"Good. Let me get the number down. People like us, out here on our own, when somebody tries to pin something on you—you've got to have somewhere to make your case, right?"
The moment I finished, a crash came from inside the room.
I ended the call and pushed the door open.
Advisor Chavez's face was drained of color. The cup beside her hand had tipped over, and she hadn't even bothered to wipe up the spill.
That overbearing posture from moments ago had vanished completely.
She'd pushed for a private settlement because she was afraid of the matter escalating.
But it never crossed her mind that some hick from the mountains would actually go looking for a lawyer.
When she saw me walk back in, she forced an awkward smile.
"Rebecca—you're back? Sit, sit, sit down."
"About all that… ahem, I got a little heated earlier, that's all."
"I'll take care of it, okay? Just—don't go running off to some lawyer. This is a school matter, we can talk it through…"
I watched her face change and said nothing.
Fine. If nobody here was going to make this right, I'd do it myself.
How Susan impersonated me to con people, why the faculty advisor rushed to cover for her—I was going to dig up every piece of it.
And when I did, everyone who owed something was going to pay.
After I left the campus security office, Susan kept fishing for information, trying to sound casual about it.
I kept my voice flat.
"I didn't do it, so obviously I'm not paying anything."
Her face visibly changed. She forced out a thin, dry smile.
"Oh… well, good then."
Of course she was disappointed. If this didn't go away, Mr. Pierce would keep pushing—and the more noise he made, the closer the trail got to her.
So she'd come for me again. That was a given.
I wasn't afraid. The more she tried, the deeper she'd bury herself.
That night, I finished washing up and headed back to the dorm.
A crowd had gathered at the door—seven or eight girls clustered together, craning to see what was going on.
Inside, Susan was tearing through drawers, her voice thick with tears.
"It's really gone! I left it right on the desk!"
The moment I walked in, she looked up, eyes red-rimmed.
"Rebecca, you're back? Have you seen my lipstick? The one in the silver case? I just bought it—it was over five hundred dollars."
I laughed to myself. So this was her next move.
The scam angle hadn't worked, so now she needed me labeled a thief.