Chapter 2

Should I say the most humiliating thing in my life was being cornered by thirty dollars to the point where I didn't dare respond to messages?

I started working part-time jobs outside every day.

I stayed out until 11:30 every night before returning to the dorm, both to earn money and to avoid them.

I dragged it out like this for half a month.

My roommates had stopped talking to me. They created a new group chat. The old one only had @'s demanding payment.

Every time my phone buzzed, I panicked, afraid they were calling me out in the group again.

Seeing that my part-time pay wouldn't come for several more days, I could only hide in the bathroom and call my mom.

"What now?" She answered impatiently.

"Mom, I need to pay for water and electricity. I really have no other options."

"How much?"

"Forty-five."

The other end of the line exploded.

"Forty-five?! You still have the nerve to ask me for money? Our neighbor's daughter is only sixteen and already making money as an influencer! What about you? All you know is how to ask for handouts?"

I bit my lip and stayed silent.

After she finished venting, she caught her breath and her tone turned cold: "I'm lending you this money. Pay me back fifty dollars next month. Five dollars interest. If your video comments aren't enough, you still won't get any allowance."

"Okay."

The call ended.

I transferred the money to Madison. She accepted it but didn't reply with a single word.

I climbed into bed and pulled the curtain shut tight.

The three of them gathered together to watch a TV show.

Their laughter came through the curtain, but I couldn't be part of it.

I drank free soup from the cafeteria for a month.

At the end of the month, Mom sent a message: "Did you post this month's video?"

I stared at the screen, my stomach starting to hurt.

I decided this time I would definitely get three hundred comments.

I started blocking people everywhere in the cafeteria and classroom buildings, begging for comments. People called me sick. Security guards warned me.

Word spread fast.

The next day when I went to class, I felt something was off as soon as I walked into the classroom.

I found a corner to sit in and heard someone behind me say: "That's her. Yesterday in the cafeteria she was blocking people, going up to everyone one by one, like a beggar."

Another voice said: "My roommate got blocked by her too. She chased after her for half a floor. Scared her to death."

"Does she have some kind of problem?"

Someone laughed: "Wants to be an influencer so bad she's gone crazy. Going around begging people for comments. Who knows what she's trying to accomplish."

I lowered my head, pretending to look at my phone.

I had no afternoon classes, so I went back to the dorm. Before I reached the door, I heard Madison talking, her voice loud and angry.

"I told the RA I want to switch dorms. If I don't switch soon I'm going to lose it."

Sophie said: "What did she say?"

"She said there's a waitlist, no available beds right now." Madison cursed. "I don't care. I don't want to live with that psycho. You know what people said to me? They asked if the girl in our dorm who wants to be an influencer is me."

Riley said: "Did something happen to her?"

"What does that have to do with me?" Madison said. "Does having problems mean she can harass people? Mean she can embarrass the whole dorm? If she has problems, shouldn't she go to her parents?"

I stood outside the door for a long time, my hand on the doorknob, not daring to turn it.

I remembered not long ago I had called my dad.

It was when I really couldn't hold on anymore. I hid in the hallway of the classroom building and dialed his number.