Chapter 1

My brand-new Victoria's Secret panties vanished from the dorm's communal washing machine.

I brought it up in the dorm group chat, and the campus beauty, Vivian, from next door started throwing shade.

Vivian: [Seriously, you're making a scene over a pair of panties? If you can't even afford your own underwear, maybe you shouldn't be using the communal washer.]

The next day, I coated a brand-new pair of lace panties with an entire tube of extra-strength hair removal cream.

Then, I left them in the washing machine again. That night, the whole school was buzzing.

Vivian was practicing her dance routine when she suddenly grabbed herself and let out a blood-curdling scream. They had to carry her straight to the nurse's office.

Word was, Vivian got second-degree chemical burns down there, and her hair was never coming back.

*****

"Sidney, you're on the campus wall." Lena, my roommate, came charging over, waving her phone like a cat whose tail had just been stepped on.

Lena added, "Look. Someone anonymously accused you of taking revenge and sending Vivian to the hospital."

I didn't even bother to look up, just slowly turned the page of my book. "Oh."

"Oh? That's all you have to say?" Lena was practically losing her mind. "There are over eight hundred comments roasting you.

"They're calling you a psycho, saying you're just jealous of Vivian being the campus queen, and that you totally deserve to get kicked out."

I finally closed my book and took her phone.

The post title was in huge, bright red letters, practically screaming for attention.

[Shocking Revelation! Design student gets revenge on dance department's campus queen after losing her panties.]

Below it was a photo of Vivian lying in the nurse's office, looking pale and teary-eyed.

She looked so fragile, it was enough to make anyone's heart ache.

The comments section was absolutely wild.

[I know all about this. It was Sidney, right? She was freaking out in the dorm group chat over some cheap panties. Was it really worth all that drama?]

[Oh my god, Vivian's legs are literally insured. If she gets a scar, her life is basically ruined.]

[People like her should be arrested. So freaking evil!]

[Hold up, everyone. Latest update: it wasn't Vivian's legs. She... she got hurt in her private parts.]

[Holy crap! Are you serious? Does that mean she'll never have kids now?]

[Sidney, get the hell out of our school.]

Lena shot me a worried look, her voice barely above a whisper. "Sidney, was it really you?"

I handed the phone back to her, a faint smirk on my lips.

"Yeah," I replied, totally unfazed. "But I didn't use some toxic chemical or anything. It was just hair removal cream, that's all."

Lena's mouth formed a perfect O of shock.

I picked up my book again, my tone as casual as if I were talking about the weather.

I said coolly, "When she stole my panties, she should've known there'd be consequences.

"When she threw shade at me in front of everyone, she should've known I'd make her shut up."

"And now..." I paused, the smirk on my lips deepening. "She was the one who decided to wear those panties slathered in hair removal cream. What's that got to do with me?"

Stealing was the cause. Humiliation was the effect. And now, she was just getting exactly what she deserved.

Lena stared at me, totally speechless for a while, then finally blurted out, "Sidney, you're seriously badass."

I didn't say anything. This wasn't about being badass.

This was just the most savage way to clap back when someone pushed you way too far.

Just then, my phone rang. It was my advisor.

She sounded dead serious on the other end. "Sidney, get to my office. Now. Vivian's family is threatening to sue you for intentional harm."