Chapter 2

"Wren, I washed your dress and left it on your desk."

At noon, half a month after school started, Paige sent a voice message in our group chat of four.

I pushed open my dorm room door.

At a glance, I saw the white dress casually balled up and thrown on my desk.

A huge, yellow mud stain was stuck to the bottom of the hem.

I picked up the dress, took a picture, and sent it to the group chat.

"The dress is stained. Please take it to the dry cleaners. If it won't wash out, please compensate me for the full price."

The group was quiet for a minute.

Paige sent a pitiful crying sticker.

"Wren is so mean. It's just a dress. I only got it dirty because I was looking for you."

The next second, Beck's money transfer popped up.

A grand total of fifty dollars.

"Don't give Paige a hard time."

I stared at the fifty dollars, a sour ache rising in my throat.

I had bought this dress as an eighteenth birthday present for myself using my competition prize money.

One thousand two hundred dollars.

I didn't accept the transfer. I just typed a reply.

"The dress is twelve hundred dollars. If the stain won't wash out, pay the full price."

The group fell into a dead silence again.

A while later, a private message from Miles popped up.

"You know Paige's family situation. Since her dad passed away, they haven't been doing well financially. She doesn't make much from her part-time jobs."

"Do you have to back her into a corner?"

I looked at the self-righteous question on the screen and couldn't help but laugh.

Because Paige had no dad, did that mean she could casually wear my favorite dress out?

Because Paige had no money, did that mean I deserved to take the loss?

I put the dress into a paper bag and replied.

"That's not my fault."

At the freshman orientation that afternoon, the academic advisor asked everyone to take turns introducing themselves to liven up the atmosphere.

When it was Paige's turn, she stood up with a bright smile.

"Hi everyone, I'm Paige, and this is Wren next to me. She has a terrible sense of direction."

"When she was little, she couldn't even remember which floor she lived on."

"She wandered around her apartment building's parking garage for three hours, and in the end, she was found crying next to a dumpster and dragged back home."

The surrounding students erupted into laughter.

I sat in my seat, my face slowly turning pale.

Beck was sitting in the back row. Not only did he not stop her, but he also slapped the table and laughed the loudest.

Miles, sitting next to Beck, also curled his lips.

"That's why we always tease her. Otherwise, she's too boring."

When I heard the word tease, my fingers dug tightly into the hem of my shirt.

Right.

They had always packaged my fears as the entertainment in their lives.

After the orientation ended, it started pouring rain outside.

Beck naturally opened the only umbrella and held it over Paige's head.

"Paige just washed her hair. She can't get caught in the rain or she'll get a headache."

Miles walked over, pushing his bike, and patted the back seat.

"Get on. You said your ankle was a bit sore yesterday. Let me take you to the health center to get some medicine."

Paige cheered and hopped onto the back of Miles's bike.

Beck held the umbrella for her from the side.

The three of them walked into the rain just like that.

I stood under the eaves of the academic building alone, hugging my laptop bag.

When we were young, Miles would tilt the umbrella toward me too.

Half of his own shoulder would be soaked, but he would smile and say as long as Wren didn't get wet, it was fine.

But now, someone else had long since taken the spot under his umbrella.

That night, I ran back to my dorm in the rain, and in the middle of the night, I developed a high fever.

The thermometer read 101.7°F.

My head was splitting. I grabbed my phone and called Beck.

"I have a fever. I feel terrible."

The sound of a pill bottle opening came from the other end of the line.

Beck's tone was somewhat absent-minded.

"Paige caught a little rain today too. I'm pouring her some hot water right now."

"Find some fever meds to take yourself, drink plenty of water, and go to bed early."

Beep, beep, beep.

The call was hung up.

I looked at the darkened screen and didn't dial a second time.

I leaned against the wall to stand up and changed into dry clothes.

I walked alone toward the campus health center, holding an umbrella.