All Chapters of Ranked a Fool, Crowned a Champion: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

"I'm heading back to the dorm," I told Garrett, then turned and walked away.The room was empty. I sat down at my desk while my phone kept lighting up with messages and forwarded screenshots.I dismissed them all. Finally, I opened my chat with Casey and typed, [You there?]The message wouldn't go through. She blocked me around the time she posted about my "harassment."I stared at the unsent message for a long time. Then, I put my phone down and opened my desk drawer.Inside was the hospital payment form with Casey's name on it and my shaky signature at the bottom.That night, I carried her on my back for over a mile to the hospital. I fell along the way and scraped my right palm on the asphalt, and my hand still shook when I signed.My phone lit up again. This time, it was my academic advisor, Julia Lynch. [Shane, come to my office tomorrow at ten.]The next morning, I barely made it through Julia's office door before she slapped a printout of the forum post onto her desk.

Julia paused. "Unless you apologize to Casey and finish her slides, there's nothing anyone can do for you."I hung up and headed to the classroom for the meeting. I heard the commotion before I reached the door.It wasn't just our class. Students from all over the department crowded the hallway, and someone was livestreaming on their phone. I caught a glimpse of the comments scrolling up the screen, every one of them tearing into me.I pushed open the door. The room fell silent for a beat, then erupted in boos and insults.Casey stood at the front with swollen eyes, clutching a crumpled medical report. The second she saw me, tears rolled down her cheeks."Shane, what did I ever do to you?" she sobbed. "Why are you trying to ruin my life?"You won't finish my slides because I won't date you? And now, you're trying to get me kicked out of school?"Her whole body shook as she cried. In the front row, Kevin leaned back with his legs crossed and his phone in one hand. He grinned

I opened the door and stopped short. A middle-aged man in a suit stood in the hall, his arms full of gift baskets. Kevin stood beside him with his head down."You must be Shane. I'm Kevin's father, Winston." He gave me an anxious smile and stepped inside. "I'm ashamed of how my son behaved. I brought him here to apologize."Kevin clenched his jaw. "Sorry."Winston Zimmerman slapped him hard enough to turn his head. "You can do better than that!"Then he held out a check for 20 thousand dollars."For everything he put you through. Please take it."I also dealt with the situation at your dad's job. The supervisor who thought he could fire people on a whim is gone."Your dad's been promoted to crew supervisor at three times his old pay. Nobody's going to give him any trouble."He rubbed his palms together. "Would you talk to the college about our partnership? Ask them to give Kevin another chance? If that two-million-dollar deal falls through, my family will lose everything."I

"I never should've accused you of harassing me," Casey said. "I'll do anything. Whatever you want. Please, just help me!"She sobbed as students stopped to stare and whisper. I frowned and tried to pull my arm away, but she held on.Then I noticed what she held behind her back. A small paring knife.She let go of my sleeve and pressed the blade to her wrist. "If you won't help me, I'll kill myself right here!"Someone screamed. I stepped back, out of reach."Put the knife down," I said coldly. "You can't make me responsible for this."She froze, staring at me with the knife still raised.Two campus security officers rushed over and grabbed her arms. The knife clattered to the ground as she fought them, screaming."Shane, this isn't over! You'll regret this. I'll make sure of it!"I watched them lead her away, then went into the dining hall without looking back.I just swiped my meal card when my phone buzzed with a notice from the academic affairs office.Casey was expelled

I ate my pulled pork and listened without saying anything. Those people made their choices. Living with the consequences was part of growing up.A few days after I got home, the college invited me to speak at the end of the year and share my experiences with other students. I accepted right away.The auditorium was packed that day, with students standing in the back. The dean pinned a school lapel pin to my jacket and announced that the new computer science lab would bear my name.The room erupted in applause. Once it quieted down, the host smiled and asked his first question."Shane, when that 'Campus Simp Rankings' post went up and the whole campus seemed to turn on you, were you ever tempted to give in? To just apologize to Casey?"I raised the microphone and looked out at the rows of students."Never." I smiled. "I didn't do anything wrong. I helped someone I liked. I wasn't harassing her. "She asked for my help and accepted it, then went online and made me out to b