Chapter 3

That day, right after finishing my part-time job, I received a call from Andrea.

Rushing back to the dorm, I saw Andrea and the school administrator Irene Meyer standing there.

My three other roommates were there too.

When Celeste saw me, she smiled smugly.

Before I could ask what had happened, Andrea got straight to the point. "Selene, is this your pet snake?"

I shook my head. "It's not mine. Celeste owns it."

Celeste got upset and stepped forward. "Selene, you can't just slander me. This snake is yours."

Irene frowned at me. "How can you keep such a dangerous thing in the dorm? Do you know I've received students' complaints? Besides, you're a class monitor. Get rid of the snake right away."

Only then did I realize that the student council had come to check the hygiene in the dorm, got startled by the snake, and reported it directly to the teachers.

I glanced at Celeste, knowing she was very likely behind it.

We were in our third-year, and the student council stopped checking dorm hygiene for us a long time ago.

Since Celeste was involved in the hygiene check, she probably also wrote the anonymous complaint that caused it.

Celeste looked triumphant. "Selene, I told you long ago not to keep the snake in the dorm because it would scare other students. But you just wouldn't listen."

I said calmly, "You were the one who brought this snake back; it has nothing to do with me. Ms. Boyd, Ms. Meyer, if you don't believe me, you can ask our roommates."

I thought my relationship with Noelle was better than hers with Celeste, and expected Noelle and the other roommate to speak up for me.

Noelle's face turned pale. "We don't know who brought it back; we only know Selene is the one who feeds the snake every day."

"Noelle, I can't believe you said that." I was furious, glaring directly at Noelle and the other roommate.

Irene couldn't stand it anymore. She said to me, "What's the matter with you? If you raise it and refuse to admit it, that's fine. But you can't slander and threaten other students."

Irene looked at Andrea. "Is this the class monitor you praised? Since this matter has blown up, and she still refuses to admit her mistake, we'll have to deal with her according to school regulations."

According to school regulations, I would receive a warning.

My grades were already sufficient for a guaranteed postgraduate recommendation. Now, I doubt that would still happen.

Andrea interjected quickly, "Irene, please reconsider. Selene is really excellent, and there might be more to this issue than meets the eye. Let's give her another chance."

"Ms. Boyd, you can't be so biased," Celeste said unhappily. "Since Selene is the class monitor and a student leader, she should be setting an example. How can you be so unfair?"

Andrea's face immediately turned red.

Irene nodded in agreement. "This must be dealt with seriously. Selene is not fit to be a student leader, let alone be recommended for postgraduate study."

Celeste grew even more smug.

I sighed, "I really didn't bring this snake back to the dorm."

Celeste retorted, "Selene, stop making excuses."

I looked at Celeste and told her, "I have proof."

I was previously framed by Celeste for stealing. Since then, I'd always carried a voice recorder.

I played the recording from the day Celeste brought the snake back. It showed her talking about wanting to keep the snake in the dorm.

It also included the recording of Noelle talking to me, asking me to speak with Celeste about not keeping the snake.

It proved that the other two roommates were also aware of what Celeste did.

My roommates' faces turned pale at once. Irene also looked displeased.

Celeste remained stubborn. "Even if you didn't bring back, you still fed it and bought an enclosure for it. You're more like its owner than I am."

I looked at Andrea and Irene. "I only fed it because it's alive and I couldn't just watch it die. I bought an enclosure because I was afraid it would escape and bite someone. Was that wrong?'

Celeste tried to speak again, but Andrea stopped her. Andrea said, "Alright, since it's a misunderstanding, let's not dwell on it. Still, pets are not allowed in dorms.

"Celeste, since you brought the snake back, you must deal with it. Selene, as the class monitor, you're meant to supervise, and you failed."

Andrea feared escalating the situation, which would have resulted in both Celeste and me being disciplined.

Therefore, before Irene could speak, she reprimanded us.

Finally, she ordered Celeste to send the snake away quickly to avoid causing panic.

Eventually, Andrea left the dorm with Irene.

Celeste was upset that nothing happened to me. Moreover, she got reprimanded.

She opened the enclosure roughly.

When she reached out to grab the snake, she used a lot of strength.

The snake looked at her with anger and panic. It had clearly heard what was said just now.

I stepped forward. "Where are you taking it?"

Celeste shot back, "Wherever I please; it's none of your business."

I thought for a moment and pretended to be reluctant to part with it. "Why don't you give it to me? Its wound hasn't healed yet. Once I've nursed it back to health, I'll release it into the forest."

The snake's eyes lit up when it heard my words, and its tail stretched out towards me. It seemed to really come with me.

Celeste also saw its reaction and was furious. She yelled at the snake, "You scum. How dare you betray me? I'm your owner."

She poked hard at the snake's wound, making the snake curled up in pain.

Celeste glanced at me. "You want it, but I won't give it to you. I'll release it right now."

With that, she took the snake and walked out.

She wasn't gentle with it, swinging it back and forth.

I reminded her, "Don't swing it like that; it'll feel bad."

But Celeste wouldn't listen to my words.

Her actions grew more exaggerated, as though making the snake uncomfortable was what she wanted.

After Celeste left, Noelle and the other roommate stared at me blankly.

They didn't speak, and neither did I.

After a few minutes, Noelle couldn't take it anymore and said to me, "I'm sorry, Selene. We didn't mean to turn on you just now.

"Celeste threatened us with the student council. We're not like you, favored by the teachers; we're just ordinary students."

Her words made a wave of anger rise within me for no reason.

I never understood why they were afraid of the student council.

After all, the student council was also made up of students, like them.

Suppressing my anger, I asked, "Are you going to let this continue?"

Noelle paused. "What?"

I said, "Is this how you want to carry on with Celeste? There's still over a year of university left. With her personality, since Celeste didn't get her way today, she might blame both of you."

I chose my next words carefully. "Do you want to bring Celeste down?"