Chapter 4

As expected, the school's forum blew up completely that night.

An anonymous post titled "Pure College Student Tries to Save Power for Mountain Children, Ostracized by Materialistic Roommates" was pinned straight to the top.

It featured a few photos.

The first showed Katie, drenched in sweat under the dim light of a desk lamp, writing her eco-friendly quotes.

The second captured her from the side, weeping in the hallway while clutching her 30 dollars in change.

In the third photo, I was standing off to the side with my arms crossed and a cold expression, looking exactly like a vicious roommate using her power to bully Katie.

The caption was highly provocative. "What is wrong with this world? Someone is practicing spiritual devotion in the blistering heat for the sake of the planet, only to be forced to kneel and pay off high-maintenance roommates who can't live without AC. Do poor people and people with principles not deserve to go to college?"

The comment section was boiling over.

"The woman with her arms crossed looks incredibly petty and mean."

"Is not having AC really that big of a deal? I didn't even have a fan growing up, and I turned out fine. People these days are brainwashed by capitalism."

"My heart breaks for this eco-friendly lady. Seeing her hold out that money honestly makes me want to cry."

"Expose these spoiled roommates so the rest of us can avoid them!"

When Rachel handed me her phone, her expression was tense and uneasy. "Jane, look… Now that things have gotten this out of hand, why don't you and Miley just forgive her? Post a statement on the forum to clear things up. Otherwise, how are any of us going to show our faces in class?"

As I stared at the out-of-context photo, a familiar tightness gripped my chest, and my heart rate began to sputter and race.

I had been cyberbullied exactly like this in my last life. Back then, I had posted my medical diagnosis, photos of the severed AC cord, and pictures of Miley's ruined insulin.

But no one cared. They only remembered Katie's sweaty, innocent face, choosing to believe in their own narrative of a poor, suffering saint.

I took a deep breath and pushed the phone back. "She's posting lies. Why should I be the one to issue a statement of forgiveness?"

Zoe managed to find me a temporary bed in the dorm manager's office for the night. "The technician won't be able to fix the AC cord until tomorrow. Sleep here tonight. There's a ceiling fan. I'll push your single room approval first thing in the morning."

The office had only an old, creaking ceiling fan that did little more than move the hot air around, but it was still a massive upgrade from the stagnant lake-water sauna upstairs.

Around 2:00 am, just as I was drifting off, a violently pungent scent jolted me awake. It smelled like a cheap dollar-store incense mixed with the suffocating, stale smoke of a dying fire, forcing its way into my lungs.

I broke into a coughing fit. My heart rate instantly spiked to 120, and each breath became an agonizing struggle.

I forced my eyes open. By the faint light spilling in from the hallway, I saw that Katie had somehow slipped into the office.

She was holding an enamel mug stuffed with seven or eight cheap incense sticks, all pumping out thick clouds of smoke.

Standing right over my head, she began waving the fumes directly into my face like she was performing an exorcism.

"W-What are you doing?" I wheezed, clutching my chest as I recoiled.

Katie looked down at me, her face full of gentle devotion. "Jane, Rachel told me your heart was acting up. Your heart races because your mind is cluttered with too many distracting thoughts. You've been poisoned by the anxieties of modern life.

"I bought this calming incense just for you. Breathe it in. Connect with this primal smoke, let your mind settle, and your heart condition will heal itself naturally."

The thick, heavy smoke filled the tiny, unventilated office within seconds.

The hundred-degree heat, combined with the chemical irritation and a severe lack of oxygen, made me feel as if an invisible hand was crushing my heart.

"Get… Get out…"

I reached up to shove the enamel mug away.

Katie grabbed my wrist with surprising strength, and her eyes flashed with a fanatical intensity. "Jane, don't reject nature's gift! Breathe deep! Purge the industrial toxins from your body!"

My vision began to fail, and a tearing, sharp pain flared in my chest.

A second before losing consciousness completely, I fumbled for the phone by my pillow and used the last ounce of my strength to hit the emergency SOS button.

As the enamel mug shattered loudly on the floor, I collapsed onto the mattress.

The last thing I heard was Katie's panicked shriek. "Jane! Why would you rather faint than accept nature's healing?"