03
Back at the dorm, Sarah and her two
sidekicks were huddled together, whispering.
When they saw me walk in, they exchanged a
look, and shut up.
Seeing their little clique, I rolled my eyes.
I skipped orientation because I was under the
weather.
So, by the time I got here, Sarah had already befriended everyone.
At first, I figured it was normal that it would
take me a few days to fit in.
く
But now I remember that Sarah was super
helpful when I first brought my suitcase in.
But when she noticed the designer logo on
my bag, she started making snarky
comments.
“Are you trying to show off? Showing up to
college with a multi–thousand dollar suitcase?
You want everyone to know your family is
rich?”
I was too shy, I blushed and explained.
“It’s not on purpose. I just had a lot of stuff,
so I grabbed the biggest suitcase from
home.”
Sarah’s face darkened, and she dropped my
bag on the floor and walked off.
く
That suitcase was enough to set her off.
If she knew I had a seven–figure trust fund,
she’d probably explode.
I ignored their snarky stares, opened my
laptop, and started typing out my campaign
speech.
Sarah walked over, grabbed my arm, acting
friendly.
“Hey, Ashley, are you still mad at me? I’m
sorry about what happened in class. I was
wrong.”
She looked so sincere, like we were besties
who just had a fight.
“We’re all in the same dorm, Sarah was just
<
concerned. But you called her breath stinky in
front of everyone. We’re girls, so let’s try to
understand each other.”
Tiffany also joined, pretending to be all fair.
I pulled Sarah’s hand and laughed, “I’m not
mad at all! You’re misreading me.”
“I actually think we’re a lot alike. I’m super
blunt, like I just say what’s on my mind.”
“In class today, I thought your breath was
kind of bad. Maybe it’s because you’re
stressed out, you should go to a doctor.”
I was telling the truth. Sarah loved fried food,
and she was always up late. Her breath
always had that nasty fried chicken smell.
く
Sarah’s face twisted. She yanked her hand
back.
Ashley, you think just because your family is
rich you can treat people however you want?”
I grabbed a tissue to wipe my hand.
“You think just because you have bad breath
you can talk trash all the time?”
“You… you’re a bitch!”
Sarah pointed at me, her lip trembling.
Jessica rushed to her side. “Okay, Sarah, chill out, it’s not worth it.”
“I thought all those rich kids were well-
mannered, a waste of resources on you!”
く
Sarah spat.
Before I could respond, a cool voice came
from the top bunk, “Ashley just said two
words to you, it’s not like she was bragging
about being rich. Why are you so quick to
attack her? You sound jealous.”
“And you’re handing out your ultimate move
and your flash just because she’s using her
basic attack?”
It was Michelle, another roommate.
H
I looked up at the closed curtains, thinking.
Michelle was always alone, never interacted
with any of us. She didn’t seem to care about
our petty squabbles.
<
When Sarah and the girls excluded me,
Michelle was the only one to show any
kindness. But she never spoke up to defend
me like this.
Sarah was shocked that Michelle would call
her out.
She looked up and then down, unsure who to
curse first.
Watching her struggle, I was suddenly happy,
I patted Michelle’s bed.
“Wanna get some seafood? My treat.”
