Run

I turned and fled toward the exit, pushing through the crowd that had gathered to watch my humiliation. My face burned with shame. Behind me, I could still hear Madison’s laughter cutting through the music.

I grabbed my coat from the check without stopping. The woman there tried to say something but I kept moving, bursting through the doors into the night.

The cold November air hit me like a slap. I gulped it down, trying to calm my racing heart.

What just happened back there? That weird sensation when we touched. The way his eyes looked at me. Almost… hungry. No. That was ridiculous. People like Lycian Valor didn’t look at people like me that way.

I could wait for the shuttle. But that meant standing still. Meant to be visible if anyone came out to check on me. Or worse, to laugh some more.

So I walked.

Two miles. In Tessa’s borrowed heels. In the cold.

Each step sent sharp pain through my feet but I welcomed it. Physical pain was easier to deal with than the memory of everyone staring. Everyone was laughing.

My mind kept replaying what happened. The crash. The champagne is going everywhere. Madison’s voice carried across the hall.

And then his eyes. The way Lycian had looked at me.

And that weird electric shock when we touched. What was that?

Maybe I’d imagined it. Maybe it was just panic making me feel things that weren’t there.

By the time I reached the dorm, my feet were screaming. Blisters are forming on both heels. My toes are numb from the cold.

I took the stairs instead of the elevator. Didn’t want to risk running into anyone who might have heard what happened. News traveled fast on this campus. By tomorrow morning, everyone would know about the scholarship girl who dumped champagne on Lycian Valor.

Tessa wasn’t back yet. I locked the door behind me and finally let myself breathe.

Then I started laughing.

Not funny laughing. Hysterical laughing. The kind that’s close to crying.

I’d just ruined Lycian Valor’s suit. In front of everyone. At a mandatory event where I was supposed to show appreciation to donors.

I was so screwed.

I pulled off Tessa’s dress carefully, checking for any stains. Thank god. At least I hadn’t ruined her dress too. The heels came off next. My feet were a mess. Blisters and red marks everywhere.

I limped to the bathroom and washed my face. Tessa’s careful makeup came off in black and brown smears. When I looked in the mirror, I saw exactly what I expected. The same tired girl I always saw.

I changed into sweats and an old t-shirt. Pulled my hair into a messy bun. Grabbed my laptop.

I should study. Had a biology exam on Monday. But I couldn’t focus.

Instead, I checked my email. Maybe there would be something to distract me from this disaster.

There was one new message. Sent twenty minutes ago.

From: Valor Legal Services

My stomach dropped.

No. No no no.

I clicked it open with shaking hands.

Dear Ms. Hale,

This correspondence is regarding damage to personal property belonging to Lycian Valor that occurred on November 15th at approximately 8:47 PM.

The damaged item is a custom Tom Ford suit valued at $8,000. Please remit payment in full within 30 days to the address below.

Failure to pay within the specified timeframe may result in legal action and could affect your student standing at Mooncrest University.

Sincerely,

Valor Legal Department

Eight thousand dollars.

Eight. Thousand. Dollars.

I read it three times. Hoping I’d misunderstood. Hoping it was a mistake or some cruel joke.

But no. There it was. Plain as day.

$8,000 for a suit.

I didn’t have eight hundred dollars. I didn’t have eighty dollars in my bank account right now.

My hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the laptop.

This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be real.

But it was. The email was real. The amount was real. The threat of affecting my student standing was very, very real.

I hit reply with trembling fingers.

Dear Valor Legal,

I’m a student. I work two jobs and I’m on scholarship. I don’t have $8,000. Is there any way to set up a payment plan? Or do community service instead? I can work to pay it off.

Please. I can’t lose my scholarship. I’ll do whatever it takes.

Elowen Hale

I hit send before I could second-guess the wording.

Then I sat there. Staring at my laptop. Waiting. Hoping.

The response came back in less than five minutes.

Ms. Hale,

Payment in full is required within 30 days. No payment plans available. No alternative arrangements.

30 days.

Valor Legal

I read it twice. Then I closed my laptop.

Thirty days to come up with eight thousand dollars.

Impossible.

I could pick up extra shifts at both jobs. Maybe find a third job. Sell everything I own.

I did the math in my head. Even working every possible hour, I’d make maybe two thousand in a month. And that was before paying rent and food and Aunt Clara’s medical bills.

There was no way.

I was going to lose my scholarship. Going to get sued. Going to have to drop out and go back home and tell Aunt Clara I’d failed.

After everything. After all the work and the sacrifices and the years of being invisible.

One stupid mistake. One moment of not paying attention.

And it was over.

I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling. Tears burned behind my eyes but I wouldn’t let them fall. Crying didn’t fix anything.

Maybe I could call Aunt Clara. Ask if she had any savings. But I knew she didn’t. Her medical bills had eaten through everything.

Maybe I could take out more loans. But I was already maxed out.

My phone buzzed. A text from Tessa.

How was the gala? Anything interesting happen?

I almost laughed. Almost cried.

You could say that.

???

I’ll tell you when you get back.

I put my phone down and closed my eyes.

People like Lycian Valor didn’t just forget about things like this. They had legal teams and money and power.

People like me had nothing.

Tonight I’d broken that rule spectacularly.

And now I was going to pay for it.

The door opened and Tessa walked in. She stopped when she saw me.

“What happened?”

So I told her everything. The champagne. The suit. The email. The impossible deadline.

Her expression went from concerned to furious.

“That’s insane. It was an accident.”

“They don’t care.”

She grabbed my hands. “We’ll figure something out.”

I wanted to believe her.

But I knew better.