Chapter 1
477words
"We were just joking around!" she sobbed, tears streaming down her face. "We were all just stupid kids!"
I sat at the plaintiff's table, watching her with cold satisfaction.
Ten years. I had waited ten long years for this moment.
My name is Evelyn Carter. Ten years ago, I was just another invisible student at Westlake High.
My family was poor. Not just struggling—we were destitute.
My mother collected recyclables at the local market, while my father drank away what little money we had and used my mother and me as punching bags when the alcohol took hold.
My school uniform was someone else's castoff. One of only two outfits I owned, washed so many times the blue had faded to a sickly gray.
Even my backpack was a hand-me-down, its broken strap held together with fraying twine.
But my grades? My grades were exceptional.
During freshman year, I ranked in the top three of my entire class.
I believed that if I studied hard enough, I could earn a scholarship to a good university and escape my circumstances.
Until sophomore year began, and she walked into our classroom.
Sophia Bennett.
Her father owned the city's largest real estate empire. Her mother ran a biotech lab that generated millions in monthly revenue.
On her first day, she glided in wearing a tailored uniform, swinging a Chanel backpack, a Cartier bracelet glinting on her slender wrist.
The class swarmed around her like moths to flame.
"Oh my God, Sophia, is that the new Chanel?"
"Damn, your family must be loaded!"
Sophia smiled sweetly, basking in the attention, tossing back perfect responses with practiced charm.
Then her gaze found me.
I was hunched in the back corner, head down, scratching away at my homework.
Her designer flats clicked across the floor as she approached my desk.
"Hey there," she chirped. "Is this seat taken?"
I glanced up, startled by the attention, and shook my head.
"Mind if I sit here, then?"
I nodded, confused why she'd choose the back row when everyone clearly wanted her up front.
She slid into the chair beside me, her eyes scanning me from head to toe.
"What's your name?" Her voice dripped with honey.
"Evelyn Carter," I mumbled.
"Evelyn," she said, loud enough for others to hear, "your uniform... you got it from a donation bin, right?"
I froze, my blood turning to ice.
Every head in the room swiveled toward us.
My face burned hot with shame. I stared at my desk, wishing I could disappear.
"It's okay." Sophia patted my shoulder with theatrical kindness. "I don't mind sitting next to charity cases."
The classroom erupted with laughter.
I gripped my pen until my knuckles turned white, eyes fixed on my notebook as the laughter washed over me.
