Chapter 2

I grabbed my bag and walked out of Marco's without looking back.

Once I was outside, I blocked the restaurant on every app I had. I was never setting foot in that place again.

It should have ended there, just an annoying little incident. But when I got back to the dorm, I barely had time to pour myself a glass of water before my roommate, Paige Weston, started in on me.

Paige was our department's student council ethics representative and had built her entire persona around being the "scrappy kid who clawed her way up from nothing" and the self-appointed moral authority of our floor.

Her favorite thing in the world was showing off her empathy and her "big-picture thinking" at every possible opportunity.

"Gemma, that was way out of line." Paige turned to face me, looking absolutely devastated on someone else's behalf.

"I just went to Marco's for lunch, and the owner was practically in tears telling me what happened. She's a single mom with a kid in high school, working herself to the bone every single day. All she did was bring you an extra dish.

"You've got plenty of money. Would it have killed you to just pay for it? You really had to humiliate her in front of everyone like that? The poor woman was on the verge of crying. How can you be so selfish and small-minded?"

I was so angry I actually laughed. I set down my glass and looked at her.

"Paige, are you out of your mind? She tried to force a sale on me, and I'm supposed to feel sorry for her? I came here to go to school, not to run a charity.

"And by the way, I'm allergic to seafood. If I'd ended up in the hospital, whose fault would that have been? If you've got all this sympathy to spare, why don't you go buy the dish yourself?"

"You… You're just making excuses!"

Paige sputtered for a second, her face flushing red, then immediately pivoted.

"The owner is always so sweet to us students. She gives us free chips and salsa all the time! You're just a spoiled little princess who looks down on working people.

"Don't burn your bridges, Gemma. With that sharp tongue of yours, it's going to come back to bite you someday."

I stared at her, and it finally clicked.

The reason Paige was so worked up was because she loved mooching off Marco's. Those free appetizers were her way in with Ruby, and she milked that connection to show everyone how "down-to-earth" and "relatable" she was.

Now that I'd embarrassed Ruby, the woman had probably fed Paige some wildly exaggerated version of what happened, and Paige came running back like a loyal little attack dog to do her bidding.

"If you love her free chips so much, go ahead and ask her to adopt you."

I was done with the conversation. I pulled the curtain around my bed. "And stop trying to guilt-trip me with your fake moral compass. I don't want any part of it."

That was the line that set Paige off for good.

From that day on, she launched a full campaign to turn my other two roommates against me. Tessa Rowe was a spineless follower who went along with whoever talked the loudest, and Nina Perry was a timid people-pleaser who avoided conflict at all costs.

Between Paige's manipulation and constant pressure, the two of them started freezing me out.

They'd pick up food for each other and deliberately skip me. They'd sit around the room loudly raving about how great Marco's was. Whenever I walked through the door, the conversation went dead.

None of it fazed me. I went to class, spent my afternoons at the library, and FaceTimed my family at night. My life was full enough without them.

I figured it was just the usual dorm drama that every college student dealt with, the kind of thing that would blow over in a couple of weeks.

But I seriously underestimated how far Paige was willing to go. And I underestimated just how twisted someone could be when they were used to standing on moral high ground.

It was an ordinary weekend. I went home Friday afternoon for a family matter and didn't come back until Sunday night.

When I pushed open the dorm room door, Tessa and Nina were sitting in their chairs streaming something on a laptop. Paige was off doing laundry.

I walked over to my desk to set down the books I'd brought back.

Then, I froze.

The bag I kept in its dust cover on top of my closet was gone.