The Price of Envy

Sophie is a student whose comfortable life is funded by her parents. When she spends nine hundred dollars on a concert ticket, her roommate Tessa, the department's student representative and a micro-influencer, turns on her. Tessa knows the exact sum Sophie paid, watches her while she sleeps, and searches her bed, then accuses her of getting money from men.

At a department meeting, Tessa proposes dividing Sophie's academic scholarship among students on financial aid, and classmates murmur in agreement. Sophie, who earned the scholarship through her grades, fights back and walks out.

Crossing the campus quad, Sophie sees a poster for Vanguard Corp.'s recruitment drive, which she had persuaded Alexander Knight to hold at the university. She calls his assistant, Mark, and tells him to cancel it.