Chapter 3The Yoga Mat Trap: A Roommate's Lethal Greed

My tears wouldn't stop flowing.

"Fine! I'll refund you! I don't need friends like you anyway!"

"Who the hell wants to be friends with a scammer?!"

"Haha, yeah! From now on, let's just call her Harper the Scammer!"

My nose was still bleeding, and I started to feel a little dizzy. "Give... give me back the... yoga blocks and straps I gave you. All of them."

Mia laughed. "You scammed us. Consider those things compensation for our emotional distress."

"You guys are going way too far. It's not like you don't know how much yoga mats cost retail."

I cried, swapping out the blood-soaked tissues for fresh ones.

"Then how come Chloe was able to find us yoga mats for 38 dollars?"

Hearing that sentence, my heart plummeted.

My tears stopped instantly.

I looked up, staring past the angry crowd at my "best friend."

Her eyes darted nervously. She stepped forward, gently pushing a few girls aside.

"Alright, guys, let's stop fighting. Even if what Harper did was wrong, she did lead our practice for a while. We should be grateful for that."

"Spit on it! Why should we be grateful?! She overcharged us massively!"

"Exactly! We're all broke college students, and she schemed against us. She has a truly ugly heart!"

Chloe stood in front of me, acting as if she were rescuing me. "Hasn't she been punished enough? Look, she's bleeding."

"Serves her right!"

"Fine. For your sake, Chloe, we won't beat her to death today."

Mia tilted her head, glaring at me. "But I'm warning you, before you go to sleep tonight, you better refund every single cent!"

The mob of girls swarmed out of the dorm room.

Someone turned back and asked Chloe, "Chloe, what time are you teaching class tomorrow?"

Chloe shot a nervous glance at me, then whispered, "I'll send a notification in the group chat. Just wait for my message."

Then, she slipped out of the room as fast as she could.

Lily, who had been standing silently on the sidelines the whole time, clenched her fists tightly.

As if making a firm decision, she walked over to me.

She handed me a hot towel.

"Harper... regardless of whether what you did was right or wrong, I should have helped you just now. I had no idea they were going to get physical."

I pushed the hot towel away. Lily looked incredibly defeated.

I forced a small smile and told her, "This is evidence. I can't wipe it off."

"I'm so sorry, Harper. I'm keeping a close eye on them. If anyone tries to touch you again, I swear I'll fight them myself."

Finally, a warm word on this terrible night.

I shook my head at her. "I'm fine."

Then, I gathered all the blood-soaked tissues, didn't even bother changing my clothes, and called my mom.

"Mom, call the police. I got assaulted."