An old oven in a corner was emitting wisps of smoke. Summer Lodge and Jean Starr discussed where they wanted to buy groceries. I was dazed when I saw this familiar scene."We're going to the market, Michelle. Touch my oven, and I'll ensure you don't get behavior points this semester," Summer threatened.Her words jolted me back to reality. I hurriedly turned on the voice recorder on my phone and ran over to the oven to unplug it. Then, I grabbed it and ran out of the dorm."Have you lost your mind, Michelle? Why are you taking my oven?" Summer ran after me and grabbed my arm."I'm handing it over to the resident assistant!" I raised my voice, attracting the attention of the other students. "You're breaking the rules by using forbidden electrical appliances in the dorm, Summer! Can you bear the consequences if a fire breaks out?"Summer was taken aback. Then, her expression turned ugly. "How is it any of your business if I'm cooking in the dorm? I'm not the only one, am I? Why don'
I ran to the first floor and knocked on Jocelyn's door. "Jocelyn, something's wrong!"I had to knock for a full minute before Jocelyn showed up. She slowly came out of the room, looking irritated. "Just spit out whatever you have to say. You don't have to knock on my door like that."I leaned close to her. "I want to report my dormmates for using high-power electrical appliances."Jocelyn wasn't the same resident assistant I'd reported Summer to in the past, so she didn't know who I was. The college had strict rules against students using electrical appliances, so the resident assistants had to take any of these reports seriously.Jocelyn soon followed me upstairs. She muttered, "Honestly, these students are getting out of hand. How can they use high-power electrical appliances in the dorm? Don't they know the college is strictly against these things?"I led Jocelyn to my dorm. She opened the door and shouted, "Who's using contraband electrical appliances?"Summer, who was sittin
I packed my things and left the dorm. Summer took a photo of my back and posted it on her Instagram story with the caption, "A loser."After leaving the dorm, I waited outside the convenience store opposite the dorm building. A few minutes later, Summer and Jean came out. They left campus arm in arm.I waited there for an hour but didn't see Adeline. She was the daughter of an affluent family and didn't return to the dorm much. Generally, she treated me, Summer, and Jean equally—she was equally condescending to us.Still, she'd helped me in the past, and I didn't want to see her end up like she did in my past life. I was about to call her to warn her when I heard a commotion come from the dorm building."There's a fire! Call 911!"A swarm of young women ran out of the dorm building.I looked up to see thick, black smoke coming from my dorm. When 911 and the college administration arrived, Summer and Jean were back, too.Upon hearing that our dorm had caught on fire, Summer wante
Marie and the college administrator gave me odd looks. Accidentally causing a fire using contraband electrical appliances wasn't the same as arson. I couldn't believe Summer was evil enough to push everything on me and make me out to be an arsonist.I said, "It's not mine. The oven belongs to Summer.""I know you have a grudge against me, Michelle, but you should've talked to me instead of setting the dorm on fire," Summer said. I couldn't help thinking what a great actress she was.She turned to Marie and said, "I'm at fault in this, too. I didn't stop her from using the appliances; I didn't want things to become nasty since we were all dormmates. I'll gladly accept any punishment the college deems fit."She did such a convincing act of looking remorseful that it was a pity she wasn't an actress. Marie seemed to reach a conclusion at Summer's performance and started reprimanding me."Aren't you aware that using high-power electrical appliances in the dorm is against the college's
Earlier at the convenience store, I hadn't just been waiting for Adeline to return. I'd edited the things Summer and Jean had said to me into a video. It covered everything that had happened, from when I'd grabbed the oven and bolted from the dorm to Jean admitting it belonged to Summer.It even included Summer talking about her relationship with Jocelyn and how she and Marie were on good terms. I'd captured every word and added subtitles to ensure everyone knew what was being said.The video had gone viral after I'd posted it; everyone was talking about it on the forum."This is Summer Lodge from the faculty of media studies, right? I know her. She thinks she's a big deal because she's the vice president of the student council. God, I hate her.""She checked the cleanliness at our dorm once and asked me why there was trash in the trash can. She even docked points for that! I'm still pissed whenever I think about it.""Honestly, who came up with the idea of a student council? Disb
Marie's face turned red, and she bellowed, "Shut up, both of you!"Well, the cat was out of the bag now. Summer and Jean had sold Marie out."I can explain, sir. It's not like what they said! I didn't accept any bribes!" Marie turned to the college administrator.He pointed at the three of them, his expression hideous. "Wait for me at the dean's office."They left the room, looking despondent. Then, he turned to me and said, "On behalf of the college, I'll offer you a scholarship as a reward for your bravery in reporting your dormmates. I assure you the three of them will be punished accordingly. Can you delete the video now?"I curled my lip. "What about Jocelyn?""She'll be fired, too."I deleted the video with him watching. It was too late, though. It had already been shared online, and countless people were berating Summer. Someone even talked about the fire breaking out in the dorm, but the comment disappeared almost immediately.I knew Terence was behind it. Neither he no