第4章

The microphone gave a sharp squeal as I tapped it twice. The room quickly fell silent.

I looked straight at Natalie. My voice was flat.

"Natalie, I gave you one chance, then another. There won't be a third. Are you sure you want to stick to that story?

"Were you the one who posted that thread?"

People glanced at each other, then all eyes turned to Natalie.

Natalie hesitated for just a second before tears slid down her cheeks. Her voice cracked.

"How could I have posted that? Why would I post something like that about you?"

As if my words had hurt her even more, she buried her face in Crystal's shoulder, her muffled voice still loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Everyone, please stop attacking Chloe. She has her reasons. We're still friends. If you keep saying these things, how are we supposed to get along?

"Chloe, I'm sorry on everyone's behalf. They were only trying to stand up for me."

The first person to explode was Crystal.

"Natalie, why are you apologizing to this slut? She does disgusting things and then has the nerve to threaten you!"

James marched over and pounded the desk with his palm.

"How dare you threaten Natalie in front of all of us!

"Throwing your weight around like this, I think it's time I reported you to the university president and had you expelled!"

My gaze swept past Natalie. I plugged my tablet into the lecture hall computer.

Once it connected, I pulled up the forum post on the projector.

I hovered my cursor over the original poster's avatar and scoffed.

"Natalie, what a waste that you're studying computer science."

The second I finished, lines of code flooded the projection screen, covering the original post.

My fingers flew across the keyboard.

Natalie heard my remark and froze for a long moment. I guessed she had no idea how to respond.

The room fell deathly silent along with her, nothing but the sound of my typing echoing off the walls.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, and someone pushed through the door.

"Mrs. Harper, this is the student council recruitment event. Quite the turnout, isn't it!"

The voice died mid-sentence. University President Michael Walters had just walked in, and he and James were staring at each other.

"What is going on here?"

Michael froze, the words coming through clenched teeth.

James acted like he'd found his backer and raised his voice even more, slipping into an almost theatrical register.

"This student has no morals. She's a sugar baby, and now she's come here to bully her dorm mate in front of all these witnesses. It's disgraceful!

"Mr. Walters, I believe she should be expelled immediately!"

Michael looked at me, his brow furrowed deeply.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

James puffed out his chest, indignant, and pointed toward Natalie.

"That's the student who was bullied. You can ask her!"

Michael shifted his gaze from me, his voice low.

"Young lady, is any of this true?"

Natalie's face was pale, her voice choked.

"Mr. Walters, I didn't know what else to do. I just wanted Chloe to get back on the right track. I never expected her to..."

Michael paused.

"Who?"

Before Natalie could respond, I hit Enter. Two identical IP addresses appeared side by side on the projector screen.

"Natalie, if you didn't post that thread, then why does the poster's IP address trace back to your dorm room?"