Catherine’s POV
The air in the lecture hall felt like it had been sucked out by a vacuum the mont Lucy sat down. I kept my eyes locked on the professor, who was shuffling papers at the podium, but my peripheral vision was filled with the white of Lucy’s designer suit. I could feel her staring at the side of my face, waiting for to acknowledge her presence with the anger she so clearly wanted to provoke.
"Alright, class," the professor said, his voice grating against the silence. "We are moving into Advanced English Literature this sester. I expect everyone to have read the assigned Victorian texts I sent out over the break. We are starting with the thes of social mobility and the ’unreliable ward’ trope."
I opened my notebook and gripped my pen, ready to drown myself in work. But before I could write a single word, I felt sothing slide across the wood of the desk. It was Lucy’s phone. The screen was lit up, showing a notification from a private ssaging app. The ssage was from a contact saved as ’Julian’ with a heart emoji. It read: Everything for the night is being handled. It will be exactly what you deserve.
"Isn’t he sweet?" Lucy’s whisper was a low hiss right next to my ear. "He’s been so attentive since we talked in his room the other night. He’s putting so much effort into this public date. I think he’s finally realized who actually belongs by his side."
I didn’t look at the phone. I didn’t even blink. I reached out, picked up the device with two fingers as if it were a piece of trash, and slid it back onto her side of the desk. "I’m here to study, Lucy. If you want to gossip about your imaginary romance, do it on your own ti."
"Imaginary?" Lucy let out a quiet, sharp giggle. "Is that what you’re calling it to help you sleep at night? You saw us at the gala. You know what he stands for. And now, you’re going to see us every single day right here."
Tessa, sitting on my other side, leaned forward, her eyes darting between us. She looked like she was vibrating with the urge to say sothing, but I kicked her lightly under the table to keep her quiet. Engaging with Lucy in a room full of people was exactly what the witch wanted.
The professor tapped a marker against the whiteboard. "Let’s start with a question. In the context of Great Expectations, can anyone explain the psychological impact on the protagonist when they realize their ’benefactor’ isn’t who they imagined? How does this shift their perception of their own social value?"
I knew the answer. As an Art student, I often analyzed how these literary thes translated into the visual movents of the era. I kept my hand down, staring at my notebook. I wanted to be invisible. I wanted to finish this hour and get as far away from Lucy as possible.
"Anyone?" the professor prompted, his eyes scanning the room.
Lucy’s hand shot into the air with an aggressive snap. "I believe it represents the harsh reality that those who are ’elevated’ by charity never truly belong to the class they are invited into. Their value is purely decorative, and once the benefactor is revealed to be ’common,’ the ward’s social status rightfully collapses because it was never built on their own rit."
The professor paused, pushing his glasses up his nose. "A very literal interpretation, but it ignores the protagonist’s internal growth. It views social standing as a static, inherited trait rather than a fluid construct." He looked around again. "Anyone else?"
Lucy didn’t back down. She turned in her seat, looking directly at . "Catherine, you’re an Art major, and you have the best minds the Vaughn Foundation could hire as tutors, don’t you? Surely you have a more ’aesthetic’ perspective to share on the tragedy of a ward who forgets her place."
The entire room went quiet. I could feel a hundred pairs of eyes landing on . The whispers started instantly; students wondering why a Vaughn ward was being challenged by a Vaughn girlfriend. Lucy was forcing into the spotlight, trying to paint as the ungrateful, uneducated charity case.
I took a slow breath and finally turned my head to look at her. Her smirk was triumphant. She thought she had trapped.
"The psychological impact," I said, my voice projecting clearly to the front of the room, "is actually a critique of the benefactor’s narcissism, not the ward’s rit. The protagonist’s ’social value’ only collapses if they accept the shallow definitions of the class they’re being used by. The realization allows the ward to reclaim their identity from the person who tried to buy it. It’s an evolution from being a project to being a person."
The professor nodded slowly, looking impressed. "Exactly. Reclaiming identity. Thank you, Miss...?"
"Catherine," Lucy interrupted loudly. "Just Catherine. She’s a ward of my boyfriend’s family."
The jab was intentional. She wanted everyone to know that I didn’t have a last na that mattered. I ignored her and went back to my notes, but the damage was done. Noise, looks and whispers surrounded .
For the rest of the lecture, Lucy didn’t stop. She tapped her pen on the desk. She shifted her chair so it bumped into mine. She sighed loudly whenever I moved. It was a psychological war of attrition, designed to break my focus. By the ti the professor dismissed the class, my head was throbbing.
I packed my bag as quickly as possible, but Lucy was faster. She stepped out into the aisle, effectively blocking my path. Tessa stood up beside , her face set in a scowl.
"Move, Lucy," I said, my voice cold.
"So defensive," Lucy mocked, crossing her arms. "I was just going to suggest that we grab lunch. Since we’re going to be family soon, we should really get used to each other’s company. Although, I’m not sure the cafeteria serves the kind of ’charity’ food you’re used to."
"She’s not going anywhere with you," Tessa snapped, stepping forward. "We have plans."
Lucy looked at Tessa as if she were a bug on the windshield of her car. "And you are? One of the scholarship students? I suppose Catherine needs soone to feel superior to. It must be hard being the bottom of the food chain in the Vaughn house."
"You have no idea what you’re talking about," I said, stepping closer to Lucy until we were inches apart. "You think being Julian’s girlfriend gives you so kind of shield? You saw what happened in the foyer. You know I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty. If you keep pushing in front of these people, I will make sure everyone knows exactly how desperate you are for Julian’s attention. I’ll tell them the crazy things you’ve resorted to just to get him to look at you."
Lucy’s face went pale, her smug expression flickering for a second. She hadn’t expected to throw that back in her face, especially not in a room where people were still lingering.
"You don’t know what you are talking about," she whispered, her voice trembling with rage.
"Try ," I said. "Move. Now."
Lucy stepped aside, her eyes burning with a promise of retribution. I grabbed Tessa’s arm and led her out of the room, walking as fast as I could. As we moved through the hallways, I could hear so students whispering about what just happened. Lucy’s na was being passed around, but so was mine. She had successfully used to leave her na on people’s lips. Such an attention seeking bitch.
"She is absolutely insane," Tessa said once we were outside in the courtyard. "How are you going to do this every day, Catherine? She’s literally in our classes. She looks like she intends to make your life a living hell. Sasha 2.0"
I laughed at the "Sasha 2.0 talk" before replying. "She can try. It won’t work."
"Hmm. What are you going to do?"
"I’m going to survive the day," I said, looking toward the student lounge. "And sooner or later I’ll find a way to make her regret ever stepping foot on this campus."
We headed toward the cafeteria.
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