Chapter 13…
Is an X all it takes?
Or, in the 21st century, are you really going to act like a queen?
The next morning, Christina was sitting quietly in the dining hall, waiting for me.
“Vivi, you’re up early?”
Christina laughed, like a beautiful doll, and her golden waves of hair shimmered like a waterfall, though it was hard to tell what she’d been up to to get her hair to look like that in the morning.
If her blonde hair was her armor, Christina was now fully armed, yet the corners of her forced smile twitched slightly, betraying her effort.
How pitiful, in her own way.
Well, it’s not like I’m close to Eric anyway… There isn’t a single advantage to making the queen bee of the dorm an enemy.
I scooped some yogurt, mixed it with muesli, and replied as nonchalantly as possible.
“Hey, Christina. Good morning.”
“Of course it’s a good morning for me. But…”
Christina laughed and immediately launched a preemptive strike.
“You okay too? Did you sleep well?”
Before I could pretend I had, she added quickly.
“Tough, isn’t it? You can be honest with me. But you’ve felt it too, haven’t you? Being around Eric Branel isn’t easy…”
Mm, oh, ah, yes.
There were plenty of things I wanted to say, but even bringing up one would be like challenging a queen bee armed with blonde hair and mascara. No need to provoke her.
Instead, I set down my yogurt cup and made a dramatic pout.
“No! Christina, what really frustrates me is that I’m not even Eric Branel’s associate or anything! You see it too, don’t you? There’s no way I am!”
The storm of anxiety in her sapphire-like eyes subsided instantly, and Christina regained the regal composure one might expect a queen to show to a new student.
“Phew, of course. So… how did you end up at the magic show with Eric?”
She looked so curious it was almost painful to watch.
I confessed, with a little embellishment for the anxious queen: Liam and I were childhood friends, and the lunch date had originally been with Liam. That part was entirely true.
Then I explained that Liam’s phone had broken, so I had to wait alone for a long time—actually only about ten minutes—so Liam sent Eric in his place.
“You know, since I just transferred this week, the other kids in the rowing club don’t know me. So I had no choice but to have Eric, who interns at the library with me, go instead.”
Then, to leave no doubt, I added details.
“Oh, Liam felt bad and gave me his credit card so I could buy lunch. So we just had a simple lunch and on the way back crossed the park. That’s it.”
“Oh my, so the magic show appearance was really just a coincidence?”
Christina looked transparently happy, and finally, I could scoop a proper spoonful of yogurt instead of stirring aimlessly.
I nodded firmly.
“Of course! I’m not naturally suited to the stage, so it was very awkward for me, but Eric seemed completely unfazed…”
“He’s always on stage anyway.”
For the first time, I nodded in understanding to Christina.
“Exactly. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to publicly deny the rumors on the dorm bulletin board.”
“Good call, Vivi. If you step in, you’ll just make yourself look foolish.”
She agreed with me and suddenly stood up, scooping a spoonful of cranberries and sprinkling them over my yogurt.
“You should eat cranberries too. They’re good for your skin.”
Had she realized I wasn’t a competitor and decided to be kind? But I don’t like dried cranberries…
The queen, now friendly again, offered her kindness.
“Don’t worry about the bulletin board. I’ll handle it and make sure the rumors don’t spread.”
Well… with someone as transparently honest as Christina or Karin, it might actually help more to just leave things alone.
I gave a vague smile.
“Maybe if we leave it, people will forget quickly enough?”
“Eric Branel’s scandal?”
Christina widened her eyes as if she had just heard the most ignorant statement in the world, then quickly gave the correct answer.
“Listen, Vivi. No matter when or where, he’s never forgotten. That’s Branel for you.”
I spent almost the entire day trying not to think about the posts that would appear on the bulletin board, but by evening, I had to admit defeat.
Christina’s words—“I’ll handle it so that the rumors don’t spread”—weighed heavily on my mind.
Finally, I opened the bulletin board, took a deep breath, and scrolled down.
As Christina said, it seemed that no one had forgotten about Branel’s scandal overnight.
WGStudentbostäders
Title: [Hammarskjöld] So what’s the deal between the transfer student and W?
Am I the only one curious?
Reply
[Tiselius] No, I’m super curious too, but apparently no one knows. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire, right?
[Hammarskjöld] Seriously, no one knows? Not the rowing club or RS kids?
↳[Siegbahn] I don’t know. RS kids rarely check the board anyway.
[Lagerlöf] According to a reliable source, there’s nothing going on. As the foundation heir, W just showed the transfer student around town.
↳[Tiselius] Lagerlöf, mental victory much lol. Who’s your “reliable source”?
↳[Lagerlöf] What do you know? Hiding under your blanket on a sunny Sunday, prying into other people’s love lives.
↳[Tiselius] Is that a personal attack? I’m outside right now.
Is the Lagerlöf account here really Christina? At least she didn’t blurt out Liam’s name…
WGStudentbostäders
Title: [Tiselius] On second thought, Lagerlöf has a point.
W doesn’t do public dating.
So her giving flowers and going on a “date” with a girl who just transferred a few days ago doesn’t make sense.
I’ve even heard rumors that the transfer student is a scholarship student.
Reply
[Hammarskjöld] Scholarship? Then the transfer student could be dreaming of Cinderella, huh?
[Tiselius] I don’t get the appeal of Asian kids. And this transfer student, despite being a scholarship kid, fully supported corporate surtax. Not great.
↳[Hammarskjöld] That’s crazy. Sneaky racist comment, huh? I’m reporting this.
↳[Lagerlöf] Setting race aside, it does seem shameless for people who don’t pay taxes to do that. Socialists or what?
↳[Tiselius] Classic socialist trait: free school but hate paying taxes!
↳[Siegbahn] Enough already. With all this, W is bound to pay attention to the transfer student.
↳[Hammarskjöld] Right? These comments are exactly what makes them unappealing. Lagerlöf, what are you doing, living in the same dorm and acting so petty?
Despite my expectations and Christina’s reassurance, the board’s atmosphere kept turning weirder.
Everyone had lost interest in Eric and me, and instead found amusement in criticizing me.
The reason was obvious: I was easier to pick on than Eric Branel.
Supporting corporate surtax makes me a socialist? Then half the country must be socialists.
I felt multiple times more humiliated than the day before, yet still couldn’t say anything.
Not all Lagerlöf accounts are Christina’s, so I couldn’t confront her either…
The most recent post was even more ridiculous.
WGStudentbostäders
Title: [Tiselius] Three-line summary for latecomers over the weekend
W made a surprise appearance as a couple at the park magic show. Her partner was the transfer student.
The transfer student is a scholarship student and seems to be struggling to adapt. W, as the foundation heir, showed her around.
W is still everyone’s beloved.
Reply
[Tiselius] That’s five lines. I’ll summarize it in one line >> Socialist Cinderella took off her glass slipper in front of the prince in the first week, and everyone’s watching closely.
↳[Siegbahn] Wonder what she’ll take off next…
[Hammarskjöld] You guys can’t even read Korean? I read the whole thing, and most of your interpretations are nonsense.
[Siegbahn] If she’s good enough to get here as a scholarship student, she must’ve studied hard. Let’s calm down. Why are you all like this?
[Lagerlöf] Honestly, few nobles take responsibility for privileges like Branel.
↳[Siegbahn] Suddenly? Well, he does work hard; I saw the chaos at his charity events in summer.
↳[Hammarskjöld] True. Hang in there, W…!
↳[Siegbahn] She never looks at the board anyway.
