All Chapters of Good Luck Graduating Without Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

10 Chapters

Chapter 1

I pulled out my phone to text my dad, but Eugene Hale's best friend Kenny Vaughn smacked it out of my hand. It hit the ground."Come on, Holly. What are you doing with your phone, trying to post a video and ruin Cassidy's life?"She's loved Eugene in secret for three years. All he did was give her one special moment."You're still his girlfriend. Do you really have to be so cruel and tear them apart?"Last month, when Kenny's family had an emergency, I lent him 2,000 dollars to help them out. He couldn't thank me enough and kept telling me I was practically family.Now, he was taking the side of the friend who betrayed me.My lips curved into a faint, bitter smile. "If their love is so beautiful, what are you all afraid of?"I bent down to pick up my phone, and several girls immediately closed in around me."Holly, calm down. Cassidy's a good person. She put you first and kept her feelings to herself for three whole years!""Eugene just wants to make it up to her a little, and

Chapter 2

As I reached my dorm room, I heard voices inside."Cassidy looked gorgeous today. Eugene couldn't take his eyes off her!""Right? It would've been perfect if that tramp hadn't shown up and killed the mood."They were clearly talking about me. I pushed the door open with a bitter smile, and the chatter stopped.Freya Perry, who liked to act like she ran the place, clicked her tongue. "Some people have no shame. I can't believe she actually came back."My other two roommates jumped right in."Seriously. Cassidy was having such a great day, and then she showed up and made her feel so guilty she cried.""How can someone be that heartless?"When I didn't react, Freya rolled her eyes. "Hello, Holly? We're talking about you."You've been bossing Cassidy around for years just because your grades are a little better than hers."Her family's loaded, and her dad's a big name in the field. She could've been with Eugene all along, but she stepped aside for you for three years."Now h

Chapter 3

Early the next morning, I went apartment hunting. Price wasn't an issue. I just wanted somewhere comfortable to live.Within two hours, I found a luxury apartment and signed the lease. Then I hired movers and headed back to the dorm.The apartment came fully furnished, so I only needed my personal belongings. But I wasn't leaving the appliances I bought for my ungrateful roommates to enjoy.Freya and the others stared at me."Holly, you're seriously doing this?"I ignored them and told the movers to get started.The noise drew people out of the neighboring rooms. They gathered in the hallway to watch."Oh my god. Is she really taking everything?""I thought she was generous. Guess that only lasts as long as you agree with her.""We still have to see each other in class every day. Why make it this awkward?""No wonder Eugene picked Cassidy. I'd get tired of having every little thing held over my head, too."With everyone taking their side, my roommates grew bolder."Whatev

Chapter 4

Our first class that morning was a lecture in our department. I barely made it through the door before Gavin called out."Holly, hold on. I hear you brought in movers and cleared out your dorm room?"What's gotten into you? First the drama with your boyfriend, now this with your roommates. After all these years in school, I'd expect you to handle yourself better."If this is how you're going to behave, don't bother coming to my class. And you're not coming into the lab this afternoon, either."Just then, Dad texted.[I told accounting to stop all future payments. I left this month's funding in place. I don't want this affecting the data you need for your thesis.[But if anyone gives you trouble, tell me. I'll build you a new lab if that's what it takes.]I glanced up from my phone, faintly amused. "Are you sure you want to keep me out of the lab this afternoon?"My calm response seemed to throw Gavin for a moment. Then he brushed it off, apparently convinced that an ordinary st

Chapter 5

The lab door swung open. Alec Abbott, the university president, walked in, his expression grim.Behind him stood Patrick Schmidt, the university's youngest professor and one of its most respected. He was also my new advisor.Gavin's expression froze. Then he hurried over with an eager smile."President Abbott, what brings you here?"We've been having serious problems with this student. She refuses to cooperate with her classmates and is openly disrespectful to me."I was about to recommend expulsion. We can't let the other students think this behavior is acceptable."Alec ignored him and looked around the room."You're lecturing her about acceptable behavior? "Holly and Eugene were dating when they enrolled, and everyone knew it. They were even nominated for best couple on the campus forum."Are you all going to pretend you didn't know?"No one offered an excuse. Eugene and Cassidy flushed, then went pale.Alec continued, delivering another shock."Effective immediately, H

Chapter 6

But I seriously underestimated how far they were willing to go.After two quiet days, an anonymous post went viral on the campus forum.[Exposed: Grad Student's Secret Affair with Senior University Official]It included fake screenshots of supposedly intimate messages between Alec and me, along with a blurry photo of us from behind outside the hotel.My former classmates flooded the comments, claiming they could back up the accusations.[I used to live with her. Her family's nothing special, but she always has money to throw around. Do the math.][She's in my class. This is real. Two days ago, she got President Abbott to put her in Professor Schmidt's research group.][I feel awful for Eugene. He's one of the smartest people in our class, and he had no clue she was cheating on him.][Why is she still enrolled? Having an escort here makes the whole school look bad.]Cassidy joined in, seizing another chance to make herself look caring.[Please don't be so hard on Holly. We don

Chapter 7

Once we left the athletic field, Patrick sighed."President Abbott denied the rumors yesterday, but they won't believe him. Why don't we tell them who your family is? You shouldn't have to deal with this."I shook my head, keeping my voice steady. "There's no need, Professor Schmidt. I've already hired a lawyer. It should be resolved soon."I wasn't about to share anything about my family with these people.Patrick let it drop.But when we reached the lab, we stopped in the doorway. Shattered petri dishes covered the floor. All our hard work lay ruined.Patrick glared at the people standing nearby, visibly enjoying the damage. "Who did this?"No one answered."Let's not start pointing fingers, Professor Schmidt," Freya said, her voice thick with sarcasm."When someone acts like she does, she makes enemies. Anyone could've come in and smashed it all while no one was here."She looked straight at me with a mocking smile."You might want to watch how you act, Holly. It'd be a s

Chapter 8

Everyone fell silent when they saw me, but it only lasted a few seconds.Freya recovered first and jabbed a finger in my face."Seriously, Holly? First you try to ruin things between Cassidy and Eugene, and now you're helping yourself to the lab her dad built? How'd you even get in? Get out!"Eugene lowered his voice, his face pinched with disgust. "Can you stop embarrassing me? You have no business being here. Leave."Without a word, I slowly pulled out the lab key."If Cassidy's dad paid for this lab, why do I have the key?"No one answered. Then Freya raised her chin."Maybe you stole it. I wouldn't put it past you."I scoffed and tossed a document bearing the university's letterhead down in front of them."Alright. Let's say I stole the key. Then how do you explain this?"The document stated plainly that the lab belonged to me and would be donated to the university when I graduated.This time, no one broke the silence.Eugene stared at me. When he finally spoke, his voi

Chapter 9

Everyone stepped back, leaving Cassidy standing alone, her face stricken.Nathan, accompanying the officers, spotted her immediately.One of the officers stepped forward. "Cassidy Nixon? We've traced the false posts on the campus forum to you. You've repeatedly spread damaging lies about other people. We need you to come with us for questioning."Cassidy trembled. "I didn't..."Eugene stepped in front of her. "What grounds do you have to arrest her? She didn't make anything up. Those posts are true. I'll vouch for her."Nathan calmly pulled out a document and handed it to him."These records link the posts to Cassidy's IP address. We also have payment records showing she hired people to spread them. Every transaction and defamatory statement has been documented, and the evidence has been notarized."He gave Eugene a faintly amused look."We also looked into her claim that her father is a leading researcher who could help your careers. Mr. Nixon works at a research institute, bu

Chapter 10

The police took Cassidy away. With overwhelming evidence against her, she was sentenced to three months in jail.Freya and everyone else who helped spread the rumors received court summonses. They were eventually ordered to post public apologies to me on all major social media platforms and keep them up for a month.Eugene was no exception, but he still seemed to think he had a chance with me.He attached a long, rambling account of our relationship to his apology, revisiting every tender moment from the past three years. He wrote about his regrets and insisted he felt he had no choice.I read it in disgust and left one comment.[Stop trying to make yourself look better. You don't get to rewrite what you did.]Then I blocked him, all my former classmates, and Gavin. Their lives were no longer my concern. After the whole ordeal, I practically lived in the lab, putting all my energy into my research.On graduation day, I stood in the bright sunshine outside the auditorium, weari

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