Chapter 1: The $15 Surprise

At two thirty in the morning, my phone buzzed so hard it nearly toppled off the nightstand, rattling next to an empty Red Bull can. The fluorescent numbers on my alarm clock glared: 2:30. I groaned, already dreading what could be so urgent in the dead of night. My chest tightened. Was it another pop quiz? Another group project dumped on us? Or just Ethan being Ethan?

My sheets were tangled around my legs, the stale smell of last night’s pizza still hanging in the air. Outside, a siren wailed down Main Street. I grabbed my phone and squinted at the class group chat, which was suddenly lighting up like a bonfire.

[Hey everyone, looks like we’re short on class funds. Gonna need $15 from each of you. I’ll spot the rest, no worries.]

Classic Ethan—always acting like he’s swooping in to save the day, as if covering a couple bucks would win him the Nobel Peace Prize. I could practically hear the sarcasm leaking from the chat as side-eye emojis and digital suspicion piled up.

[The class next door got $30 back each. Why are you still asking us to pay more?]

Someone dropped a screenshot from the other class’s chat, showing off their Venmo refunds. Instantly, the room’s mood flipped—rolling eyes, gripes, and a dozen notifications later, nobody was buying Ethan’s hero routine. The confusion turned to open distrust—no one was letting the president off easy tonight.

Seeing the doubts swirling, Ethan tried to put out the fire by posting a detailed breakdown of the class fund expenses.

A Google Sheets link popped up, followed by his formal message: [Here’s the expense report for full transparency. Every dollar accounted for.] The spreadsheet was color-coded and chaotic, like a junk drawer spilled onto my screen. Neat columns, endless rows, each penny labeled. But this felt more like a cover-up than real transparency.

And right at the top? My name.

My eyes bulged. There it was, right at the top, in bold: Jamie Lee’s travel expenses reimbursed from class fund, $75. I felt heat crawl up my neck. Was this some kind of prank? Or did Ethan just throw me under the bus?

My stomach flipped. I hadn’t even thought about claiming that money. Now it looked like I was the one cashing out on everyone’s dime.