Treatment 77_Badass in Disguise

Chapter 77 

 Emily’s face transformed instantly from practiced charm toplete shock when her eyes met mine. Her mouth opened and closed wordlessly, her mask of sweetnesspletely shattered by surprise and what looked like mounting anger. It was almost satisfying to watch her struggle to process my

 new appearance.

 “Emily? Are you okay?” Edward asked, clearly noticing her strange reaction.

 “I’m fine,” she managed, quickly forcing her lips into that familiar fake smile I’d seen countless times at home. “Just surprised to see someone from back home.”

 Edward nodded and turned to make introductions. “This is a new freshman, Jade Morgan. She’s from Cloud City too, just like you.”

 I kept my expression neutral, revealing nothing. I had no interest in acknowledging our connection.

 Julian looked between us with interest. “Do you two know each other?”

 Emily hesitated, clearly unsure how to respond. Before she could decide, I spoke first.

 “No,” I said coolly, looking past her as if she were a stranger. “Cloud City isrger than it seems.”

 Julian frowned slightly. “That’s odd. I thought everyone knew everyone in smaller towns.”

 “Not everyone is worth knowing,” I replied with a slight shrug before turning to Julian. “Could you show me to my dorm now? I’d like to get settled.”

 1

 Julian nodded, seeming impressed by my directness. “Of course. This way.”

 As we walked away, I could feel Emily’s eyes boring into my back. I didn’t need to look to know she was furious at being dismissed sopletely.

 Julian chatted enthusiastically as we crossed the quad toward the dormitories. I half–listened, nodding at appropriate intervals while processing the encounter with Emily. Her shocked expression had been almostical–worth the three months of rigorous training just for that moment alone.

 “Your building is one of the newer ones,” Julian was saying as we approached a red–brick structure. “You’re lucky–private bathrooms shared between Just four students instead of the whole floor.” 

 12:31 Sun, Sep 21 M…

 “Wonderful,” I replied, not caring either way.

 Julian swiped his ID at the entrance and held the door for me. “I’ll take you up to your room, then I need to get back to orientation duties.”

 The elevator ride was brief, and soon we were standing outside room 312. Julian knocked before using a master key to open the door.

 Three girls looked up as we entered. One was sprawled across what was clearly meant to be my bed, judging by the empty shelves and desk beside it. She had curly blonde hair and designer clothes that probably cost more than what Linda made in a month at the factory.

 “New roommate?” she asked Julian with a familiarity that suggested previous acquaintance.

 “Yes, this is Jade Morgan,” Julian replied. “Jade, these are your roommates: Megan, Kylie, and Zoe.”

 The curly–haired girl–Megan–gave me a once–over, her expression shifting from curiosity to thinly veiled hostility. “Well, well, look who’s getting the VIP treatment. I didn’t realize the student body president personally escorted a freshmen to her room.”

 Julian’s smile tightened. “Just doing my job, Megan.”

 “Sure you are,” she drawled, sitting up but making no move to vacate the bed. “I thought you’d be too busy to y personal escort.”

 I set my suitcase down with a deliberate thud. “That’s my bed you’re on.”

 Megan’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, this one? Sorry, honey, I switched. That one-” she pointed to a bed in the corner near a heating vent “-is yours now. The pipe makes this annoying ticking sound all night, so I figured I’d save myself the trouble.”

 The other two girls exchanged nervous nces but said nothing.

 I stepped forward, my movement fluid and controlled. “Get off my bed.”

 Meganughed, looking to her friends for support. “Excuse me? I don’t think you understand how things work here. I-”

 I grabbed her wrist and pulled her upright with enough force to make her gasp but not enough to bruise–not yet, anyway. With my other hand, I shoved her Louis Vuitton suitcase off the bed, sending it skidding across the floor.

 12:32 Sun, Sep 21 M

 “Hey!” she shrieked, trying to wrench her arm away. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”

 Julian stepped forward. “Jade, maybe we should-”

 “It’s fine,” I cut him off without looking away from Megan. “We’re just establishing boundaries.”

 Megan’s face flushed red. “You crazy bitch!” She swung her free hand toward my face in what would have been a p if I hadn’t caught her other wrist mid–air.

 I tightened my grip just enough to make her wince. “I don’t like being touched without permission.”

 “Let go of me,” she hissed, her voice low and dangerous. “You have no idea who my family is. One call and I’ll have you thrown out of Princeton before sses even start.”

 I squeezed harder, watching impassively as the skin around my fingers whitened, then darkened to a bruising purple. “Is that so?”

 I released her suddenly, and she stumbled backward, cradling her wrists. I calmly gathered her remaining belongings from the bed and tossed them into the nearby trash can.

 “What the hell?!” one of the other girls–Kylie or Zoe, I didn’t care which–eximed.

 Megan looked at her wrists, then at me, fury and disbelief warring on her face. “You’re dead. You

 hear me? Dead.”

 Julian stepped forward, his expression concerned as he noticed the darkening bruises on Megan’s wrists. “I should get you to the medical center,” he said to Megan, then turned to me with a worried

 look.

 “Take me there now,” Megan demanded, her twockeys already helping her toward the door. “You’ll regret this,” she spat in my direction.

 Julian hesitated, clearly torn between his duty to help Megan and his desire to make sure I was okay. “Try not to worry too much. This kind of thing happens during orientation week.”

 As they left, I could hear Megan’s voice echoing down the hallway: “That crazy bitch attacked me for no reason! Did you see what she did to my wrists?” 

 ??

 After they left, I finished unpacking my minimal belongings, then stretched out on the bed, finally alone. My phone buzzed with texts:

 12:32 Sun, Sep 21 M… 

 From Max: How’s Princeton? Miss you already.

 :

 I smiled, typing back: All good. Made an impression on my roommates. Miss you too. 

 Another notification:

 From Ethan Haxton: Hope your first day at Princeton is going well. Let me know if you need anything. 

 I replied with a simple: Thanks.

 61

 A momentter, a new notification appeared–Julian had added me to a GroupMe chat for Computer

 Science freshmen and sent a Discord server invitation for the dorm building.

 I epted both, scrolling through the messages. Several usernames I didn’t recognize were already asking for “the new girl to post a selfie,” particrly someone called “Jennifer” who seemed especially insistent.

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 Badass in Disguise

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Treatment 77