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Chapter 1
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It was a bright autumn afternoon, in early October. I was sitting in my Economics Professor's office, blinking back tears of rage. "Are - are you sure it was an exact copy?" I asked incredulously.
Professor Kilburn nodded grimly. "The university takes cheating very seriously, Sarah."
I shook my head in disbelief. I had been working for weeks on this essay, which made up a large part of the final grade for my Macroeconomics course. I had worked closely with Professor Kilburn - she was one of the best in her field - over the course of the semester.
"Sarah," the Professor continued gently, "I know you didn't cheat, I have drafts you sent me weeks ago that show this was clearly your work. However, the university has a strict no-tolerance policy on cheating, which means both of you are going to get into trouble."
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I had a lucrative job offer lined up next year, contingent on my grades, and that was now being jeopardised through no fault of my own.
"Who - who submitted my work?"
"A student called Hayley Williams? Do you know her?"
I froze again. "Y-yes I know her - she's my sorority sister. We-we live in the same sorority house."
*Hayley Williams. Ofcourse I knew her.* We were both part of Alpha Kappa Mu, a highly selective sorority, one of the hardest to get into. Sorority sisters were picked for their poise as well as their achievements, and most alumni went on to have highly successful careers. We were a close-knit group, there were only about 30 of us in total, living together in 2 adjacent buildings in a desirable part of the university town. The sorority houses were stunning, modern and with the latest facilities built from donations from our wealthy alumni. Each of us had our own room, and shared a bathroom with one other girl. For me, that girl was Hayley.
Despite the sorority's wealth, we had a mix of backgrounds and genuinely respected and supported each other. That's where Hayley stuck out like a sore thumb. She always had the latest handbags, and flaunted her designer clothes. She had been downright cruel to some of the girls, and was extremely close to being kicked out of the sorority.
Professor Kilburn interrupted my thoughts. "Did Hayley have access to your laptop at any time in the past week or two?"
"Yes, I lent her my laptop last week, she said she'd had to send her's off for repairs. That must have been when she stole my essay."
Professor Kilburn sighed. "Look Hayley, I recommend you don't report this, or you'll face disciplinary measures too. I think your friend Hayley was banking on you staying silent to protect yourself, and unfortunately that is the best thing for you to do. What I can do is void both your submissions and allow your final essay in December to decide your final grade. Maybe-"
"Wait that's it? She's not going to face any consequences?" I was shaking with rage now, unable to think clearly. "I - I -"
"Sarah." Professor Kilburn put a hand on my shoulder to calm me down. "I'm really sorry. There is one thing you can do though." I looked up at the Professor, wondering what she would say.
"Hayley is on a scholarship for students from less-privileged backgrounds. It's up to your discretion, but her scholarship board is far less tolerant of cheating than the university is. I could draft a letter for you to send them, it would probably end in them revoking her scholarship."
I leapt to my feet. "What?? She's not from a less-privileged background, she's always wearing the latest Gucci and - and- "
"Maybe she works part time? Anyway, I would caution you to calm down and think about whether this is what you want to do. I'm happy to provide the letter, but you would be ruining her life, and possibly forcing her to drop out of college."
I sighed. I needed some time to think, all this information had been overwhelming. I thanked the Professor for her support, told her I'd think about it, and set off for the short walk home.
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The next evening, I was a lot calmer. I had spent ages thinking about what to do, and a plan had slowly formed in my mind about how to exact revenge on Hayley.
I had also spent a good chunk of time on social media, stalking Hayley and trying to understand exactly what her real background was. Turns out, Professor Kilburn was right. Hayley had come from a less privileged family, and gotten in to our university through a scholarship. That didn't matter to me - plenty of our sorority girls were on scholarships - but Hayley had explicitly lied about it, pretending she had wealthy parents who bankrolled her lifestyle. However, I found a couple of sugarbaby websites, where she advertised her services under a fake name. Hayley was stunning - 5 foot 6, svelte, with dark brown hair and stunning blue eyes. She would have had no problem finding wealthy men to buy her luxury goods on those websites.
I slowly gathered all the evidence into a giant email, together with the letter Professor Kilburn had drafted. Taking a deep breath, I walked out of my room, and went down the stairs of our building. Hayley was lying on the couch in our living area, watching TV with some of the other girls. I waved to a few of my friends who were playing pool, then walked over to Hayley.
"Hey, can we have a chat please?" Hayley looked up at me with her bright blue eyes.
"Sure," she said nonchalantly. "Here?"
"My room would be better." Without waiting for her response, I headed back to my room, and heard her following me. It took all my self control to not turn around and yell at her. She was acting like nothing had happened, when surely - *surely*- she knew that I was aware she had stolen my essay?
We walked into my room and Hayley sat down on my sofa. It was a massive room - modern, with lots of light. I had a small sofa and seating area, as well as a corner for a large study desk and shelves. In the far corner, there was another door leading to the bathroom I shared with Hayley. I sat at my desk, with my laptop open beside me, then turned my chair around to face her.
"I had an interesting meeting with Professor Kilburn yesterday." Hayley's eyes widened. "I'm guessing you know what it was about? Did you think I wouldn't find out??"
Hayley maintained her composure. "Look - I needed to submit something to keep my place on the course. I knew you were on good terms with the Prof and you'd be fine, it wasn't personal."
I scoffed. "It 'wasn't personal'?? My grades for that essay were voided, now my final essay counts for 80% of my final grade. I have a job offer that depends on this!"
Hayley rolled her eyes. "Look, ultimately you're still on the course and still have a chance of getting a good grade. What are you going to do? Tell the university? You know that will hurt both of us. I only did it because I knew Professor Kilburn rates you highly."
*Wow, not even an apology.*
"You're right that I'm close to Professor Kilburn. Close enough to have sent her drafts of my essays weeks before you stole and submitted mine. She knows you copied me, and not the other way round. She agreed not to report it to the university, but she is reporting it... to the McCallum Scholarship Foundation."
I watched the blood drain from Hayley's face. *Bingo*.
"Funny, I didn't know you were on scholarship Hayley. You were making fun of Rebecca yesterday for not wearing branded sneakers. What about all the Caribbean holidays you supposedly went on with your family? Those were all lies weren't they? Your dad's a plumber - seems like a decent, honest guy from what I found on Facebook. Does he know his daughter pretends he's an investment banker?"
Hayley was silent now, a look of confusion and horror on her face. "I- I - How-"
"Let's not worry about your dad for now, let's worry about your scholarship and your place on this sorority. The McCallum Foundation doesn't take cheating lightly. Will you be able to afford to stay in university once I send them the letter from Professor Kilburn?"
She was squirming on my sofa now, as the precariousness of her situation hit her.
"What if I also attach screenshots of your sugarbaby profiles to my email? That'll get you kicked out of Alpha Kappa Mu as well - good luck trying to afford an Ivy League university AND pay rent on a dorm not subsidised by AKM."
Hayley was quietly sitting on the sofa now, looking utterly defeated. After what seemed like minutes, she lifted her head and stuttered "Sarah I'm s-sorry. I - I - Have you sent the email already? P-please-"
"Not yet. I wanted to see if you had any alternative solutions first."
Hayley looked up at me quickly. "What do I need to do? Can I convince you not to send the-the email?" She was smart, and had caught on quickly.
"You tell me, Hayley. I'm pretty keen to see you out of this house. You're cruel and nasty, you leave our bathroom in a mess, never clear up your dishes in the kitchen. You stole my essay, you mock the other sorority girls for being poor when you're not well-off either. What CAN you do to convince me?"
"I - I'll clean the bathroom every week, I'll do all my dishes - and your's too." She looked at me, and I remained silent. She contined. "I'll... I'll apologise to Rebecca and the other girls, I - I can even give them some of my handbags! I'll clean your room too, whenever you want and - and -" Hayley was runnning out of ideas, but I was still silent. Clearly, whatever she had suggested wasn't enough.
"Look please," she begged. "I'll do just about anything - just don't tell the scholarship board, don't get me kicked out of the sorority please."
"Anything?" I asked. "Are you sure?" Hayley looked at me with her bright eyes, and I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes. Good. "We could work out an arrangement, where I don't tell the scholarship board OR the sorority about your cheating, about your fake lifestyle, or your sugarbaby profiles. Contingent on your good behaviour ofcourse - break any of the rules we agree on and I will send the email immediately."
"Wh-what rules?" asked Hayley quietly.
"Everything you just said earlier - you will treat the sorority girls nicely, you will clean my room, do my dishes, etc whenever I ask, understand? But with one more condition."
Hayley had begun to look hopeful as I spoke, thinking all she would have to do to get out of trouble was wash some dishes and clean some toilets.
"One more condition, Hayley. I want you to be my slave."
