Chapter 4

I woke up the next morning to my toothbrush covered in mustard.

When I went to class, there was glue smeared on my forks.

At night, when I tried to sleep, they'd deliberately blast music at full volume, then suddenly turn it off just as I was drifting off, tormenting me repeatedly.

New clothes I bought would have holes the very next day.

Snacks on my desk would vanish in a flash, the wrappers left on my bed.

I couldn't take it anymore and had a huge fight with them.

Brittany, however, just plopped down on the floor and started bawling.

"Everyone, come look!"

"The rich girl is bullying us poor students!"

"All I asked was for her to share a little of her prize money, and she's trying to hit me!"

Chelsea and Megan fanned the flames, claiming I was using my family's wealth to look down on them and force them to kneel.

The dorm hallway quickly filled with people, all pointing fingers and whispering about me.

"Whoa, who is that? So arrogant?"

"I heard it's Skylar Reid from the finance department. She was flaunting a ten-thousand-dollar bag on Freshman Orientation Week. So high-profile."

"Being rich makes her think she's special? Forcing someone to kneel, that's disgusting."

I was speechless, my eyes welling up.

I went to Mr. Davison, my counselor, explained the situation, and asked to switch dorms.

After listening, Mr. Davison just gave me a placating smile, trying to smooth things over.

"Skylar, I know you feel wronged."

"But you have to understand, your roommates come from difficult financial backgrounds, and they have strong pride."

"It's great that you won the lottery, but you also need to consider their feelings, right?"

I got agitated.

"Mr. Davison, this isn't about feelings!"

"They're extorting and bullying me!"

He waved his hand dismissively.

"Young people have little disagreements, it's perfectly normal."

"You just need to talk it out."

"You come from a good family, so be more understanding with them. Just take the hit, consider it your good deed for the day."

"Switching dorms is a complicated process; it's practically impossible."

"You should just go back and have a good talk with them."

I left Mr. Davison's office, feeling utterly cold.

So, "understanding" meant I had to back down.

And "communication" meant I had to pay them.

I returned to the dorm, where Brittany and the others were waiting for me.

Brittany smiled when she saw me.

"Well? Went to complain to the teacher? Was it any use?"

Chelsea crossed her arms.

"We already guessed it. Mr. Davison hates privileged princesses who whine whenever things don't go their way."

"Don't struggle anymore, Skylar."

"Just give us the money, and we can all get along peacefully."

Megan also added.

"Yeah, it won't do you any good if this gets bigger."

"We've already trashed your reputation."

I looked at them, and my last shred of hesitation vanished.

I pulled out my phone and, right in front of them, sent a message to a number.

Brittany thought I was about to transfer the money, and her smile deepened.

"Came to your senses? Wouldn't it have been easier to just do this earlier?"

I ignored her and sent another message.

That evening, I was studying in the library when I received a call from an unknown number.

A woman's voice came from the other end.

"Hello? Is this Skylar Reid? I'm Chloe Davis's mom!"

Chloe Davis was the girl I tutored.

My heart sank.

"Ms. Davis, hello. Has something happened to Chloe?"

"How dare you ask! What exactly did you do to my Chloe?!"

The woman roared into the phone.

"Your classmates all called and told me everything!"

"They said you have bad character, that you form cliques and bully students at school!"

"They said you cheat on your own exams and have no business being a tutor!"

"My Chloe is so innocent, what if you lead her astray?!"

"Don't bother coming for tutoring this month! We don't need you anymore!"

The call ended. I clutched my phone, my hands and feet freezing cold.

Brittany, Chelsea, Megan.

They actually did something like this!

They were trying to ruin my reputation, to cut off all my avenues!

I rushed back to the dorm, shoving the door open.

The three of them were huddled together, showing no surprise at my return.

Brittany smiled at me.

"Oh, you're back? How does it feel to get fired from your tutoring job?"

I was shaking all over, my voice trembling.

"You did this, didn't you?"

Chelsea stood up and walked towards me.

"That's right, we did."

"We already looked into it. You tutor every week, making quite a bit of cash, huh?"

"How about it? Do you know how powerful we are now?"

Megan also chimed in.

"We just made a phone call, gave that parent a heads-up."

"If you don't want things to escalate, to be completely blacklisted from the entire tutoring circuit..."

"Then just be obedient."

Brittany leaned back in her chair.

"Two thousand five hundred dollars. This is the final warning."

"Otherwise, the next step is to print out all your misdeeds."

"And plaster them all over campus."

"Making sure you can never show your face in this school again."

I looked at them.

I thought they only wanted money, but I never expected them to be so malicious, wanting to completely destroy me.

They thought they had me cornered.