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She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger
She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger
作者: Saffron Fish

Chapter 1

作者: Saffron Fish
Right after the semester started, I ate at this particular restaurant, Marco's, all the time because it was so close to campus.

The owner, Ruby Friday, was a woman in her 40s, sharp as a tack, always sizing up the students who walked through the door and calculating exactly how much she could squeeze out of each one.

That day at lunch, I ordered a ten-dollar sandwich and sat with my earbuds in, going over flashcards. A few minutes later, a steaming, greasy-looking bowl of something called the "house special seafood stew" was slammed down onto my table.

I blinked and pulled out my earbuds. "Excuse me. You've got the wrong table. I didn't order this."

"Oh, no, it's yours!" Ruby flashed me a slick grin and pushed a fork into my hand.

"Sweetheart, I see you in here all the time, always dressed so nice, carrying all those nice things. Someone like you isn't going to miss a few extra bucks.

"This is our brand-new signature special. I had the kitchen whip it up just for you because I like you. It's got lobster and jumbo shrimp, super nutritious stuff.

"Just try it. You won't regret it. And it's only 45 dollars!"

I looked down at the bowl. It was swimming in murky reddish oil, with shrimp that hadn't even been properly deveined. My jaw tightened.

Never mind how disgusting the hard sell was. The real problem was that I was severely allergic to seafood.

"Sorry. I don't eat seafood. I'm allergic."

I pushed the bowl back toward her, my voice cold. "I'm only paying for what I ordered. Take this back, please."

The smile dropped right off her face. Her voice, warm and cozy just a second ago, shot up loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me! What's wrong with you, young lady?

"I already had the kitchen make this, and now you don't want it? Are you trying to ruin my business? If you can't afford to eat here, don't come in pretending you're something you're not!

"College kids these days are the worst. The broke ones always cause the most drama. You show up here looking all fancy, can't even spring for a 45-dollar stew, but you want to act like you're somebody!"

The other students in the restaurant started glancing over, whispering among themselves.

I watched her throw her little tantrum and couldn't even be bothered to get angry. I calmly pulled 15 dollars out of my wallet and slapped it down next to my untouched sandwich.

"Ten dollars for the sandwich. Keep the change. And just so you know, forcing a sale on a customer is a consumer protection violation. I can report you anytime I want.

"As for this meal, I'll chalk it up to a loss."

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  • She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger   Chapter 10

    With the situation blown wide open, the college authorities moved fast, and the police moved even faster.Three days later, Riverton posted a three-page formal notice on its official website and every bulletin board on campus."Notice Regarding the Expulsion of Paige Weston and Referral to Law Enforcement."The notice laid it all out in black and white. During her time at Riverton, Paige had committed severe violations of college regulations.She was under investigation for embezzlement of student organization funds, theft of high-value personal property, fraud involving federal financial aid, and illegal harvesting and sale of personal information.Riverton was expelling her effective immediately, revoking every award and honor she had ever received, reclaiming all misappropriated funds, and cooperating fully with the police investigation.In custody, facing a mountain of evidence with nowhere left to hide, Paige confessed to everything.With multiple charges stacked against he

  • She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger   Chapter 9

    Paige had dressed for the part, wearing a faded old button-down that had been washed so many times it had gone nearly white, her hair pulled back in a plain ponytail.Her makeup was carefully done to look like she wasn't wearing any at all, the "barely getting by but still putting on a brave face" look.She stood under the spotlight and delivered her speech with everything she had, her voice cracking with emotion. She talked about overcoming her family's poverty, working odd jobs to put herself through school, and "selflessly" dedicating herself to helping her fellow students.She even had the nerve to talk about how she had resisted temptation and protected the integrity of campus life."I may not have much in terms of material things, but I'm rich in spirit. All I want is to use whatever little I have to bring some warmth to the people around me."From where I sat in the last row of the auditorium, I could see younger students in the audience tearing up, completely taken in. I s

  • She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger   Chapter 8

    All those students who had rallied behind the "struggling single mom" narrative in the comments were now finding out they'd been eating recycled waste oil and rotten meat. They were flooding the campus health center and the local ER, panicking and demanding to be checked out.Paige's fall was even worse.She had basically been Marco's unofficial brand ambassador for months, constantly posting about the restaurant on social media and using her student council position to pressure other students into eating there.It didn't take long before every student who had ever gotten food poisoning or a stomach bug from Marco's turned their fury on Paige.People called her a fraud and a sellout to her face when she walked across campus. She was blocked on every platform. Hate notes were shoved through the gap under her dorm room door, one after another.She lost her free meals. Worse, she lost the carefully cultivated "everybody's friend" reputation she'd spent years building.Tessa and Nina

  • She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger   Chapter 7

    That same night, the private investigation team my father sent tracked down everything behind the anonymous account.The phone number used to register it belonged to the restaurant owner's nephew, a high school kid back in her hometown. The IP addresses tied to the login and the posts traced back to two locations—an off-campus Internet cafe and the shared network hub in our dormitory building.There was no question. This was a coordinated act of revenge between Paige and the owner of Marco's.They thought using someone else's phone number and a cafe computer would make them untraceable. They had no idea that against a professional forensic team, every move they'd made was completely exposed.I took the technical reports and pushed open the dorm room door.Paige was sitting in her chair with a sheet mask on. When I walked in, her eyes darted away for a second before she forced herself to look bored and let out a dismissive scoff.The school's hardline announcement that afternoon h

  • She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger   Chapter 6

    It didn't take long. My full name, my major, my class, and even my dorm room number were all dug up and plastered across the comments.The mob came for me like a tidal wave.When I walked across campus to class, I could feel the stares everywhere, sharp and hostile, like knives at my back. People pointed and whispered as I passed.At lunch in the dining hall, some guy deliberately walked straight toward me carrying a tray of scalding hot food. I was quick enough to dodge, but the broth still splashed across my shoes.He didn't apologize. Instead, he sneered loud enough for everyone around to hear."Oh, isn't this the little princess who makes people grovel? What, you gonna call the cops on me too? You think this school belongs to your family or something?"When I got back to the dorm, I found that someone had poured foul-smelling filthy water all over my desk. My textbooks were soaked through, and the word "die" was scrawled across my chair in black marker.Tessa and Nina were h

  • She Stole My Bag to Please a Stranger   Chapter 5

    I held up three fingers and spoke at an even, measured pace, "First, the leather is damaged. You owe me a thousand dollars for depreciation and cleaning. Second, you're going to write a full confession by hand, admitting that you stole my personal property."And third, you're going to sign a promissory note and transfer the money to my account within three days. If you can't do that, I'll take you to court.""A… A thousand dollars?"Paige's eyes went wide. "Gemma, are you insane? I don't have that kind of money!""You sure love being generous with other people's things." I let out a cold laugh."Funny how it stings when it's your own wallet, huh? That's your problem. Borrow it, take out a loan—I don't care. If you don't pay, you can wait for your arraignment. As for you…"I turned to the woman cowering in the corner. "You got lucky this time. But if you ever come at me again, I'll make sure you never run another business in your life."Under the watchful eyes of the police, and

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