Chapter 2

"Chloe! Are you out of your mind?"

Mindy stood up abruptly.

More than forty pairs of eyes in the lecture hall instantly locked onto her.

She clutched her lower stomach, her eyes already pooling with tears.

"If you didn't want to lend me one, you could have just said so! Did you really have to scream it out?"

I capped my pen, my face completely expressionless.

"A period is a perfectly normal biological process. It’s not something to be ashamed of."

"You were too shy to ask, so I was just helping you out."

She was left completely speechless.

Around us, some students ducked their heads to hide their snickers, while others muttered that I was being too blunt.

Mindy glared at me.

"Never mind."

She grabbed her bag, hunched over, and walked out of the classroom.

After class, the Snapchat group chat instantly blew up.

Someone joked:

[Lmao, Chloe’s shout literally woke me up from my nap today.]

[Mindy’s face turned completely green.]

[But honestly, girls shouldn’t blast each other like that over a tampon.]

Mindy didn't reply in the group chat.

Instead, she posted a picture on her Instagram Story.

There was no caption. Just a photo of a hospital corridor, featuring an IV stand, a sterile white wall, and a glimpse of her pale wrist.

Ten minutes later, the replies poured in.

[What happened, babe?]

[Is it bad cramps?]

She sent a blanket reply to everyone:

[I’m fine. It was just my own carelessness.]

The next day, Mindy didn't show up for lectures.

By the third day, she still hadn't returned to our suite.

My other two suitemates, Hailey and Jessica, were whispering in the common area.

"What is actually going on with Mindy?"

"She said it’s too private to talk about."

In the afternoon, right after I stepped out of the library, my phone rang. It was Dean Vance.

"Chloe, come to the student affairs office right now."

When I arrived, Mindy was sitting on the couch, her face deathly pale, clutching a medical report in her hand.

Dr. Cooper from the campus clinic was also there.

Dean Vance sat behind his desk, his brow furrowed in a deep scowl.

"Chloe, Mindy has raised a very serious accusation against you."

Mindy looked up at me.

Her eyes were red and swollen, as if she had been crying all night.

"Chloe, I didn't want to make a big deal out of this," she said, her voice trembling.

"But I’m just so scared."

Dean Vance slid the medical report across the desk.

"Mindy got tested at the university hospital. She tested positive for an infection."

He paused, adjusting his glasses.

"She claims that a few days ago, she borrowed a feminine hygiene product from you."

I asked, "Did she actually borrow one?"

Mindy burst into tears immediately.

"You didn't lend me one in class that day, but you did the night before in our dorm! I asked you, and you grabbed one from your drawer."

"I saw the plastic packaging was slightly torn at the corner, but I didn't think much of it then."

Dean Vance said in a stern voice, "Chloe, denying this won't help you. You must cooperate with the university and go to the clinic for a full panel test immediately."

"I never gave her anything."

"It’s not up to you to decide whether you did or didn't," Dean Vance’s voice grew heavier.

"You live in the same suite, share a bathroom, and are close. For the safety of the other students, you must get tested right now."

I looked him straight in the eye.

"I refuse."

The office door wasn't fully closed.

Two students passing by in the hallway stopped in their tracks.

"What infection?"

"Is it... that kind of disease?"

"She refuses to get tested? Isn't that basically admitting she’s guilty?"

The whispers cut through the air like tiny needles.

Dean Vance’s face darkened even further.

"Think carefully, Chloe. If you refuse to cooperate, the administration will treat this as a severe disciplinary violation."

Mindy kept her head down, her shoulders shaking violently as she sobbed.

Meanwhile, I stood by the door, listening to the footsteps gathering outside.

Everyone was waiting for me to break.