9
After that, I continued to keep to myself, just waiting for final exams to be over so I could prepare for my exchange program.
Susan, on the other hand, was having a much harder time. Everywhere she went, people would point and whisper. The “social butterfly” had become a pariah.
She cried in the dorm every night. At first, our roommates would comfort her. But after a while, they got tired of it. When she cried, someone would get annoyed and leave. Someone would slam things around.
I just drew my curtain and read my book.
One night, as I was walking back to the dorm from the library, I heard someone shout, “Someone’s going to jump! Over there!”
I was swept along by the crowd to the base of one of the academic buildings. It was dark, and I couldn’t see the roof clearly, only the silhouette of someone standing on the edge, their clothes flapping in the wind.
Suddenly, someone shouted, “Isn’t that the social butterfly from the English competition? The one who plag- iarized?”
‘I heard her boyfriend broke up with her because he got in trouble for helping her. She’s been ostracized by everyone. No one will talk to her.”
‘Serves her right. She brought it on herself.”
‘If she hadn’t been exposed, the person who would be up there right now is probably the one she plagiarized.
Listening to the students‘ chatter, I felt a chill of relief. If the truth hadn’t come out, that could have been me on the roof.
I shook my head and was about to leave when someone called my name.
‘Leah! It’s Susan! She’s going to jump! The police are trying to talk her down, but she’s demanding to see you!
8/11
Chapter 2
14:43
All eyes turned to me. Before I could react, a classmate grabbed my hand and pulled me into the building.
We quickly reached the roof. Police, firefighters, even my advisor were there. When they saw me, they al urged me to go over.
“Susan, please, stay calm. Look, Leah is here. You two can talk. There’s nothing you can’t get through.”
But when Susan saw me, she started screaming. “It’s you! It’s all your fault that I’ve been abandoned!”
“I was the social butterfly, and now I have nothing! Abandoned by my friends, my boyfriend, my classmates Are you happy now?”
I rolled my eyes into the darkness. She brought this all on herself, and now she was blaming me.
My advisor pushed me forward. “Go apologize to her! Just placate her for now!”
