My Deskmate A Movie King Faked Cancer For Cash Chapter 02

My Deskmate A Movie King Faked Cancer For Cash Chapter 02

A ringing phone woke me up.

Harsh morning light cut through the gap in the curtains. I squinted, reaching for the nightstand, only for my best friend’s voice to blast through the speaker:

“Hazel! You’re trending!”

She screamed so loud my eardrums vibrated.

Then came a barrage of iMessage notifications, packed with links and screenshots.

#Julian’s High School Lab Partner

#The Partner Who Sent Her Entire Savings

I rubbed my eyes and clicked on a link. A clip from a late-night talk show was already viral on TikTok.

On the screen, Julian was leaning back on a sofa in a black turtleneck, looking completely relaxed as he looked down at his phone.

On the massive screen behind him was our text history.

The host gave a knowing smile:

“Julian, you have her saved under ‘Dork.’ What’s the story there?”

Julian looked up at the camera, a slight smirk playing on his lips. “She was a bit of a bookworm back in high school. Slow to catch on.”

The comment section was flying by.

“Omg, my new obsession!”

“He sounds so soft talking about her.”

“Where can I find a lab partner like that?”

I stared at his face on the screen, dazed.

Julian used to tell me the exact same thing back then.

In those days, I was completely oblivious to anything that wasn’t a textbook, always lagging a step behind everyone else.

He would sit beside me, showing a hint of a sharp canine tooth as he laughed. “Hey, dork. I’ve never met anyone who fits that nickname so perfectly.”

“Hazel! Be honest, do you still have feelings for him?”

Piper’s voice snapped me back to reality.

I got up to pour some water, my hands shaking enough to drop two of my pills.

“The medical report looked so real,” I murmured. “I just thought he was actually…”

“You idiot! Even if it was real, you don’t just empty your bank account!”

Piper sounded exasperated.

“Wait, why do you only have that much left anyway?”

“I bought some new clothes recently,” I lied, offering a sheepish smile as I swallowed the medicine.

“Unbelievable! I’m sending you some cash on Venmo later. Make sure you accept it. Oh, by the way, you mentioned your stomach was hurting. Did you ever get that checked out? If not, I can drive upstate this weekend to go with you…”

“I’m fine. I just had too much iced coffee.”

I hung up, picked the dropped pills off the floor, and threw them in the trash.

On my screen, the trending topic was still climbing.

I flipped the phone face down.