He Wanted My Research, She Wanted My Seat, I Wanted Out Chapter 01

He Wanted My Research, She Wanted My Seat, I Wanted Out Chapter 01

The day I submitted my college application, I got a call from an unknown number.

“Don’t go to Harvard. Your boyfriend has connections there. He’ll steal your research and hand it to your best friend to make her shine.”

“They’ll slap you with plagiarism charges. You’ll get expelled, and end up behind bars.”

“Go to Stanford. It’s ranked lower than Harvard right now, but your major will become number one in the country.”

I gripped the phone. “Who is this?”

The line went dead. Beep… beep… beep…

On iMessage, Henrik’s texts lit up my screen.

[Baby, I know it’s break, but don’t slack on your research, okay?]

[I had a dream last night that your computer crashed and you lost everything. Why don’t you send me a copy? I’ll back it up for you.]

My blood went cold. I thought about the warning from that phone call. My fingers moved fast. I locked down my computer with an extra layer of security.

I stared at the application page on my screen. Harvard University. My cursor hovered over the submit button.

Then my phone rang again. My best friend.

“Camila, you’re definitely picking Harvard, right? I’m going to cling to you all through college!”

I forced my voice light. “Of course, Harvard. I can’t stand being apart from you either.”

***

Tessa’s cheerful voice streamed through the speaker.

“Our usual spot! Celebrating another four years together!”

Her voice was so warm, so familiar, that for a second I almost convinced myself the earlier call was just my imagination.

I said yes and headed to the café, still unsettled.

The moment I sat down, Tessa grabbed my hand with concern.

“How’s your research project going? You look exhausted.”

She sounded genuine. But I couldn’t tell anymore. Was she worried about my work, or about me?

“Almost done. Just need to proofread.”

The second the words left my mouth, my phone blared an alarm.

[One attack successfully intercepted.]

Someone was trying to hack into my computer.

“What’s that noise? Scared me.”

Tessa leaned in to look. I fumbled with my phone, set it to vibrate, and locked the screen in a rush, but slow enough that she caught the message.

“Alarm. I forgot I have to go.”

Just as I expected, Tessa grabbed my arm. “You just got here! No way.”

My phone buzzed nonstop in my hand. I glanced down, more interception alerts kept rolling in, but my defense held.

When the buzzing finally stopped, Tessa waved toward the door.

“Henrik! Over here!”

She let go of me and moved to the seat across. “What a coincidence. Henrik’s here too.”

I nodded mechanically and slid further into my seat. Henrik sat down right next to Tessa.

That’s when I realized. Our seating had shifted, slowly, invisibly.

At first, me next to Tessa, Henrik across from me.

Then Henrik started sitting across from Tessa.

Lately, they’d always end up side by side, like it was nothing. Me alone on the other side.

And I’d been so blindly trusting that I’d never questioned it.

Henrik leaned toward Tessa, his lips barely moving. His mouth shaped something like “She’s got protection. I’ll find another way.”

Tessa’s eyes flickered with disappointment, just for a second.

Then Henrik turned to me, as if he’d just noticed I was there.

“Camila, send me your research files. I’ll keep a copy safe.”

“What if your computer crashes someday? All that work gone.”

I took a sip of my coffee. “There’s something called the cloud.”

“Cloud accounts get hacked too. I’m just offering you double protection.”

I didn’t answer. Instead, I asked, “So, you’re going to Miami?”

Henrik froze. “No. Why would I go alone?”