My Roommate Called My Dad My Sugar Daddy? Oops, There Goes Her Fellowship Chapter 08

My Roommate Called My Dad My Sugar Daddy? Oops, There Goes Her Fellowship Chapter 08

Claire found me at the bottom of the library steps.

Her old canvas bag hung from one shoulder as she waited beneath a tree.

In the wind, she looked fragile enough to collapse.

But I was past being fooled by the way she looked.

“Nora, let’s talk.”

“We’ll talk in Ms. Mercer’s office.”

She pressed her lips together.

“I only want to say a few things privately.”

“I have nothing to discuss with you in private.”

“Anything you say to me will be recorded.”

Something in her eyes went dim.

“Do you really have to treat me like a threat?”

I looked at her.

“You’ve earned it.”

She was quiet for a few seconds, and her voice dropped.

“Did you people arrange for Mrs. Vance to come make a scene?”

I laughed, too angry to believe what I was hearing.

“Do you think everyone schemes the way you do?”

Claire stared at me.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“I’m losing my financial aid, I’ve lost my place as first alternate, and everyone knows about Preston and me.”

“What more do you want?”

My anger surged again.

“What more do I want?”

“Claire, you still think you’re the victim here?”

“You photographed me, edited my recording, fabricated messages, filed a false complaint, and unleashed an

online mob against me.”

“You wanted to destroy my fellowship application.”

“Now that the consequences have reached you, you ask me what more I want?”

Her voice finally went cold.

“Your family has all that money.”

“Graduate school is not your only way forward.”

“But for me it’s the only chance I have to turn my life around.”

“What would you really lose by giving the fellowship to me?”

I looked at her, and the anger in me settled instead of rising.

“You’ve finally said something true.”

“You don’t want fairness.”

“You want me to step aside.”

She remained silent.

I turned on my phone recorder.

“Would you say that again in front of the committee?”

Claire’s expression changed.

She turned and walked away.

Before walking away, she said one last thing under her breath.

“Nora, don’t push me any further.”

I saved the recording and sent it to Rachel and Ryan.

I soon learned what she meant.

Friday afternoon, I went to the department to turn in supplementary paperwork.

Zoe was at the lab.

Hallie was at the library.

Nobody was in our room.

Claire thought she finally had an opening.

I had changed the password on the fellowship portal in advance.

I had sent backup copies of every important file to Ryan, Rachel, and my parents.

The only thing left in my drawer was an old external hard drive.

There was also an old phone with its camera pointed at nothing but my own desk, my drawer, and my

bookshelf.

At 4:17 p.m., the phone recorded Claire coming in.

She listened at the door first.

Then she locked it behind her.

Her movements were calm and deliberate. None of this was impulsive.

She went to my desk and pulled the drawer open.

She dug out the external drive, a copy of my student ID, and a copy of my driver’s license.

Then she opened my computer.

The login attempt failed.

She tried five times.

She checked a note on her phone before each attempt.

At 4:29, Rachel and an officer from campus security pushed the door open.

Claire froze.

But she quickly set everything down and kept her tone casual.

“I picked up the wrong things.”

Rachel’s expression hardened.

“Your desk is on the other side of the room.”

Claire said, “I thought Nora had taken my materials.”

The security officer told her to open her bag.

When the contents spilled onto the floor, everyone fell silent.

My old student ID.

A copy of my driver’s license.

A printed form titled Voluntary Withdrawal from Fellowship Consideration.

A scanned image of my signature had been pasted at the bottom.

There was one more sheet of paper.

It had my student ID number, my birthday, and a list of guesses at my usual passwords.

At the very bottom was a draft post for the anonymous campus forum.

[The student at the center of the fellowship scandal has reportedly withdrawn her application. If she has nothing to hide, why quit? Shouldn’t the department explain?]