Chapter 1
"Jocelyn, look! Isn't that the old man waiting for you downstairs this afternoon?"
[Exposing a finance student: to feed her vanity, she hired an "old man" driving a Maybach!]
The comments had already piled up hundreds of threads.
[Wow, that old man could be her dad! What's she thinking?]
[College girls today really have no shame.]
I turned to my gloating roommate, keeping a cold expression.
"Georgina, that's my family's driver," I said.
*****
I'd just climbed out of the Maybach's back seat when my stomach twisted into knots.
The luxury scent in the car mixed with the greasy takeout I'd scarfed down. Honestly, it was a biohazard.
Rodolfo Diaz, my driver, looked worried as he handed me a bottle of water.
"Miss, are you alright? Should we take you to the hospital?" he asked.
I shook my head, my face pale. "I'm fine, just a bit carsick."
Rodolfo looked even more worried and said, "But... the Maybach has the best suspension money can buy."
"It's just me, really," I cut him off.
If I didn't stop him, he'd probably launch into a lecture about the chassis and air suspension next.
All I wanted was to get back to my dorm and crash.
"Rodolfo, you can head back. I'll call you on Sunday," I said.
"Yes, Miss," Rodolfo replied.
He gave a respectful bow before getting back into the car.
I rubbed my temples and shuffled toward the dorm building.
Just as I reached the door, I heard Georgina Clarke, my roommate, snarling from inside.
Georgina snarked, "Some people are just so obsessed with showing off. They'd go to any lengths for a Chanel bag."
Emily Hart chimed in, "Yeah, always pretending to be all pure and innocent in the dorm, but who knows what kind of shady stuff she's up to when no one's watching."
My hand froze on the doorknob.
Wait, who were they even talking about?
There were only four of us in the dorm. Besides Georgina and Emily, that just left me and Aleigha Humphrey.
Her family's loaded, so she's definitely not desperate for a Chanel bag.
That left only me.
I took a deep breath and pushed the door open.
"I'm back," I said.
The chatter in the dorm came to an abrupt halt.
Georgina and Emily shot each other a glance, their faces going stiff with awkwardness.
On Georgina's bed hung a brand-new dress, the latest Chanel piece, still with the tag on.
As soon as she saw me, she plastered on a bright smile.
"Jocelyn Rutledge, you're back! Come check out my new dress. Isn't it gorgeous?" she said.
She picked up the dress and twirled around in front of me.
"My boyfriend got it for me. He said I've been working so hard on my student council campaign lately, so he bought it as a reward for me," she explained.
Her tone was so full of bragging, it was practically spilling over.
I kept my face blank.
"It's nice," I said.
Georgina looked annoyed at how unimpressed I was. She gave my canvas bag a dismissive glance and curled her lip in disdain.
"Jocelyn, you really ought to have your boyfriend spoil you a bit. Girls should pamper themselves, you know. Quit carrying that beat-up canvas bag around. It's so washed out. It looks like it's about to disintegrate," she said.
Before I could say anything, Aleigha, who'd been silent until now, spoke up.
"Actually, Georgina, Jocelyn's bag is pretty great. It's an artisan brand from Italienne. You can't find it anywhere else," Aleigha said.
Georgina's smile froze instantly.
She looked my canvas bag up and down, suspicion written all over her face.
"Handmade? What brand even is that? Never heard of it. At the end of the day, it's still just a canvas bag, right?" she sneered.
"It's a pretty obscure designer. Even if I told you, you wouldn't recognize the name," Aleigha replied calmly.
My mom was a fashion designer. She made a lot of my clothes herself, so each piece was unique.
I'd only ever told Aleigha about that once.
Georgina was caught off guard, her expression souring even more.
She threw the dress onto her bed, snatched up her phone, and started scrolling, grumbling to herself with obvious disdain.
"Seriously, who's she trying to impress? It's just a canvas bag, acting like it's worth bragging about," Georgina muttered.
Emily quickly tried to smooth things over.
"Hey, forget about that. Georgina, check out the school confession board. Someone just posted!" she said.
"What kind of post?" Georgina perked up right away.
Emily held out her phone, and the two of them leaned in, heads almost touching, both gasping dramatically.
"Whoa, is that a Maybach? It's parked right outside our dorm!" Georgina exclaimed.
"No way, which trust fund kid just rolled up to our school?" Emily gasped.
"Check it out, an old dude just got out of the car! Is that... the driver?" Georgina said.
"Even the driver's got a Maybach? How filthy rich is the owner?!" Emily blurted out.
My heart skipped a beat.
Oh no, they took a picture?
Just as I was about to peek over, Georgina whipped her phone around and shoved it right in my face.
"Jocelyn, look! Isn't that the old dude who was waiting for you downstairs this afternoon?" she asked.
On the screen was a crystal-clear photo.
Rodolfo was standing by the Maybach door in a sharp suit, slightly bowed, looking exactly like he did when I got out earlier.