Chapter 4

The award-winning poster was pinned to the homepage of the National Civil Aeronautics Authority's official website.

I stared at the screen for a long time. [First Prize, National Civil Aviation Safety Technology Forum, Wren Mercer, Research on Enhanced Autonomous Navigation Algorithms for Aircraft Based on Multi-Source Information Fusion.]

Every word in that title felt like it was stabbing right into my eyes.

I knew that title all too well.

It was the proposal I'd written back in my junior year, tucked away in an old notebook and locked in the bottom drawer of my dorm room.

Back then, I was working on some preliminary research for the Stellar Survey Initiative's navigation algorithms.

The notebook was stuffed with rough, unfinished notes, a mess of ideas I never bothered to organize.

Wren had borrowed that notebook from me.

She told me she wanted to check out my study notes because she was getting ready for the National Civil Aeronautics Authority's certification exam, and her fundamentals weren't that strong. She hoped to learn a thing or two from me.

I figured, since she was Elias's junior and always came across as so polite and thoughtful, I might as well lend it to her.

When she gave it back, the notebook was as I'd left it, so I didn't think twice about it.

Looking back now, I realized I'd been such a fool.

I logged into the National Civil Aeronautics Authority's forum, paid ten dollars, and downloaded the full text of the award-winning paper.

As I flipped through page after page, I felt a chill creeping over me.

The core algorithm framework was the same as the one I'd sketched out in my notes.

Even the way the formulas were derived, the data processing flow, and the parameters for the control group in the experimental setup hadn't been changed.

I shut my laptop and took a deep breath.

*****

The next day, I asked Wren to meet me at a café near campus.

She was twenty minutes late, wearing a cream-colored coat with her hair loose over her shoulders.

When she walked in, she gave me a sweet smile. "Elowen, what did you want to talk about? I've got a flight this afternoon, so I can't stay long."

I set the printed paper down on the table. "Wren, the core algorithm in this paper was my work."

Her smile froze for a split second, then she quickly forced it back, and she looked a little hurt. "Elowen, what are you talking about? I pulled several all-nighters to write this paper, and I ran all the data myself."

"You borrowed my notebook," I said.

Wren replied, her eyes starting to well up, "Yeah, I did, but I wanted to see how you organized your notes. I didn't use any of your material.

"Elowen, I know you've never liked how close I am with Elias, but you can't accuse me of stealing your work because of that, can you?"

Some people in the café started glancing over at us.

I wanted to cry, but I forced myself to stay strong. I pushed the stack of papers she'd annotated toward Wren.

Every single overlap was marked with a highlighter, so it was all right there in plain sight.

Wren glanced at the stack of papers, her eyes filled with tears, and they began to fall.

"You hate seeing me do well," Wren said, her voice trembling. Just then, the café door swung open.

Elias strode in, bringing a gust of cold air with him. As soon as he caught sight of the tears streaking Wren's face, his expression turned grim. "What's going on?"

Wren stood up, her voice shaky as she cried out, "Elias."

She rushed toward him, and Elias instinctively reached out, steadying her and shielding her behind him. Then he turned to me, his glare sharp as a knife. "Elowen, what drama are you stirring up now?"

I said, "She stole my paper."

Elias glanced at the stack of highlighted papers on the table, a mocking smirk curling on his lips. "You wrote this? Someone like you, who spends all day trailing after me with nothing better to do, could really write a paper like this?"

My heart clenched painfully.

Elias said, his gaze icy as he stared me down, "Wren's track record in the National Civil Aeronautics Authority is plain for everyone to see. This forum paper was reviewed by one of Mr. Finch's students.

"Don't throw your family background around to push others down. Wren earned her success by grinding through endless nights. Because you're lazy and unmotivated doesn't mean you have to drag others down with you."

Wren murmured from behind him, tugging at his sleeve, "Elias, please stop. Maybe Elowen didn't do it on purpose."

Elias nodded, took her by the wrist, and said, "Come on, I'll walk you back."

The two of them walked right past me.

Wren glanced back at me, and there wasn't a hint of guilt or nervousness in her eyes, only a chilling, self-satisfied look that made my skin crawl.

The café was warm, but I was chilled to the core.

I gathered up the papers from the table, folded them neatly, and put them back in my bag.

I didn't want to defend myself anymore. It wasn't that I couldn't. I didn't care to.

Some things broke so quietly that one didn't hear the sound.