A Secret Worth the Trade
Even today, all the students except Evey were sealing silent promises to team up with nothing more than a shared glance.
Even Quinton was deep in conversation with his roommate Logan.
Who’s left?
More than half the class had already vanished. Among those still lingering, Joy stood out like a beacon. Evey rose from her desk and walked over.
“Carter, want to be my lab partner?”
Joy, elegant headband in place and lips pressed into a perfect line, didn’t spare her a single glance. It was as if the invitation had never existed.
“I know I’ve been arrogant. Please give me a chance to make up for it.”
Joy continued sliding her expensive fountain pen into its leather case, one meticulous movement at a time, before finally offering a curt reply.
“Why should I?”
“Well…”
Evey hunted for the right words but came up empty. The truth was obvious: she was in no position to do anything but beg for mercy.
“I’m asking nicely. There’s something I actually want to talk to you about, too.”
“How amusing. You, wanting to have a conversation with me.”
Joy finally stood, turning to face her directly.
“Fine. Say what you want to say.”
She clearly viewed the claim of having something to share as a flimsy excuse, nothing more than a fabricated pretext to strike up a conversation.
But Evey really did have something to say, and it was the kind of thing she couldn’t bring up with other students within earshot.
“It’s just…”
When Evey faltered, Joy gave a bitter smile that said she’d expected exactly this.
“If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing.”
“I’m not lying. I really do have something to tell you. It’s only…”
“Then say it! I’m giving you the chance you wanted so badly, aren’t I?”
Evey let out a small sigh and dropped her voice to a careful whisper.
“Carter, about last night. You… didn’t drink, did you?”
Joy’s eyebrows twitched. Her face remained as imperious as ever, but Evey didn’t miss the faint tightening of the fingers around her bag strap.
She considered explaining exactly how she’d reached that conclusion, then decided against it.
It wasn’t anything extraordinary. Evey had grown up watching drunk adults at royal banquets since she was small. People that intoxicated carried a certain smell, and their behavior always shifted—expressions, tone, even the way they walked.
Of course, it was possible Joy simply had an inhuman tolerance.
But in all the time Evey had observed her, Joy had never once shown a single crack. Not from the day they became roommates until last night. Only the smell had given her away.
“…What are you talking about?”
After a short, heavy silence, Joy spoke.
“Could you stop forcing me into whatever fantasy you’ve cooked up?”
The sharp retort hung in the air as Joy strode out of the classroom without another glance.
“What was that, got rejected?”
Students from another dorm—people she barely knew—called out from behind her. They shared classes but she didn’t even know their names.
“Pretty much.”
Evey shrugged, and they swarmed forward, encircling her with gleeful energy.
“Then pair with one of us. There’s still one spot left.”
“Really? You’d let me?”
“It’d be an honor. We just heard your reports are supposedly incredible.”
Praise laced with mockery. Evey had a bad feeling, and it proved correct.
They pulled out sheets of paper they’d been hiding behind their backs and thrust them toward her. Yesterday’s humiliating printouts.
And then they began to read them aloud in the most overdramatic, theatrical voices imaginable.
“Did you know? The moment you step onto the dorm rooftop, your demerit points go up too!”
“How about the library terrace instead?”
“Oh, that one’s perfectly safe and legal!”
Finished with their performance, they burst into wild giggles, clearly thrilled at having found a way to mess with her.
Even though Evey had never done a single thing to them.
“Yeah, that’s peak immaturity.”
Evey snatched the papers from their hands and returned to her seat. Behind her, they kept up the antics—“Oh no, I accidentally earned house points!”—laughing like idiots.
She turned her back on them and started packing her bag. With no reaction to feed on, they eventually lost interest, growing quieter as they shuffled out of the classroom in a noisy clump.
It looked like she’d have to ask a teacher for help finding a partner. They could just pair her with whoever was left over.
With that thought in mind, she headed for the door. Across the hallway she spotted the same childish trio from earlier chatting with Quinton and Logan.
So that’s where they’d gotten the printouts. Had Cyrus handed them over?
He doesn’t seem like the type, but…
Then again, this was the same guy who’d told her “Don’t bother me” after going out of his way to help.
“Hey.”
A girl tapped her shoulder from behind.
“You know who I am, right?”
Evey hadn’t even gotten a proper look at her face, yet the assumption of instant recognition was already there. Still, the luxury brand bag and the five noisy keychains dangling from it made the girl’s identity obvious.
Tiffany Vance.
The short-form platform influencer who was constantly doing bizarre dance moves all over the dorm. Evey had seen her at it several times.
“Hi, Vance.”
“Call me Tiffa, Angel.”
“I’m Evey Underwood.”
“Sorry, I just call boring girls Angel.”
She delivered the outrageous statement without a hint of shame, idly fingering the oversized brand logo on her hot-pink cardigan.
“So, Angel. If you don’t have a lab partner, want to team up with me?”
Evey genuinely wondered if she’d heard wrong.
Why would Tiffany Vance want to…?
“You’ll write the report properly. Including my share.”
Apparently short-form content had at least one upside: it taught people to get straight to the point.
“I do tend to write good reports when I invest the time.”
“Perfect.”
“And if you become my partner, I’d expect you to invest that same amount of time. Otherwise it’s a problem.”
Evey added the condition immediately. She hadn’t been as blunt as Tiffany, but the meaning seemed to land.
“Unfortunately I don’t have time to waste on a report. My upload schedule is tight because of ad contracts.”
“Then never mind.”
“Oh, did you assume I’d just use you for free? Oh my god, Angel! I’m not some unscrupulous person. You know how strict society is these days about that kind of controversy, right? I’ll compensate you properly.”
“Compensate?”
“Want to come to my room? I have lots of pretty things.”
Ah. So she planned to hand over designer bags and clothes she was planning to throw away.
The confidence in her voice suggested the tactic had worked before.
Too bad for her. If it was “pretty things,” Evey’s own closet had far more—though not the one in the dorm.
“The only compensation I want from a partner is cooperation.”
Evey cut her off cleanly and slung her shabby backpack over one shoulder.
“Excuse me.”
She turned away without hesitation.
She was desperate for a lab partner, but not desperate enough to pair with someone like that. She’d rather beg one of those childish boys from earlier.
“Fine, Angel. I’ll cooperate.”
The unexpected reply stopped Evey mid-step. She turned around.
“You mean you’ll actually work hard on the report?”
“That’s not what I said, Angel. Instead, I’ll give you…”
Tiffany slowly curved her cherry-red lips into a smile and stepped closer.
“A massive secret that can make that insufferable Joy Carter as meek as a lamb. How does that sound?”