Chapter 2

Florence froze, then caught herself fast.

"You went to the bar. Everyone knows. Everyone can back it up. You did it, so why can't you own it?"

Kate stepped up too, painting a vivid little picture of me sleeping around.

Neither of them had found me in the dorm.

"Of course you couldn't find me."

My mouth curved, my eyes cold. "Because I was at the library."

I opened the replay history in my streaming app.

To keep from being framed, I'd deliberately livestreamed my study session.

A livestream record doesn't lie.

"It's right there, clear as day. From the six-thirty evening class until just before nine, I was in the library the whole time."

"I can't exactly be in two places at once, can I?"

My eyes swept coldly over the two of them, and I pressed on,

"You're the ones with a problem. You claim you saw me sleeping around, and you're passing faceless photos around to smear me."

"What is it you two want?"

Panic flickered across Florence's face.

She hadn't expected me to come prepared.

The other students crowded in.

"Janice really does look like she was in the library. She couldn't have been at a bar at the same time."

"Don't tell me her roommates set her up?"

Florence swallowed hard, her composure slipping.

"You swore up and down that I was hooking up with someone. What proof do you have?"

"No proof means it's slander!"

I stared her down, so hard she took half a step back.

Her fingertips went white, her lips pressed tight.

Tears welled in her eyes.

Her voice cracked with them.

"Janice, I didn't want to expose you. But since you're going to talk like that, don't blame me for not sparing you as a roommate."

She pulled three report slips out of her pocket.

"These are miscarriage records from the hospital. I found them by accident under your mattress."

"Your name is right there on them."

The reports passed from hand to hand, and everyone sucked in a breath.

The looks turned my way went from disgust to something worse.

Kate let out a shriek. "So you had three miscarriages?"

Another roommate, Jemima Simmons, said in a low voice, "No wonder you were always saying your period was irregular…"

Those words nailed me to the pillory for good.

I was shaking all over.

"Those reports are fake!"

I reached out to snatch them.

Florence shoved my hand away.

Her whole face said I was a hopeless disgrace, her eyes full of contempt, like she was looking at something filthy.

"I demand these reports be checked to see if they're real!"

"What if you tear them to pieces?" Florence refused without a second's hesitation. "I didn't even want to say anything, but you're out there sleeping around. You should think about the rest of us for once."

"What if you bring some disease back here?"

At that, several of the girls edged back half a step.

They avoided me like poison.

My roommates actually pinched their noses in disgust.

"Making friends is fine, but sleeping around like that isn't."

Florence delivered the warning with fake concern, then walked into the dorm on her own and threw open her suitcase.

"All the evidence is right here. If you still think I've wronged you, then I'll just leave."

Kate strode over and yanked the handle of her suitcase.

"Why are you the one moving out?"

"She's the one who should go!"

I gripped the hem of my dress, my breath shaking.

They wanted to drive me out.

Jemima had even gone and fetched the dorm supervisor, feeding her an embellished version of the whole thing.

The supervisor's brow furrowed.

Her lip curled.

"Girls these days don't know how to respect themselves. This one needs to be dealt with!"

I turned my head, my eyes darkening.

"Those two report slips don't count as evidence at all. You're the dorm supervisor. You represent the school. Is this how you treat a student?"

"You don't have to throw me out. I'll leave on my own!"

I threw open my suitcase in a hurry, shoving my clothes in any which way.

Jaw clenched, I made my way to the empty dorm at the end of the hall.

The laughter drifted after me, sharp enough to ache in my ears.

Online, I found the bar's contact information.

Laugh all they wanted. It wouldn't last much longer.

I was about to close the net too.