Chapter 3

The next day was the graduation showcase.

The campus documentary the five of us had worked on together had been shortlisted for an Outstanding Project award.

They called it a five-person collaboration, but in reality, I'd done all the filming, editing, and subtitling. Gerard had written a two-page proposal, Ricky had borrowed a camera, Brandon had driven us to filming locations twice, and Joan had appeared on camera.

When it came to listing our names in the credits, Joan's name went first because she was the one presenting the project. Mine came last.

Ricky had brushed it off. "As long as we all know who did what, that's what matters."

Gerard had tried to persuade me. "Joan doesn't have any internship experience. This award will help her more with her job search."

I'd already received a job offer, so my hard work had become just another thing I was expected to give away.

The showcase began at 9:00 am. Joan stood onstage, but after just two minutes, she forgot her lines. She turned to look at me as the professors in the audience began to frown.

Gerard hurried over and shoved the script into my hands. "Stand behind the curtain and feed her the lines."

"Why can't I go up there and present it myself?" I asked.

"The names have already been submitted. Switching presenters at the last minute looks bad."

"Then, let her handle it herself," I said flatly.

Joan's eyes turned red.

Brandon immediately glared at me. "Cynthia, she stayed up all night memorizing the script. She's just too nervous. What's the harm in helping her out a little?"

In the end, I stood behind the curtain.

Every time Joan forgot a line, I prompted her. When the professors asked about our creative process and she couldn't answer, I wrote the responses on paper and passed them to her.

When the audience broke into applause, she stood under the spotlight while I remained hidden in the dark.

When I was 14 years old, my school held a quiz competition. Joan had a fever, so a teacher asked me to take her place. I won first place. Before the award ceremony, her fever broke, and she rushed over, so Brandon told me to give my spot back to her.

He'd said, "You're in the same class anyway. It doesn't matter which one of you accepts the award."

Later, her photo went up on the school's Wall of Honor. Everyone knew Joan had won first place. No one knew I'd been the one answering the quiz questions.

After the presentation, the judges gave our project the highest score. Joan ran down from the stage, clutching the trophy.

"Cynthia, we won!" She threw her arms around me.

Before I could say anything, members of the photography club swarmed around the other four to take pictures.

Just as I was about to join them, Gerard handed me my laptop. "There's a glitch in one of the frames at the end of the video. Fix it real quick."

"What about the group photo?" I asked.

"We'll take it later."

I sat in a corner and fixed the file. By the time I finished, the stage was already empty.

Ricky dropped a photo into our group chat. The four of them stood behind the trophy, with Joan right in the center.

The caption read, "One last team effort before graduation. A perfect ending."

I wasn't in the photo, though my name was tagged under the post.

I closed the laptop.

Gerard walked over. "What's wrong? What's with the face?"

"Why didn't you guys wait for me for the photo?"

"Weren't you fixing the video?"

"You could've waited until I was done." I looked him in the eyes.

"All the professors were waiting. How could we delay everyone just for you?" After saying that, Gerard took the laptop from my hands. "Joan has an online interview this afternoon. She needs to borrow your laptop."

"What about hers?"

"It's broken."

"I need to submit some paperwork this afternoon."

"You can submit it tonight. It won't make a difference," Gerard said dismissively.

There it was again. They always decided for me what could wait, what I could let go, and what wasn't worth making a fuss over.

I reached for the laptop and tried to take it back. "She can borrow someone else's."

Gerard didn't let go. "That's an important interview for her."

"That paperwork is important for me, too."

"It's just paperwork. Waiting a few hours isn't going to hurt you." Gerard rolled his eyes.

Joan walked over. "Forget it. I won't borrow it." Even as she said it, she was already holding my charger.

Brandon snatched the laptop out of Gerard's grip and shoved it into Joan's hands. "Just take it."

Joan immediately logged into her cloud storage and opened her interview materials.

Brandon turned to me, his tone cold. "She's your friend. Don't be so selfish."

I looked straight at him. "It's my laptop. How does wanting to use my own things make me selfish?"

His face stiffened.

Ricky chimed in from the side, "Why do you have to fight over every little thing lately? First the bedroom, then a group photo, and now a laptop. It's not like Joan is stealing your job."

I yanked out the power cord. The battery was nearly dead, and the screen went black.

Joan gasped. "I haven't saved my changes!"

Gerard grabbed my wrist. "Cynthia, do you have to ruin her chances of getting a job?"

People in the auditorium turned to look at us, but he still wouldn't let go.

I looked down at his hand locked around my wrist. "Let go."

"Turn the laptop back on first."

"Let go," I said firmly.

Brandon walked over and pulled Gerard's hand away. But he wasn't doing it to protect me.

"Don't cause a scene here," Brandon muttered. "Cynthia, just lend her the laptop for now. We'll sort things out when we get home."

I picked up my laptop. "I have no home to go back to."

They thought I was talking about the apartment where I didn't even have a bedroom. None of them had any idea that I'd moved my train ticket up by a day and was leaving tonight.