Chapter 2

2

I took a deep breath and calmed myself down, clicking on Tiffany's social media feed.

Not only was she the victim of my "plagiarism" last time, she was also Jake's childhood neighbor, the girl next door.

Her parents were research scientists at the National Institute of Health.

She'd grown up with scientific knowledge all around her, so she was always a star student.

She was popular at school, with a line of guys wanting her number because of her beauty and "wholesome vibes."

She and Jake were super close, always exchanging gifts during the holidays.

I'd gotten jealous a few times, but Jake said it was all for appearances, just for the parents.

"Girlfriend and neighbor, do you really think I don't know who's more important?"

He'd always know what to say. And, to be fair, their messages were platonic.

So I let it go.

But he was the one who came out and apologized for me, letting everyone know I was guilty.

Now, though, I knew what he really was.

And sure enough, the first post on Tiffany's feed was her celebrating her new science journal publication.

In the photos, she showed drafts and notes from when she was working on her paper. And when I opened it up, I froze.

Our drafts were identical, down to the mistakes in data!

Tiffany had published it first, so there was no way she'd plagiarized my paper.

But this was my research. My blood, sweat, and tears. I hadn't looked at anybody else's work for inspiration.

It didn't make sense.

I tossed my phone on the desk, completely bewildered.

I couldn't wrap my head around how this could have happened.

But I still needed a publication for the journal.

It would determine whether I'd have a shot at getting into the institute I'd always dreamt of.

So, I let go of my confusion and pulled up a blank page on my laptop.

I began drafting another paper.

Being top of my class, I'd spent most of my days in the lab.

Even my professors thought I had the gift.

Another publication before starting my Ph.D. program would be challenging, but I knew I could do it.

Two hours later, I took a deep breath and pulled myself away from the computer.

Looking at the screen, at the completely new research direction, I thought again about what had happened last time.

Because Jake had testified against me, there was nothing I could do.

The school had kicked me out for academic dishonesty, and people had released my family's private info online.

I got hundreds of hateful messages every day.

People gave me dirty looks in the street.

And when Tiffany tried to "clear my name," she just made me look worse.

I was labeled as the girl who bullied a helpless saint and developed a terrible case of depression.

But my therapist refused to treat me after seeing the news.

I had enough.

I jumped, and my parents went with me because of some internet trolls.

Not this time. This time, I would protect them.

I clenched my fist.

But to do that, I had to figure out what the hell was going on!

Then, I saw that Tiffany had posted something new.

["My new paper got plagiarized! Thank god I published first! It was a student from our program. I'll let them off the hook this time, I have enough ideas. You can't steal talent, which is what they can't steal from me. I'll be switching research direction, thanks for all the support!"]

There was a link below the post, and I clicked on it hesitantly. It took me to…

The research structure of her paper was the same one I'd just created!