare. She’d suddenly scream when everyone was quiet or blast music and shout at her game in the middle of the night. My roommates were all on the verge of a breakdown. "Brittany, could you stream earlier? We need to sleep. We can't with you being so loud." Brittany always agreed. "Sure, no problem." Then, the next night, she'd do it all over again, and apologize. "Sorry, but my fans can only watch me at night. I can’t let them down, you know?" Then she’d start on us. "If you can't sleep, that's your problem. Some people can sleep anywhere. I guess you guys are just princesses." I had never met someone so shameless. I wanted to smack her. Why couldn’t she be quiet at night? Sarah stopped me. "Just ignore it, okay? Less drama." I decided to check out Brittany's stream to see what it was like. Her username was "LittleB_SoCute!" I barely recognized her. The person on screen was nothing like the girl in our dorm. Brittany had dark skin, her eyes were tiny, and she was short and skinny. But on screen, she was a big-eyed, fair-skinned, curvy babe! The magic of filters, I guess. The comments were going wild. [LittleB is so hot!] [What kind of guy could land LittleB?!] [So glad LittleB is at State U! Lucky us!] Then, one comment popped up. [I go to State U too! Never seen you around.] Other fans jumped in. [You can't just see LittleB anytime!] [It's a blessing to see her. Beauty is rare.] Brittany tossed her hair and smiled. "I'm a homebody. I only go out for class. Hope to see you around!" The comments exploded. [Hot and a homebody! I love it!] [LittleB is one of us!] 5. "Yulie, look!" Brittany spun around in front of me, showing off a fancy Hermès bag, grinning from ear to ear. She wanted me to ask about it. I glanced at it and said, "Nice." Brittany was not happy I didn't seem jealous. She cornered me and told me all about the bag. "It's Hermès! You've probably never seen one before." "Guess who gave it to me? My top donor! I can't believe he splurged." "He hasn't even met me in person. He's just obsessed with me." Brittany giggled. I smiled, thinking my grandma wouldn't even let the dog wear that to carry sausages. Brittany said generously, "I can let you borrow it when I'm done with it." I declined. "No thanks. I have enough bags." Brittany laughed. "Yulie, you're not fooling anyone." She looked down at me, all high and mighty. "You dress so plain. You could never afford something like this." I said, "Yep." 6. I saw Brittany had just updated her social media. The photo was her in a skimpy dress, posing for the camera. The picture was heavily edited, but... Was that my Prada bag? I thought back. I'd been doing an experiment with my professor that day. I hadn't been back to the dorm all day. Brittany had snuck out my bag while I was gone! She hated fakes, right? What was she doing? [LittleB's bag is so cute! Link, please!] Brittany replied, [Sorry, cutie. It's Prada, but it hasn't come out yet. You can't buy it yet.] [Wow, getting it before release! What's your deal?] Someone replied, [Brands send the latest stuff to their partners first. Get it?] Brittany sent a blushing emoji. Everyone knew. [You're not just a pretty face! You're rich!] [Marry me!] She'd built a "rich" persona online. I grinned. How could I let that happen?
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