Chapter 2

When the notice popped up telling me I'd been kicked out of the group, I almost laughed out of sheer anger.

Then I calmly screenshotted the whole chat log and saved it.

Not long after, a classmate I got along with sent me a screenshot.

It was a message Leah had posted in the group:

【I didn't see Tilda backing out coming either.】

【But don't worry, everyone. I collected the money, so I'll definitely make sure it's handled.】

Then Valerie chimed in with one of her own:

【Leah's working hard right now to get us that five-dollar all-you-can-eat deal.】

The next several messages were all thanking Leah and cursing me out.

【That Tilda is such a cheapskate. Trying to fob us off with half price.】

【Right? So much money and still that stingy. It's Leah who actually thinks about us.】

Then Leah replied:

【It's the least I can do. Just remember to throw me a few extra votes when I run for class president.】

Reading that, I understood exactly what Leah was after.

She was stepping on me to win goodwill and drum up votes for herself.

Without spending a single cent, just by running her mouth, she got a whole crowd to thank her.

It reminded me of the first day of orientation drills, when I paid to buy the class ice cream.

The next day Leah jumped in ahead of me and hauled over a case of water:

"I figured ice cream might upset people's stomachs, so I thought I'd get everyone water instead. It quenches your thirst and it's easier on your gut."

The class showered her with praise for being so thoughtful.

Even back then something about it had felt off to me.

The day before, what I'd bought them was ice cream.

Leah's words sounded like a dig at me, a way to step on me and win the class over at the same time.

When I asked her about it afterward, she said I was overthinking things.

Now it was clear those subtle little jabs of hers hadn't been my imagination.

I looked over and saw Leah cradling her phone, smiling.

The flattery in the group was obviously working on her.

Sensing me watching, Leah turned toward me:

"Don't hold it against me. I was afraid you'd say something out of line again and upset everyone, so I kicked you out first."

"Relax, I'm in here smoothing things over for you."

"I told them that as long as the five-dollar deal holds, they won't make a fuss about what you said today."

I opened the recorder and repeated in a cold voice, "The Rosewood Table isn't my family's, and I never agreed to this."

Leah patted my shoulder. "Why are you so hardheaded? People just want to see the place and be part of the fun. They're not going to eat you out of house and home."

Then she sent a voice message to the group:

"It's settled, then. Everyone pays five dollars and eats all they want at The Rosewood Table. If anything goes wrong, it's on me!"

The way she said it, you'd think The Rosewood Table was her family's place.

I'd recorded everything I needed, so I said nothing more.

Leah took my silence to mean I'd agreed.

She turned around and started getting dressed up with Valerie and Paulette.

When I went to the restroom, I overheard the three of them talking in low voices.

"Leah, Tilda didn't look right to me. What if she won't own up to it when the time comes?"

"What's there to be scared of? We just go and eat." Leah's tone was completely offhand. "The whole class will be there. If she says no, she's the one leaving everyone hanging."

"If she doesn't want to make enemies of the entire class, she'll have to fall in line."

So from the very start, Leah hadn't cared whether I agreed. She figured I wouldn't dare cross the whole class and would have no choice but to go along with it.

I gave a cold little laugh inside. The Rosewood Table required a reservation to get in.

I wondered what her face would look like, after all that careful primping, when she found out she couldn't even get through the door, and how she'd explain that to the whole class.