Chapter 3Queen Bee Framed Me for Being Fat and Got What She Deserved

Tiffany kept saying she'd handle the negotiations.

But as Christmas performance day approaching, and my uniform was still nowhere to be found.

Everyone else came and went, wearing their new uniforms. I sat in a corner, feeling like a total outsider.

People started ignoring me. If I took an extra bite during meals, I'd be laughed at and called a fat pig. When I practiced the routine in my own clothes, people would always stare.

The uniform became an obsession. I carried the weight of it everywhere. I even secretly took pictures of the other uniforms, desperately trying to find the vendor. But no one sold this specific custom design.

Left with no choice, I contacted Tiffany again.

"Has the uniform exchange been processed?"

Her reply came much later. She ignored my question entirely, zeroing in on my phrasing. "Is that how you ask for a favor? Where are your manners? Not even a 'hello'?"

I stared at the screen, baffled. Wasn't my question polite enough? Still, I tried again, forcing patience into my words.

"Hello, Tiffany. Has the vendor given you an update on the exchange?"

She still dodged the question. "Use ‘please' ! I'm the Tiffany! Do you have manner? You're impossible!"

"But I'm a bigger person, so I'll let this small thing slide! I'll tell you when the uniform arrives!"

The words I wanted to say got stuck in my throat. I was just asking a normal question, did she really need to get so angry?

At two in the morning, my phone started blowing up with messages. I groggily answered the FaceTime call, and Tiffany's angry shouts came through.

"Are you dead? Why are you answering so late?"

"Didn't you see all the messages I sent you?"

I checked the time and frowned. "Sorry, my phone was on silent, I didn't hear it. What's up?"

She said a nonchalant. "It's nothing big. The uniform is back."

Hearing that, my heart leaped with joy. Just as I was about to speak, her furious voice erupted again. "I've been running around, dealing with your uniform, and you can't even say thank you?"

"Seriously, I don't know how your parents raised you! So ill-mannered!"

A knot of anger formed in my chest. I opened my mouth to argue, but she hung up directly.

The next day, the day of the Christmas performance. Tiffany finally sauntered over with my uniform and threw it at me.

"Go change into your uniform quickly! Don't hold everyone up!"

"I already stressed that the district officials are coming to this Christmas performance. If anything goes wrong, don't blame Mr. Miller for kicking you out of our class."

I picked up the new uniform she'd had custom-made and saw the size printed on it. It felt like something exploded in my head.

XS size! This uniform was even smaller than the last one. So small I probably couldn't even get my leg into it.

I pushed open the bathroom door and shoved the uniform directly into Tiffany's face. "Tiffany, this is XS! Can't you tell the difference between 3XL and XS? Why did you get the smallest size again?!"

Tiffany slapped my hand away, fuming. "I told the vendor to make the largest size! How was I supposed to know they'd send an S? It's the vendor's fault, not mine! What good does it do to blame me?"

"You are such a pain! I can't deal with this anymore. Figure out your uniform situation yourself!"

I stared at her for a long time. "Fine, I'll figure it out myself."

She turned and walked away. I looked at the XS uniform in my hand and tried it on. But that tiny, almost childlike garment made me break down again.

The horn for the Christmas performance sounded. Tiffany's urgent message came through. "Gather up! If the uniform's too small, just wear it anyway and get over here!"

I tossed the uniform aside. In the very last second before our formation was about to go on stage, I rushed to the field.

Mr. Vance, who had been waiting at the venue, frowned when he saw me. "What's wrong with this class? So undisciplined! Why aren't their uniforms uniform, everyone wearing their own thing?"

Hearing that, Tiffany spun around, her eyes, spitting venom, locking onto me. She screamed without restraint. "Chloe! I told you to wear your uniform!"