Chapter 2

2、

After that confrontation, the dorm finally quieted down.

I slept straight until the afternoon, only waking up when my alarm went off for my next class.

Because of the morning drama, my chest still carried a dull ache, and my head felt heavy and groggy.

With class starting soon, I went to grab my laptop from my desk.

To my shock, the surface was completely bare.

Not only was my high-end laptop gone, but even the charger and my custom-matched speakers had vanished.

The group project on that hard drive accounted for our entire midterm grade.

If I failed this class, my parents would never let me live it down.

I instantly realized someone had stolen it, but only the four of us had access to the room.

I immediately turned to Faye and our other roommate, Zoe.

"Did either of you touch my stuff? Where's my laptop?"

Faye shook her head, responding with icy detachment.

"I didn't touch anything."

Faye spent every waking hour glued to Janelle, so I didn't expect any help from her anyway.

I asked Zoe, but she just cast her eyes downward and whispered that she didn't know.

That left only Janelle.

She was sitting comfortably at her own desk, bobbing her head to music with headphones on, looking like she didn't have a care in the world.

Looking at the clock and seeing I was about to be late, I quickly grabbed my notebook and rushed out the door.

At the same time, I sent an urgent text to our counselor, Mr. Garrett Webb, reporting a theft in our dorm.

I hadn't walked far from the building when my phone buzzed with a direct message from Zoe.

"Check the campus bulletin board."

Puzzled, I opened the university forum app.

Right at the top of the feed was a brand-new listing for a used laptop.

"Mint condition, limited-time flash sale for five dollars. DM me if interested."

Below the post, dozens of students were already frantically commenting to claim the deal.

And the laptop pictured in the post was unmistakably mine.

Even though the seller's profile picture was blurred out, I easily recognized the background details of our dorm room―it was Janelle.

The thought of my eight-thousand-dollar custom workstation being sold for five bucks made my vision go red.

Forgetting all about class, I spun on my heel and charged straight back to the dorm.

"You took my laptop, didn't you?! That is grand theft!"

I shoved my glowing phone screen right in front of Janelle's face.

Janelle barely glanced at it, giving me a smug sneer.

"So what if I took it? You refused to Venmo me my five dollars for the power bill."

"Since you wouldn't pay up, I had to find a way to collect my five bucks myself."

I let out a bitter, disbelieving laugh.

"I sent you twenty-five dollars! You were the one who threw a tantrum and refused to take it!"

"Do you have any idea how important that laptop is? I spent the whole night finishing our group project on it!"

"Not my problem," she shrugged carelessly. "I already sold it anyway."

Seeing her completely unbothered attitude, I knew words were pointless.

Without another second of hesitation, I dialed 911 on speaker.

"Hello, police? I need to report a felony theft in my dorm room."

Seeing that I was actually calling the cops, Faye suddenly jumped up from her chair.

"You're going way too far! You're the one who refused to pay Janelle five dollars, and now you have the nerve to call the police?!"

"Hang up right now!"

I shot Faye a freezing glare.

"Where was this righteous mouth when she was stealing my property? Shut the hell up."

Faye's face turned bright red, and Janelle finally showed a flash of panic.

Seeing Janelle lunging forward to snatch my phone, I spoke loudly into the receiver.

"Please hurry. The thief is getting violent right now."

When the campus police officers arrived, Mr. Webb rushed into the room right behind them.

Because of the extreme value of the stolen item, Janelle's actions constituted a serious felony.

Upon learning that my laptop had been illegally sold, Mr. Webb immediately pressured Janelle into cooperating to retrieve it.

Afterward, Mr. Webb spoke with my professor, explaining the situation so I wouldn't fail the course for missing class.

In his office, Mr. Webb put on an appeasing smile.

"Look, Scarlett, you got your laptop back without any real damage, and you two are roommates who have to see each other every day."

"Just sign this non-prosecution settlement, and let's put this whole misunderstanding behind us."

I refused outright, but Mr. Webb forced Janelle to offer a half-hearted apology.

Under his endless persuasion and pressure, I reluctantly agreed not to send Janelle to jail for a year or two.

Yet the moment we stepped out of the office, Janelle glared at me with pure venom.

"Don't think you're some gracious saint. You and I are nowhere near done."

I thought she was deranged and immediately turned back to apply for a room change.