Chapter 2How My Brother Landed on My Payroll

Still, Riley was dissatisfied. "Signing the pledge isn't enough. You need to cancel all of Adam's upcoming orders right now."

"Sure," I said, logging onto the campus gig app.

Adam's bio was painfully straightforward. It read, "Broke. Barely alive. Taking urgent orders."

Below it was a list of his scheduled jobs for the next two weeks.

"Breakfast Run for Sophie Williams.

"Organize Mistake Notebook for Sophie Williams.

"Locate Shady Spot During PE Class for Sophie Williams.

"Deliver Art Supplies to the Arts Building After School for Sophie Williams.

"Weekly Badminton Practice with Sophie Williams."

The badminton sessions had originally been only 45 dollars, but Adam thought I was so terrible that playing with me ruined his mood, so he shamelessly raised the price to 120 dollars.

Right in front of Riley, I canceled the orders one by one.

"Order canceled. Exclusive order-taking access has been disabled. Pending final payments have been put on hold."

Riley's scrunched-up face finally relaxed. She thought Adam had been set free, but to me, it looked more like a termination notice.

A guy standing nearby suddenly raised his hand. "Sophie, is that spot-saving gig still available? Adam charges 45 dollars, but I'll do it for 40."

Another chimed in. "I'll do it for 35 dollars. I'll even wipe down your desk for free."

Riley stared at them in disbelief. "How can you guys willingly take this kind of humiliation just for money?"

The guy scratched his head. "It's just saving someone a seat. What's humiliating about that? My mom makes me get up early to buy groceries, and she doesn't even pay me a dime."

Someone burst out laughing. Riley looked even more helpless.

I waved. "I'm not hiring anyone for now. I wouldn't want someone else to start feeling sorry for you guys again."

Riley tucked the pledge away, a victorious gleam in her eyes. "Once Adam comes back, he'll definitely thank me. Starting today, he won't have to look to you for money anymore."

As far as I knew, Adam only had 1.28 dollars left in his bank account.

Fair enough. He wouldn't have to worry about how I looked anymore. He could just worry about his balance instead.

The next morning, the moment I entered the classroom, every conversation around me stopped.

The guy in front of me hurriedly turned his phone face down and looked at me as if I were some notorious criminal who had just been exposed.

I dropped my backpack onto my desk. "What? Did more people online pile on me or something?"

The student beside me slid their phone over.

Riley had posted another long statement in the middle of the night. "Who will save Adam Sterling from the pressure of money?"

This time, she had included plenty of photos—Adam carrying my drawing board, him standing in line to buy me a cake, him picking up a jacket for me beside the track, and him crouching on one knee in front of the steps, with his head bowed as he tied my shoelaces.

She added, "He used to be so proud. Now, just for a few bucks, he's forced to bow his head to Sophie Williams in front of the whole school."

The comments were unforgiving.

"Being wealthy isn't a free pass to mistreat others!"

"She made the hottest guy in school kneel and wait on her hand and foot. She probably felt so good about herself."

"Sophie Williams is shameless. She took advantage of him when he was down and forced herself on him."

"I feel bad for Adam. He used to be too lazy to even read love letters. Now, he's forced to put up with this just to afford a meal."

Just then, Riley walked up to me, her eyes red from crying. "You see that? I'm not the only one who thinks you're in the wrong."

I stared at the photos and nodded. "Yeah, I see it."

Her expression softened. "So, you're willing to apologize?"

"No," I answered. "I finally see why the average grade in our literature class never improves."

Riley's smile froze.

At that moment, someone in the back of the classroom announced, "Guys, I just found Adam's gig account!"