Chapter 3
Maya said: [Whoever loses has to kneel and lick the winner's shoes, and I'll carve "Copycat" on your face. How about that?]
I replied: [Alright.]
Maya shot back: [Just wait and see.]
I really wanted to know who was backing her up. How could a scholarship student act all high and mighty?
On my way to the freshman orientation, I noticed Maya had started a livestream.
She was sitting on the stage in the auditorium, surrounded by twenty luxury handbags.
One look and I could tell that they were the exact ones she'd bought from me.
She had her beauty filter cranked up to the max, completely hiding any flaws on her face.
When she saw me join the livestream, Maya snickered.
"So, did you manage to beg enough cash from your backer? Are you gonna end up crying and begging me not to mark up your face tonight?" she sneered.
"People like you disgust me. No skills, just a total copycat!" she continued.
"Do your parents ever regret having someone as shameless as you for a kid?" she added.
Maya rolled her eyes, looking all smug. "Isn't copying me your thing? Well, today I'm giving everyone a treat. Handing out luxury bags right here on the spot! Let's see you try and copy that!"
With a dramatic wave, she grabbed a few handbags and flung them into the crowd packed in the auditorium.
She shouted, "Alright, whoever yells the nastiest insult at this wannabe gets these bags!"
As soon as she said that, the crowd went wild.
My phone was instantly flooded with people shouting all kinds of insults at me.
"Seriously, she thinks she can be the queen bee, but when it's time to hand out freebies, she just clams up."
"Maya totally crushes her in every way!"
"She's hot and has attitude. I'm gonna stan Maya forever!"
"Just the thought of going to the same school as her makes me wanna puke! Watch out for copycats like her. They'll sneak around, copy everything you do, and try to snatch it all!"
The next second, all the noise in the auditorium merged into a deafening chant that could've blown the roof off:
"Wannabe! Get out!"
I walked into the auditorium, and that was the first thing I heard: everyone shouting that chant.
The driver's face went pale. As soon as the car stopped, he quickly signaled the bodyguards to open the auditorium doors.
When everyone inside saw the grand entrance, they all fell silent, craning their necks in curiosity.
That was when they spotted the Rolls-Royce parked at the entrance.
Before the door even opened, the well-trained bodyguards had already rolled out a red carpet straight to the center of the auditorium.
Everything was set.
Only then did the driver step aside and open the door for me.
Everyone instinctively held their breath.
I stepped out, tall and elegant, dressed to kill in a gown that looked like it cost a fortune.
My face was so perfect that it looked like I'd just stepped out of a comic book.
People were whispering, trying to figure out which A-lister the school had brought in.
But nobody guessed that I was actually the wannabe they'd been trashing all this time.
I let out a cold laugh and walked over to Maya.
Every click of my heels felt like it was echoing right through everyone's hearts.
I stopped right in front of her, looking down at her like she was just a clown putting on a show.
"Hey, I'm the wannabe you've been talking about, Elise Thomson," I said.
Maya finally snapped out of her shock.
Her venomous eyes locked onto my face, which was so much more refined than hers. She gritted her teeth and sneered, "So you're the wannabe? Tell me, how much did this whole spectacle cost you?"
"How many times did you have to sleep with your sugar daddy to get him to give you this kind of backing? But you still can't compete with me!" she spat.
Without a second thought, Maya gave away all the luxury bags she had left, tossing them out to the crowd in one dramatic sweep.
She kept flinging those high-end handbags off the stage, and the whole place went crazy. People were practically fighting each other to snatch them up.
Suddenly, I was invisible. All anyone cared about was Maya. They were chanting her name like she was some kind of superstar.
Seeing that, Maya couldn't help but give me a smug look. "No matter how fancy you act, you're still just a wannabe!"
"These bags I just handed out? They're worth at least 150 thousand dollars! Bet you've never even seen that kind of cash in your whole life," she bragged.
"If you can't beat me, just get on your knees and apologize. And don't even try to resist when I carve it into your face," she taunted.
I kept my smile unfazed. "Honestly, how small-time do you have to be to act like 150 thousand dollars is some kind of life-changing fortune?"
I gestured behind me, and the bodyguards promptly brought out a dozen heavy black cloth bags from the car.
Maya felt a wave of dread, but I didn't give her a chance to stop me. I spoke up first.