Chapter 3

The rumor spread like wildfire.

By 7:00 PM, someone had already posted anonymously on the campus Reddit board:

[Drama in Dorm Building 3. Someone intentionally spread a disease to their roommate.]

[I heard it was through a shared tampon.]

[For real? That is fucking disgusting.]

When I walked back to my dorm, the door was slightly ajar.

The chatter inside abruptly died.

Hailey was sitting on her bed, and Jessica was standing by her closet.

The moment they saw me, their expressions looked as if they were looking at a walking plague.

I put my books on my desk.

Jessica immediately took a half-step back.

"Chloe, can you please not touch the common table for now?"

I looked at her.

"Why?"

She looked a bit embarrassed.

"It’s not like that... It's just, until things are cleared up, we all want to be careful."

Hailey whispered, "Mindy is already devastated. She’s been crying all afternoon, saying her life is over."

"She’s only twenty."

I pulled out my chair and sat down.

"And?"

Hailey blinked, stunned.

I continued, "Just because she’s devastated, she gets to frame me for something that never happened?"

Jessica frowned.

"Can you not be so cold-blooded? She tested positive. Who would make a joke about something like this?"

"And since I haven't been tested, you all have already pronounced me guilty?"

No one answered.

The only sound in the room was the low hum of the ceiling fan.

A few minutes later, Mindy walked in.

The second she crossed the threshold, Hailey rushed over to support her.

"Mindy, why are you back? Didn't the doctor say you should rest?"

Mindy shook her head.

She looked at me, tears rolling down her cheeks instantly.

"Chloe, I really don't want to blame you."

"If it was an accident on your part, I can forgive you."

The moment she said that, Jessica’s gaze toward me grew even colder.

I let out a soft laugh.

"If you don't want to blame me, then keep my name out of your mouth."

Mindy’s sobbing paused for a second.

Her fingers clenched tightly around the hem of her cardigan.

"I’m just telling the truth..."

"Truth requires evidence," I said.

The atmosphere in the room completely froze.

Ten minutes later, Dean Vance sent a notification to the department group chat on WhatsApp.

[To ensure the health and safety of our students, Chloe will be temporarily relocated from her current dorm room, effective immediately, pending further administrative investigation.]

A stream of "Acknowledged" quickly followed in the chat.

Hailey let out a sigh of relief when she saw the message.

Jessica muttered, "This is for the best. For everyone."

For the best.

I had heard that phrase too many times in my past life.

When they forced me out of the dorm, they said it was for the best.

When they revoked my research funding, they said it was for the best.

When they forced me to take a leave of absence, they said it was for the best.

I packed a few clothes and my laptop.

I didn't take anything extra.

Because I knew this was only the beginning.

Even the resident advisor downstairs looked at me with pity and suspicion.

She handed me the key to a temporary isolation room, her voice barely a whisper.

"Don't blame the school, honey. Parents are breathing down our necks right now."

I took the key.

"I know."

"If you really have... something, get treated early. Don't drag it out."

I looked up at her.

She quickly averted her eyes in embarrassment.

I carried my bag toward the end of the hallway.

The temporary room was in the basement corner, right next to the utility closet. It was damp and smelled of mold.

I tossed my bag onto the bare mattress.

My phone buzzed.

It was a text from Dean Vance.

[Your President’s Merit Scholarship application has been temporarily suspended.]

I turned off my phone and sat on the edge of the damp bed.

My heart was completely calm.

Mindy probably thought she had won half the battle by getting me kicked out.

But she didn't know.

I was simply waiting for her to blow this up as big as possible.