8
The situation escalated. Not only were people cursing Susan on the forum, but many even came to our dorm
to see her for themselves.
But none of it had anything to do with me anymore. As the winner, I would be going abroad for a year as an exchange student.
The messages I had sent to my friend group remained unanswered.
With so much on my chest, I finally had to speak up.
“We’ve been friends for years. Why would you believe a stranger over me?” I finally asked the question that
had been haunting me.
After a brief silence, Brianna replied: [We didn’t know her for long. We didn’t know she was like that. We were
just fooled by her enthusiasm.]
I let it all out.
7/11
14.43
Chapter 2
[When she made those jokes at my expense, you thought it was no big deal.]
[When she swapped my birthday gift, you thought I was overreacting.]
14.43
[When she framed me, you thought she was more credible than me because she was more outgoing.]
[I might not be as enthusiastic or as fun, but I was a true friend!]
Before, I would have internalized it, gotten depressed, even blamed myself. But after saying everything tha had been bottled up inside, I felt a huge weight lift from my shoulders.
After sending the message, I immediately left the group chat.
