Chapter 2

I glared at her, feeling my skin sear.

The library was dead silent. Everyone was stunned by the sudden scene.

Brittany, the girl who had just assaulted me, carelessly tossed the coffee cup. It hit the floor with a loud clatter.

She crossed her arms, chin held high, her eyes full of scorn and provocation.

"What are you looking at? Got a problem?"

"What gives you the right to throw coffee on me?" My voice trembled with rage.

Brittany scoffed, a sharp, piercing sound.

"Because you're just hogging a spot you're not even using, and it's messing with my grad school prep!"

"I'm telling you again, I was only gone for the bathroom!"

"Who'd believe that?" She rolled her eyes. "I can't stand people like you. You don't put in the effort, and you stop others from doing so."

I clenched my fists, my nails digging deep into my palms.

A guy with glasses, Liam, couldn't stand it anymore. He whispered, "Hey, that's really out of line. She was here first."

Brittany immediately turned her venom on him.

"Who asked you, huh? Trying to play hero? Take a good look in the mirror, buddy! You're just another stressed-out grad student wannabe, so mind your own business!"

Liam's face flushed crimson. He opened his mouth to speak but couldn't get a single word out. Finally, he just bowed his head, pretending to read.

Seeing his reaction, Brittany became even more emboldened.

She turned back, her gaze locking onto me.

"Hear that? That's called knowing when to back down. I'm telling you, I want this spot, so it's mine. Now get lost, you're bothering me."

I stared at her incredibly arrogant face, a wave of humiliated hatred surging from deep within me.

I didn't move. I just watched her with icy cold eyes.

"What if I don't leave?"

Brittany froze for a second, apparently surprised I dared to talk back.

Her eyes hardened. She grabbed my textbook, the one she'd thrown on the floor, and began tearing it page by page into tiny pieces.

The sound of paper ripping was shockingly loud in the quiet library.

"Not leaving? This is what you get!"

She showered me with the scraps of paper, like a malicious rain.

"Are you going to leave, or what?"

Tears welled up in my eyes, but I forced them back. I couldn't cry. Crying meant giving up.

Just then, Ms. Albright, the librarian, rushed over, drawn by the commotion.

"What's going on? Why are you two making so much noise in the library?"