Chapter 2

Back in my dorm, I deleted every trace of Chloe's glitter-bombed PPT and built a new one from the ground up. White background, black text, crystal-clear logic, and all the key numbers highlighted in red, no frills, just facts.

I completed it in two hours flat.

I checked the time; it was 5:30 PM.

I stretched, fired up my laptop, and queued up for a couple of rounds of games.

Now, about Chloe's data?

I was just waiting.

Let's see what kind of stunt she would try to pull tonight.

At 11:50 PM, my phone buzzed.

It wasn't WhatsApp; it was an email.

The sender was Chloe.

I raised an eyebrow, a little surprised that she really did send it.

I opened the email.

There were no attachments.

The body of the email was just a few short lines, written with such intense emotion that it was almost like she was crying as she typed.

It read: [Jessica, so sorry. I've been in bed since this afternoon, my head splitting. I kept trying to finish checking the data, but I just couldn't make out the words on the screen. I tried so many times, but I kept failing.

[I feel so useless, like I'm dragging everyone down. I'm freezing, maybe a fever. I'll go to the hospital tomorrow, I promise. Please, you're so capable; could you please help me out this time? I'm begging you.]

I read that email back and forth, three times.

Not bad at all.

The timing was spot on, 11:50 PM. The kind of hour that made one want to yell at her, but also made one think maybe she really did hold out until the last second.

Her symptoms were super specific. She mentioned her head was splitting open, she couldn't see the words, and she had chills all over. I could picture it perfectly.

She was honestly humble, saying sorry three times and begging me once. She really lowered herself.

And at the end, she even made a promise that she would go to the hospital first thing in the morning, just to show she wasn't trying to avoid responsibility.

Perfect.

This was pretty much a textbook workplace plea for help email.

If Eric had gotten this, he'd probably feel so bad for her he couldn't sleep, and would get up in the middle of the night to finish her work for her.

Unfortunately for her, the recipient was me.

I looked at the email and left it unanswered.

I switched over to the group chat, and sure enough, Eric had tagged me.

Eric sent: [Jessica, did you get Chloe's email? She sounds really sick. Should we help her out?]

Sophia sent: [Yeah, she sounds so pitiful. Maybe we should split up the data part?]

I tapped out a quick reply and hit send.

I replied: [Got it.]

Just two words.

Eric clearly hadn't expected that from me. He sent another message: [So... what do we do? What about her part of the work?]

I didn't reply to him.

I took a screenshot of Chloe's email, then opened my inbox and got ready to email our Dean, Gary Warren.

I started a new email.

It read: [To: Mr. Warren.

[Subject: Request for Extension Due to Sudden Illness of Group Member for Urban Flooding Solutions Project

[Body:

[Dear Mr. Warren,

[I hope this email finds you well.

[We are Group X from your class, working on the project Urban Flooding Solutions.

[As we were nearing completion of the assignment, one of our group members, Chloe, suddenly developed acute symptoms. According to her own email (see attached screenshot), she is experiencing a splitting headache, difficulty seeing, and chills all over, which appear to be quite severe.

[As the group lead (unofficially, but stepping up), I'm genuinely concerned for her health. Chloe handled data verification, which is basically the backbone of our whole report. Without her, we just can't finish a solid assignment on time.

[Trying to do right by both the project and our teammate, our group talked it over and agreed to ask for the following:

[1. Is it possible for the school to reach out to the campus clinic, or maybe have a tutor check in on Chloe? Not being able to see doesn't sound like your average cold.

[2. Given Chloe's situation, we're hoping for a 48-hour extension on the deadline, so we can finish the work properly once she's better, or we figure something out.

[We get that rules matter, but our teammate's health is way more important. We don't want to risk Chloe's well-being just to rush the assignment, and we really don't want to turn in something half-baked that's missing key parts.

[Looking forward to your response.

[Best regards,

[Jessica,

[Group X (on behalf of the team)]

After finishing, I attached Chloe's email screenshot and hit send.

That took me just a minute.

After that, I went back to the group chat and typed out my reply at a leisurely pace.

Jessica: [Don't worry, I've already taken care of it.]

Eric: [Wait, you already handled it? How'd you do that?]

Jessica: [I sent an email to Mr. Warren on behalf of our group. I laid out just how bad Chloe's condition is, attached her email as evidence, and asked for an extension on our assignment.]

I copied the email I sent to Gary and posted it in the group chat.

The group chat went dead silent.

After a whole two minutes, Sophia finally dropped a freaked-out emoji.

Sophia: [You actually emailed Mr. Warren?]

Eric just dropped a bunch of dots in the chat. He sent: [Jessica! Are you out of your mind? Why get Mr. Warren involved in something like this?]

Gary was notorious for being strict and impartial; he had zero tolerance for students trying to play smart or cut corners.

I replied calmly.

Jessica: [Not minor; Chloe can't see. Could be neurological; we'd miss treatment. She's sick, yet we push data? What friends are we? I care for her and the project. Rules protect us; isn't that right?]

I said everything they wanted to say about caring for our teammate and doing what was best for the group.

And I made it sound even more righteous and official than they ever could.

Eric was so stunned he couldn't even type a word for ages.

Sophia sent a scared-stiff emoji.

Right then, Chloe, who'd been seriously ill and totally lurking, suddenly tagged me in the chat.

Her profile pic started flashing like crazy on my screen.

Chloe: [Jessica, what the hell are you doing? Delete that email, now!!!]

She sent three exclamation marks in a row; she was seriously freaking out.

Her delicate beauty persona was just shattered.

I looked at my phone screen and smiled.

I knew it; the fish had taken the bait.