Chapter 1

Roxanne Horton, the drill instructor hired for orientation week, grabbed me by the collar and tried to haul me up with all her strength.

But no matter how many times she tried, my limp body kept slipping from her grasp and collapsing back onto the pavement. She couldn't lift me at all.

My classmates nearby couldn't bear to watch any longer, and one of them discreetly nudged me.

"Isabelle, Ms. Horton and Ms. Sheldon are really angry right now. Stop being so stubborn and get up already."

But I still didn't move. My lips had already turned from purplish-red to a sickly bluish-white.

That only made Roxanne angrier. She flung my limp body to the ground like a rag doll.

"You're really testing my limits! Since you love putting on a show so much, keep it up! You'll lie right there for three full hours—not one second less!"

By then, the pavement was pushing 140 degrees. It was hot enough to cook an egg, let alone scorch human skin.

The side of my face and my arms were pressed against the scorching pavement, and within seconds, my skin began to blister from the heat. It was a gruesome sight.

Yet all I could do was hover above my body, frantic and helpless.

Class president Natalie Clifford and I had always gotten along well. Seeing me like that, she couldn't help but step forward.

"Ms. Horton, Isabelle Sheldon really does have a preexisting condition. What if she's actually passed out? The ground is scorching. No one would lie on it just to pretend to be sick!"

Roxanne only shot her an icy glare. "Ms. Sheldon is such a strong and capable woman. How did she end up with a daughter who's so weak and useless? Even if she does have some medical condition, there's no way it would flare up after only half an hour of standing."

She scoffed. "She's just using her status as the dean's daughter to demand special treatment. Now that she isn't getting her way, she's throwing a tantrum and playing dead!"

I froze in midair, swallowed whole by shame.

After my parents divorced, Mom devoted herself to my education, supporting me every step of the way as she worked her way up from elementary school principal to college dean.

She said she would give me anything I wanted. But at school, she never let me forget that she was the dean before she was my mother and couldn't show me any favoritism.

I took that to heart. No matter how well I did at whatever school she ran, I never sought attention or asked for special treatment.

I became the well-behaved, sensible daughter everyone praised.

But now, I was so useless that I had embarrassed her in front of the entire freshman class.

The kind-hearted Natalie saw that Roxanne wouldn't listen, so she turned to Mom instead.

"Ms. Sheldon, she's your daughter," Natalie pleaded. "Shouldn't you take her to see a doctor?"

With so many people watching, Mom put on the same impartial expression she always wore.

"She's my daughter, which is exactly why she needs a firmer hand! The rest of you have been standing out here just as long, and not one of you has complained. Why is she the only one who can't handle it?"

"I hired Ms. Horton because she's the strictest and most capable instructor this college could find," she declared sternly. "She's here to toughen every one of you up, and my daughter is no exception! Anyone else who speaks up for her will stand at attention for an extra hour!"

Everyone glanced up at the merciless sun, and no one dared say another word.

Mom crouched in front of me, disgust written all over her face, and slapped me hard across the face. "Get up right now and stop embarrassing yourself!"