Chapter 2

I turned toward her. "What, did you come up with that line yourself? Trademark it for something?"

Tammy clearly hadn't expected me to call her out in front of everyone. She froze.

"By that logic, whoever said it first must be furious," I went on with a grin. "Imagine finding out the entire Internet's been copying you this whole time."

People around us started glancing over, curious about the commotion.

Tammy's face went bright red. She shot me a furious glare but didn't say another word.

The second we got back to our dorm, Tammy confronted me. "What was that supposed to be in class today? Were you trying to embarrass me on purpose?"

I stared at her. "Weren't you the ones insulting me first? Are you seriously okay?"

My two other roommates immediately jumped to Tammy's defense. "You didn't have to be so nasty about it. Besides, you were the one in the wrong to begin with."

Tammy scoffed. "Exactly. You're a copycat. What, are we not allowed to call you out on it?"

The whole conversation was so ridiculous I actually laughed. "When have I ever copied you?"

Tammy marched over, yanked open one of my drawers, and pointed inside. "Look! This skincare set, and this eyeshadow palette. They're exactly the same as mine!"

I was genuinely speechless.

She was the one who'd recommended those products to me when the semester first started.

As it turned out, she had never actually been recommending them at all. She just wanted an excuse to show off what she'd bought.

I'd only ordered them because she'd seemed so enthusiastic about them, and I hadn't wanted to brush her off.

Somehow, in her mind, that had turned into me copying her.

Then she pointed at the shirt I was wearing, looking even more certain of herself. "And that's not all. I bought an off-the-shoulder top a few days ago, and the very next day, you showed up wearing almost the exact same thing. If that isn't copying me, then what is?"

Come to think of it, Tammy's attitude toward me had changed right after she saw me wearing that off-the-shoulder top.

At first, she'd even come up to me asking where I'd bought it because she thought it was so cute.

And then she'd turned around and started telling everyone I was copying her.

The whole thing was laughable.

Without another word, I turned around and opened my closet.

It was packed from end to end with clothes, everything from trendy everyday pieces to designer dresses, all from the latest collections. And among them were several off-the-shoulder tops.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Go on, then. Explain to me how I'm copying you."

Tammy went still. She bit her lip, her gaze darting back and forth across the clothes in my closet.

I wasn't finished. "This style is literally everywhere this year. Walk into ten clothing stores and eight of them will probably have an off-the-shoulder top.

"What, are all those brands copying you too? I didn't realize you were such a trendsetter."

Tammy opened her mouth, then closed it again.

Apparently unable to come up with a decent comeback, she grew so angry that her eyes started turning red. "Those are all just excuses! You know you've been copying me!"

The other two roommates hurried over and put their arms around her. "Don't waste your time arguing with someone like her. She can copy you all she wants, but she'll never be you. A cheap imitation is still a cheap imitation."

"Exactly. Don't worry, Tammy. We know who's copying who."