Chapter 169 *
Scarlett’s POV
Monday. The dining hall was packed. I grabbed a tray and headed for the salad bar with Lily right behind me.
That's when I noticed the staring.
A group of guys at the corner table kept glancing over. Two girls near the drink station whispered behind their hands. A guy walking past did a double-take.
"Is there something on my face?" I touched my cheek.
Lily looked around. "No, but people are definitely staring at you."
"Great. That's exactly what I need today."
We found a table near the window. I'd barely sat down when I heard the whispers start.
"That's her. The girl who got a perfect sixteen hundred."
"No way. She doesn't look like a genius."
"I heard she turned down Dr. Patterson's research position."
"Is she insane? Do you know how many people would kill for that opportunity?"
I stabbed a piece of lettuce with more force than necessary. "This is getting ridiculous."
Lily leaned forward. "What did you expect? You got a perfect SAT score and rejected the most sought-after mentor on campus. You're basically campus gossip gold right now."
"I didn't ask to be campus gossip anything. I just want to eat my salad in peace."
"Well, that's not happening today." Lily pulled out her phone. "Oh shit."
"What?"
"You're on Columbia Confessions." She turned the screen toward me.
I looked at the Instagram post. The account was called @CU_Unfiltered. The post was a carousel titled "Freshman Class Crushes 🔥."
I swiped through the photos. There were maybe eight girls featured. Each one had a candid shot and dozens of thirsty comments underneath.
Then I saw myself.
"Are you kidding me?"
My photo was clearly taken without permission. I was sitting in Butler Library with my laptop. Hair in a messy bun. Wearing Damon's oversized Columbia hoodie. No makeup. I looked like I'd rather be literally anywhere else.
The caption read: "Mystery girl spotted in Butler. Who is she? 👀"
I scrolled through the comments. There were maybe six of them.
"Who?"
"Never seen her."
"Mid."
"She looks like she'd rather be anywhere else lmao."
I actually laughed at that last one. At least someone was observant.
"Okay, this isn't that bad. Nobody knows who I am and nobody cares."
"Keep scrolling," Lily said.
I swiped to the next photo.
Zelda.
Of course it was Zelda.
The photo was professional quality. Perfect lighting. She was sitting on the campus lawn holding a coffee cup. Her hair looked perfectly windswept in that calculated way that took an hour to achieve. She was wearing a Reformation dress, a Gucci belt bag.
The caption read: "Romano family princess gracing us with her presence ✨"
The engagement was insane. Over a thousand likes. More than a hundred comments.
"Actual princess energy."
"Old money aesthetic 😍"
"She's in my Econ class, nicest person ever."
"Goals."
"Wife material fr."
I kept scrolling. The comments went on forever. Most of them were from accounts that were clearly her sorority sisters hyping her up.
"This is so orchestrated it's embarrassing," I muttered.
Lily grabbed the phone back. "Right? Look at this bullshit."
She started reading comments out loud in an increasingly annoyed voice.
"'Her natural beauty is stunning.' Natural my ass. She's wearing like two hundred dollars worth of makeup."
"That 'no-makeup makeup' probably took an hour."
"And these 'candid' shots? She definitely hired a photographer. Look at the lighting. Look at the composition. This is professional work."
I took a bite of my salad. "You're getting really worked up about this."
"Because it's manipulation!" Lily jabbed her finger at the screen. "She's running a full PR campaign and pretending it's organic."
"Look at this comment: 'She smiled at me in the library, so sweet!' Bitch, that's called basic human decency. It's not a personality trait."
"She's playing the whole 'I'm not like other girls' game while being exactly like every sorority girl stereotype."
"And the designer clothes!" Lily was on a roll now. "She's wearing head-to-toe designer and acting like she just rolled out of bed. 'Effortless style' my ass. That outfit costs more than my tuition."
I grabbed my phone back. "Are you done?"
"No. Look how coordinated all these comments are. I bet she paid someone to submit these photos. This is so calculated it's pathetic."
"And these guys voting for her?" Lily gestured at a group of freshman boys nearby who were clearly scrolling through the same post. "Are they stupid or just shallow?"
"Both," I said.
"They're literally voting for whoever has the best Instagram aesthetic. She could be a serial killer and they'd still vote for her because she's wearing Chanel."
"This is why I don't date Columbia guys. Zero brain cells."
I looked at Zelda's photos again.
She knew exactly what she was doing. This wasn't accidental.
The photos, the timing, the coordinated comments. It was a full campaign.
She was building a brand. The approachable society princess. The girl who was born into wealth but was totally relatable.
The whole aesthetic screamed old money mixed with down-to-earth college girl.
And it was working.
She was going for aspirational. That's why people voted for her.
She'd already locked down a top sorority. Her comments section was full of girls calling her goals. She was building an army.
By the end of freshman year, she'd have every social advantage on campus.
She was going to win this stupid popularity contest.
I never stood a chance. And honestly? I didn't want to.
I handed the phone back to Lily. "Can we please never look at this again?"
"But don't you want to see if you're winning?"
"Lily. Do you really think I care about a college Instagram poll?"
"I mean when you put it like that..."
"Exactly." I stabbed another piece of lettuce. "If I wanted to be ranked and judged, I would've stayed with the Romano family. This is the same bullshit with better lighting."
Lily put her phone away. "You're right. This is stupid."
"Thank you."
We finished lunch in relative peace. The whispers didn't stop but I'd gotten good at tuning them out.
When we were done, I grabbed my tray and headed for the exit.
That's when I saw him.
Nico was standing near the entrance with three of his friends. He spotted me immediately. His expression went cold.
I tried to walk past him. Kept my head down. Kept moving.
He stepped directly into my path.
His arm came up to block the doorway. "You don't see me standing here?"
I stopped. Looked up at him. "Move, Nico."
"That's all you've got to say to me?"
"I don't have anything to say to you." I adjusted my grip on my tray. "Now move."