My Roommate Called My Dad My Sugar Daddy? Oops, There Goes Her Fellowship Chapter 01

My Roommate Called My Dad My Sugar Daddy? Oops, There Goes Her Fellowship Chapter 01

The day the department posted the shortlist for a fully funded graduate fellowship, my parents bought me an $18,000 designer handbag.

My roommates crowded around it, laughing that all those years of hard work had finally paid off.

Only Claire Hensley remained seated on the bed across from mine, pinching the faded cuff of her sleeve between two fingers.

“Nora, don’t take this the wrong way.”

“When a student carries something that expensive, people are bound to get the wrong idea.”

Then she set her phone on the desk.

On the screen was a photo of me having dinner in a private dining room at a luxury hotel.

A middle-aged man sat across from me.

“I saw you having dinner with this man last night.”

“And the fellowship shortlist is still under review, so I’m worried people will start talking and it’ll hurt you.”

I stared at her and smiled.

“You’re right.”

“I did go to a luxury hotel last night.”

“And that is me in the photo.”

A flash of excitement crossed Claire’s eyes.

I calmly turned my own phone facedown on the desk.

“So what about you?”

“You receive need-based financial aid, so why were you at that same hotel last night?”

* * * * *

The room fell so silent that even the hum of the air conditioner sounded harsh.

Zoe Worthington had been admiring my bag, but her grip loosened and she nearly dropped it.

Hallie Winslet looked at me, then at Claire, and asked quietly, “Claire, where did you take that photo?”

Claire did not look rattled.

Instead, she slipped her phone away, leaned back slightly, and lowered her voice.

“I didn’t mean anything by it.”

“I was dropping off paperwork for a part-time job near the hotel last night when I happened to see Nora.”

“I was worried about her, so I said something.”

“If the rest of you think I’m meddling, I won’t bring it up again.”

Zoe frowned.

“But the way you said it a minute ago didn’t sound like a friendly heads-up.”

Claire looked up with an innocent expression.

“Did I say anything harsh?”

“Did I say she had a sugar daddy?”

“All I said was that she should be careful about appearances during the fellowship review period.”

The tension in the room thickened.

Anger made my fingertips go numb.

“Claire, drop the act.”

“You pull out a photo you took without permission, and then you bring up a hotel, an older man, an $18,000 bag, and the fellowship shortlist.”

“You said all of it out loud so everyone here would put it together that way.”

She pressed her lips together.

“Nora, don’t you think you’re being oversensitive?”

“I know your family has money, and maybe you don’t understand how careful ordinary students have to be about it.”

“But $18,000 for a handbag is not a small amount.”

I stared at her.

“If my family buys me something, do I need your approval?”

Her face lost some color.

“That isn’t what I meant.”

“Then why did you photograph me?”

She went still.

I took out my phone and started recording.

“From this point on, everything said in this room is going on the record.”

Something in Claire’s eyes went dark for a second.

I called Rachel Mercer, my academic advisor.

The moment she picked up, I got straight to it.

“Ms. Mercer, I need to report a case of covert photography and insinuation.”

“The person also brought up the fellowship review, so I believe there’s a motive behind it.”

Claire stood up at once.

“Nora, there’s no need to make it this serious.”

“This was a conversation in our room. Bringing a faculty member in only blows it up.”

I could no longer contain my anger, and my voice turned cold.

“You weren’t afraid of blowing it up when you pulled out the photo.”

“Now that I want a university official involved, you’re scared?”

She lowered her eyes.

“I’m not scared.”

“I only think that if you have nothing to hide, you can explain it.”

I laughed out loud.

“You photograph me, you question me, and now I have to prove my own innocence?”

“Fine.”

“I’ll explain.”

“But not in this room where you get to steer it.”