Jessica looked up as I burst in. “Lunch
already?”
70
I shook my head and started packing my things.
She stared at me, bewildered.
“I’m getting an off–campus apartment,” I
explained. “Be careful.”
As soon as I finished packing, Brittany stormed
- in. She saw my bags, her face hardening. “Sarah, don’t think I don’t know what you’re up to. You’re not really gay!”
I paused but didn’t respond.
“You’re bisexual!” she hissed. “I saw you
flirting with Chad! You think you can play the
long game and snag him, don’t you?”
It finally clicked. Brittany saw me as a rival.
Idiot.
<
12:12
((
70
I slung my backpack over my shoulder, ignoring her glare. “Think whatever you want.”
Finding an apartment wasn’t easy. By evening, I still hadn’t found anything suitable. But I
couldn’t stand another minute in the same room as Brittany. I grabbed my toiletries and headed
to a hotel.
Jessica joined me to buy some fruit. “We all
paid for dorm rooms. Why should we let her have the place to herself?” she grumbled.
“Just be careful,” I advised. “If it gets too much, move out. It’s not worth fighting her.” I knew, from bitter experience, that everything Brittany did was calculated. Last time, after she
snagged Chad, she’d spun the whole “boyfriend ranking” thing as a harmless joke, something I’d suggested. Chad just thought she was quirky. The other guys, though, they blamed us, her roommates. And me, the one who’d mocked
them the most, I became the target of their
<
rage.
Before Jessica went back to the dorm, I
grabbed her arm. “Seriously, protect yourself.
Don’t engage with her.”
I never expected things to escalate so quickly.
The next morning, the classroom was
practically empty. The few students who were there huddled together. “Sarah, what happened in your dorm last night?” they asked.
I was clueless. They filled me in. Apparently,
Jessica and Brittany had gotten into a physical
fight.
“I woke up and saw them brawling in the hallway,” one girl whispered. “Jessica was like
a wild animal, she ripped Brittany’s clothes to
shreds!”
“Jessica? Fighting?” I was stunned. Jessica
<
was usually so quiet, so focused on her own
world. How could she have clashed with
Brittany so violently?
The girl continued, “Jessica called the cops!
They took them both away. That’s why Brittany
hasn’t posted her usual ‘simp tributes‘ this
morning. Didn’t you know?”
I shook my head. “I was at a hotel last night. My
phone was off.” I turned it on. Sure enough,
Brittany’s Instagram was still stuck on
yesterday’s Simp List. No morning breakfast
pics.
“What about the guys?” I asked.
A guy said, “A bunch of them got taken by the
cops too! We don’t know why.”
How were the guys involved in Jessica and
Brittany’s fight?
<
We were speculating when our advisor walked
in, his face grim. “Sarah,” he said, “come with
- me. Someone’s here to see you.”
We exchanged glances. Behind our advisor
stood a police officer.
