My wealthy roommate, Brittany, despised me for being from a small town, And rallied her clique to ostracize me. Loudly, she’d announce to the dorm that she was inviting everyone to her favorite pop star’s concert. When someone asked if I should come along, She’d sneer: “Look at the clothes she wears, clearly from some discount online store.” “Taking someone like that to my idol’s concert? How embarrassing!” Later, her secret crush wore the very same T-shirt I bought from that discount online store, and confessed his feelings for me at the campus singing competition. 1 “Brittany, you and Ethan are just perfect together!” It was 9PM. I hadn’t even reached the door yet, but I could already hear my roommates’ excited chatter from afar. The moment I opened the door, Brittany’s expression was as if she’d seen something unclean. She immediately hid her poster, scrambled onto her top bunk, clutched her nose, and peered over the edge of her bed, looking at me with undisguised disdain. “Cassie, you stink!” I had just finished my shift at a busy diner, so I probably did have a bit of a scent clinging to me, but I’d already changed into fresh clothes and even brought them bubble tea. “Sorry, Brittany. I’ll shower right away. Here’s the bubble tea I brought for you all.” Olivia, one of my roommates, happily took her tea, murmuring thanks. “Hmph. Such cheap bubble tea. Even a dog wouldn’t drink it.” Brittany said this with her lips curled downwards, looking utterly repulsed. My roommates, seeing her sour expression, quietly returned the bubble tea to me. “Oh, sorry, Cassie! I’m on a diet lately.” “I can’t sleep if I drink bubble tea.” I made $15 an hour from my part-time job, and each bubble tea cost $13. I’d bought three for them, not even indulging myself. I bit back my tears, forced a faint smile, set the bubble tea aside, and headed for the shower. “Her poverty stench is disgusting me. Does anyone have an air freshener?” Listening to their blatant insults, watching my belongings carelessly tossed aside, I hid in the bathroom, crying silently. It had been a year. I had tried to fit in, as my Dean of Students advised. But all I got in return was increasingly aggressive ostracism. Brittany had bought the washing machine, so I understood why she forbade me from using it. But why couldn’t I even hang my clothes on the dorm balcony? They always took half an hour or more to shower, yet they would frantically rush me if I took more than ten minutes. Every night, they’d blast their pop star videos until two or three in the morning, then complain the next day that my early morning class woke them up. … Grin and bear it, and you’ll just get sick. I decided to reject mental self-sabotage. If there was trouble, I’d just go wild. 2 The next day, they skipped all their afternoon classes to get ready for the concert that night. I returned to the dorm after my classes to find my belongings completely ransacked and scattered everywhere. “Cassie, you little thief, give me back my necklace!” Before I could even lose it, Brittany rushed at me like a madwoman. “What necklace?” I looked utterly confused. “Cassie, don’t play innocent! In this dorm, besides you, who would steal something?” Brittany’s loud voice immediately drew the attention of everyone on the floor. “I’ve never seen any necklace of yours, much less stolen it.” The three of them always went everywhere together, never including me. I had no idea she even owned such a thing. The onlookers, eager for drama, all asked what the necklace looked like, curious if anyone had seen it. “It’s a necklace endorsed by Jax, my idol! I bought it specially for tonight’s concert.” Brittany cried as she pulled out her phone, opening her photo gallery. “Brittany, without any proof, don’t keep accusing me of stealing.” I knew I was innocent, but I feared she’d twist the truth and damage my reputation for future scholarship applications. “You’re always secretly using my skincare products when we’re not around, don’t think I don’t know.” Brittany’s baseless accusation infuriated me. Her things were often scattered, and sometimes she didn’t even know if something was lost or misplaced, but whenever she couldn’t find something, she’d imply in the dorm that I had stolen it. “Seriously? Who’d want to use your skincare products? Anyone who uses them ends up with terrible breakouts, okay?” “Fine! Let’s see who ends up with a ruined face from using whose!” As Brittany started railing at me, her clique joined in, launching a full-scale assault. “Cassie, have some boundaries, okay?” “Yeah, it’s disgusting living with someone who’s always shoplifting like you.” “Oh really? Well, today I’m going to see who truly has no boundaries.” With that, I walked straight to their desks and began searching. “Brittany, is this the Fenty eyeshadow palette you accused me of stealing?” “Is this your NARS blush?” “Is this your Dior lipstick?” I placed each found item in front of Brittany, her eyes wide with disbelief. Because she knew, Olivia and Sophia weren't much better off than me, just regular girls. “Brittany, don’t listen to her, she’s just trying to frame us.” “Yeah, Brittany. She’s just jealous that you’re friends with us and not with her.” Seeing their lies exposed, the two quickly moved to Brittany’s side, gripping her hands. “Brittany, you’re not stupid, are you? Didn’t you ever suspect anything about the makeup they usually wear?” I stood to the side, fanning the flames, thoroughly enjoying the show. “Uh, Brittany, that necklace on your phone… I think I’ve seen Cassie wear something similar.” Harper, a student from the next dorm, catching a glimpse of the photo on Brittany’s phone, suddenly blurted out. 3 “Cassie, it was you after all! A thief crying thief!” Brittany snapped back to reality, yelling that she would tell the Dean of Students. The surrounding students all urged her not to blow things out of proportion. “Cassie, if you took it, just give it back!” “Yeah! If the Dean finds out, you might get a demerit!” “I didn’t.” I stood my ground, unmoving. “You didn’t? Do you dare open your drawer right now, in front of all these students?” Brittany’s makeup was streaked from crying, a clear sign she wasn’t going to let me off easy today. I didn’t argue. I pulled the key from my bag and unlocked my drawer. Brittany roughly shoved me aside and started rummaging through it herself. “What are you doing? Those are my things.” I was about to stop her, but her clique held me back. “What’s this?” After emptying the cabinet, she finally found a necklace and dangled it in front of me. “That’s mine.” I stepped forward, trying to snatch it back, but she sidestepped, making me miss. “You say it’s yours, so tell me, where did you buy it? Do you have the order number? A receipt?” Her questions left me speechless. In reality, someone had forced it around my neck, and I had completely forgotten about it. “What, speechless now? Did I hit a nerve? Feeling guilty?” Brittany laughed triumphantly, like a victor. “Someone gave it to me. I don’t have a receipt, and I don’t have an order number.” “Hmph, then call him out! I’d like to see what kind of person would be interested in you, dressed in cheap discount store clothes.” Brittany’s challenging glare shot straight at me, making me deeply uncomfortable. “He’s busy today, not on campus.” Although a certain someone would drop everything for me, and even wanted me to publicly acknowledge our relationship, I didn’t want to drag him into this and make him witness such ugliness. “Hahahaha, Cassie, do you even hear yourself?!” The surrounding students looked at me with suspicion, tacitly assuming I was the thief, whispering and pointing. Brittany watched my humiliation, her eyes gleaming with cunning and triumph. I seized an opportune moment when she wasn’t paying attention, snatched the necklace back, and held it high, allowing the code on the back of the pendant to clearly show in the light. “This necklace, each one is unique. The code hidden in the pendant contains a vow of love. Just check it, and you’ll know if I’m lying.” “I’ve seen interviews with Jax, and I think there’s something like that.” A few students stepped forward, confirming my statement. “Hmph, I’d like to see what tricks you can pull!” Brittany opened the official website, entered her ID number, and looked up the necklace’s code. Everyone leaned in, their eyes focused on the necklace and the phone. “They really are different, wow.” Brittany’s face instantly changed. She quickly snatched back her phone. “So what if it’s different? That doesn’t mean she didn’t steal it, does it?” “My necklace has a three-digit code. Do you think I’d even care about your eight-digit junk necklace?!” The fewer digits in this necklace’s code, the purer and more exclusive the love it represented; eight-digit codes were for regular, non-limited editions. Luckily, a certain someone’s cheesy romantic lines had some effect. “Could she be… kept? Otherwise, where would a country girl like you get the money to buy something like that?” Brittany’s passive-aggressive tone made me want to punch her. “Does spreading rumors make you feel accomplished? Believe it or not, I’ll call the police right now and charge you with defamation.” “You…” Brittany’s face flushed crimson with anger, and she was speechless. “Brittany, I’m telling you. If you don’t apologize to me, pack up my things, and compensate me for my losses, this isn’t over between us.” Brittany was about to continue arguing, but Olivia pulled her aside. “Brittany, your last disciplinary action hasn’t been lifted yet. It’s not good to blow things up.” “Yeah, if we keep arguing, we’ll be late for the concert too.” Brittany, after a moment of hesitation and thought, took out her phone and transferred ten thousand dollars to me on her banking app. “Cassie, I won’t touch your things, and I won’t apologize to you. Just be smart, take the money, and shut your mouth.” I took out my phone and looked, a mischievous smile playing on my lips. I’m quite fond of money, and since I had the moral high ground, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down. “Thanks! If you have too much money you don’t know what to do with, feel free to pull a few more stunts. I’m more than happy to see them through.” That night, they returned to the dorm after the concert, constantly eyeing me with strange expressions. Brittany deliberately pushed Olivia towards me, subtly trying to get information. “Cassie! What’s your relationship with Noah?” 4 Noah is the heartthrob of the Computer Science department, and also Brittany’s secret crush. “Is something wrong?” After the afternoon’s commotion, the atmosphere in the dorm had become noticeably awkward. “Well, we saw him downstairs near the dorm earlier, and he asked if we knew you. He wanted us to bring you some late-night snacks.” Brittany sat in her chair, occasionally sneaking glances at me, clearly eager for my answer. “Oh, really? So, where are the snacks?” I casually tidied my desk, a little distracted. “Brittany said she didn’t know you, so she didn’t take them.” Olivia scratched her head, looking a bit embarrassed. I shrugged, feigning indifference. “So, what’s your relationship with him?” Olivia, under Brittany’s intimidating gaze, nervously pressed on. “Guess.” I let a slight, playful smile play on my lips. “Guess what? How could Noah even like her? A country bumpkin, utterly tasteless.” Brittany leaped from her chair, her face etched with impatience. “No need to guess. The truth is exactly what you’re imagining.” I said this, a faint smile playing on my lips, making it sound like a joke. They stared at me blankly, clearly not believing a word I said. “No, it’s not a joke!” I dropped my playful expression, turning serious. “Hmph! You say it is, then it is? If you’re so brave, video call him right now!” Seeing Brittany’s half-skeptical, half-challenging look, I almost burst out laughing. “Why should I listen to you?” Brittany’s lips pressed into a thin line, her teeth grinding audibly. “Noah is my idol, he’s my guy. I won’t allow you to fabricate a relationship with him.” Watching Brittany seethe with frustration was incredibly satisfying. “In that case, why don’t you ask him?” I paused for a moment, then pursed my lips into a smile, continuing. “Could it be… you don’t even have his number? Oh, how sad.” Brittany, hit by my words, glared at me fiercely, her hands clenched into fists, knuckles white with strain. “Though, you did say you didn’t know me when you were in front of him earlier. Otherwise, I would’ve given you his number.” A subtle, mocking smile played on my lips. Brittany finally couldn’t take it anymore. Tears welled up in her eyes, eventually spilling down her cheeks in crystal drops.
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