Chapter 2Breaking the Cliche Romance Script

The classroom was buzzing with chaos when our academic advisor, Mr. Glazer, burst in, slightly out of breath.

“What is going on in here?”

The room fell silent. Students exchanged nervous glances, but no one spoke.

That’s when Jessica stepped forward, her face beaming as if expecting a reward. “Mr. Glazer, I was just organizing a fundraiser for Daniella!”

Mr. Glazer pointed at the money scattered on the floor. “This is how you fundraise?” he asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

I seized the opportunity.

“Mr. Glazer, I told her I didn’t need it, but the class president insisted. She also exposed my personal information to everyone.” I then pointed out every student who had made a comment. “And they joined in, slandering me in front of the whole class.”

To top it off, I presented the video I had been recording on my phone.

Mr. Glazer’s face hardened as he watched it. He turned to the group, his disappointment palpable. “Is this how you help a fellow student? All of you, apologize to Daniella right now!”

But Jessica’s expression turned even uglier. “Sir, Daniella is a scholarship student who is so focused on saving and making money that she’s neglecting her studies. I was doing this for her own good—for the good of the entire class! I did nothing wrong!”

The other students she’d incited just stood there, stubbornly refusing to back down.

Seeing this, I decided to lay it all out.

“I work in the cafeteria during breakfast and dinner, so my meals are covered. The only meal I pay for is lunch, and fifteen dollars is more than enough. I have a work-study job at the library in the evenings. It closes at ten, and I’m back in my dorm by ten-thirty. As for money, you really don’t need to worry about me. From Monday to Friday, I work my campus job, eight hours total, at fifteen dollars an hour. On weekends, I tutor for eight hours at fifty dollars an hour. It’s enough to live on. And as for my studies… I had the highest entrance exam scores in our year. What, exactly, made you think I was dragging the class down?”

The moment I finished, a student gasped. “Holy crap, that’s over five hundred a week! That’s triple my allowance!”

A hush fell over the classroom.

A few students shuffled their feet, mumbling apologies as they sheepishly picked their money up off the floor.

Only Jessica remained, clutching her twenty-dollar bill, her face a mask of wounded pride.

Tears welled in her eyes as she yelled at me, “If you’re not broke, why did you apply for financial aid and pretend to be poor? You made me think you needed help! You just wanted to humiliate all of us for trying to be kind! Fine! It’s all my fault! Are you happy now?”

Her outburst brought the floating comments back.

But this time, they seemed to echo my own confusion.

[…]

[Wait, what kind of plot twist is this? Wasn’t the side character supposed to have a breakdown and get kicked out of class?]

[Well… it’s not a total loss. I guess you could call this a scene, and the heroine is definitely upset, right?]

[That side character is so manipulative! She pretended to be poor just to mess with the heroine! Ugh, I wish she would just die already!]

[Exactly! How dare she bully our girl like this! Where is the male lead? I can’t take this anymore!]

The rest of the comments were a torrent of curses directed at me.

Then, a few students started speaking up in Jessica’s defense.

“Sir, you can’t blame Jessica for this. She was just trying to be nice!”

“Yeah, if anyone’s at fault, it’s Daniella! She should have been upfront about her situation instead of causing this whole misunderstanding. How is she the one acting all high and mighty?”

“He’s right! If she doesn’t need the money, why is she on financial aid? Sir, I think you should revoke her scholarship status!”