Sydney's POV

The moment I stepped back into the dorm, it felt like walking into a freezer. I rubbed the goosebumps on my arms and quietly adjusted the thermostat back to 26°C.

A few seconds later, Abigail Holden clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Who told you to turn it up? It was perfect just now!"

I frowned and replied, "Sixteen degrees is way too cold. You all have blankets, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to raise it a little."

Camille Noble peeked her head out from under her covers and timidly said, "We just didn’t want you to get too hot, that's all."

As she spoke, she even faked a little sneeze.

Abigail shot me an angry glare. "Why are you snapping at Camille? If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be using the AC!"

Right then, Mirabelle Gildon forwarded me a bill. "The electricity came to a hundred and forty this month. You can cover it."

I stared at my phone in disbelief. "A hundred and forty? That’s insane!"

Abigail scoffed, "Well, the AC’s been running non-stop. What did you expect? If you can't afford it, maybe don’t use it so much."

Camille chimed in, siding with her, "Exactly. It’s expensive, you know? I don’t even use the AC when I’m home."

Mirabelle shrugged and gave me a look like I was an idiot. "You were the one who insisted we use it. That means the extra cost is on you."

I clenched my teeth, feeling the frustration boil in my chest. "But it’s been insanely hot lately. I turned it on for all of us. You guys benefited too!"

Camille let out a cold snort and rolled her eyes. "You’ve got some nerve. You’re the one who wanted it. Honestly, we were freezing in here!"

Abigail folded her arms and added, "We had to wrap ourselves in thick blankets just to survive, while you lay back enjoying the cold air. And now you want us to pay for it? Seriously? Sydney, you’re out of line."

I let out a breathless, bitter laugh. Sure, I was the one who asked to use the AC in the first place, but every time I came back to the dorm, the cold air hit me in the face like a slap. The other three were bundled up in their blankets, while the AC blared at a ridiculous 16°C.

It was obvious who was actually enjoying the temperature.

"What, trying to dodge the bill now? You should’ve just said you were broke. If we knew you couldn’t pay, we wouldn’t have used the AC in the first place," Mirabelle said, eyeing me up and down with disdain. "Pathetic."

Camille smirked. "She’s not broke. I saw her with a new bag just the other day."

Before I could react, she grabbed my purse and started digging through it. I lunged forward to stop her, but Abigail blocked me with an outstretched arm.

Soon, everything inside the bag spilled onto the floor with a loud clatter—some of the bottles shattered on impact.

It wasn’t a huge loss financially, but I still frowned deeply.

Camille picked up a few lipsticks. "These aren’t bad. Too bad you already used them. Otherwise, they might’ve been worth a few bucks."

She handed one to Mirabelle and another to Abigail, then hugged my designer bag to her chest. "Not like you’ve got any money anyway. This bag’s probably fake. I’ll give you seven for it. Send the remaining 133 to Mirabelle on Venmo."

"That’s robbery!" I growled, my fists clenched.

I tried to snatch my things back, but Abigail twisted my arms behind my back.

"If you hadn’t insisted on using the AC, we wouldn’t even have this electricity bill. If you don’t pay it, who will?" she snapped and shoved me hard.

My stomach slammed into the corner of the desk. Pain shot through me like a knife.

Yet, Mirabelle ignored it all. Instead, she grabbed my phone, unlocked it, and opened my Venmo.

"What’s the password?" she demanded.

I glared at her, furious. "This is illegal!"

But Abigail just smacked me across the head so hard that my vision blurred. "Shut up! What’s the password?"

Sydney's POV

"I know her password! I saw her enter it once!" Camille rushed over, eager to try. She snatched my phone from Mirabelle and, after a few attempts, managed to transfer the money.

Only then did they finally let me go.

My arms were already covered in bruises and deep red marks from where they held me, but I didn’t even have time to worry about that, because Abigail suddenly spoke up.

"If she doesn't have money, why are we still letting her enjoy the AC?"

Camille's eyes lit up, like a lightbulb went off in her head. "You're right! She’s just freeloading at this point!"

Finals were coming up, and the last thing I wanted was more drama. So, I quickly said, "I’ll pay for the electricity from now on. I promise."

But Mirabelle let out a sarcastic snort. "Yeah, sure. Who knows if you’ll go back on your word later?"

Camille rested her chin on her hand, then suddenly smiled like she had just had a brilliant idea. "Let’s just have her pay in advance. That way, we won’t have to worry about her using the AC for free."

She then started counting on her fingers. "There are twelve months in a year. Last month, we spent 126 on electricity. That means we’ll spend about 1,512 for the whole year. Round it down, you give us one grand now."

I couldn’t help but laugh. "One grand a year? For electricity? Are you serious right now?"

Mirabelle shot me a cold glare, while Abigail immediately picked up on her mood and backed me into a corner.

"If you don’t pay, then don’t even think about staying in this dorm. We’re already cutting you a deal with a grand."

I let out a scoff. "You act like I have no other options. There are plenty of dorms around. I’ll find another bed just fine."

I’d made up my mind. As soon as I got out of here, I was heading straight to student housing to request a transfer. I didn’t want to stay in this hellhole a second longer.

But I hadn’t expected them to flip out so quickly.

Abigail rushed forward and yanked my arms behind my back again.

Then, Mirabelle gave my cheek a mocking pat. "You think you can just leave? Once you’re gone, we’re stuck splitting the bill three ways. Who’s going to pay the missing share, huh?"

"What do you want from me?" I forced myself to stay calm, just trying to get through this without things getting worse.

Mirabelle gave a fake sweet smile and held up five fingers. "Since we’ve ‘lived together’ for two whole months, we’ll cut you some slack. Give us seven grand, and we’ll let you walk."

I didn’t even have time to react before Camille quietly muttered, "I don’t think she’ll actually pay. If she changes dorms, she’ll probably report us. One extortion charge, and we’re all screwed."

Panic flashed across Abigail’s face, and her grip loosened a bit. "So... what should we do?"

"I’ll give you the money!" I blurted, desperate to get out. "Just let me go, I won’t report you. I swear!"

I tried to pull free, but Mirabelle slapped me hard across the face. My skin burned.

Camille stared at me, suspicion clouding her expression. "That was way too fast. She’s definitely up to something."

Abigail pulled herself together and, without warning, slammed her knee into the back of mine.

Pain exploded through my leg as I collapsed, my knee screaming in agony.

Mirabelle’s face was completely void of emotion. "Then we definitely can’t let her leave."

She grabbed a fistful of my hair and started dragging me toward the balcony.

"And we’re sure as hell not going to let her enjoy our AC for free. She can stay out here."

I remembered the forecast from this morning. It would be 42°C at its peak. It wasn’t even noon yet, and the heat outside was already suffocating.

Staying out on that balcony wouldn’t just be unbearable. It would be torture!

Panic surged in my chest. I opened my mouth to scream, but Abigail shoved a filthy rag into it before I could make a sound.

Sydney's POV

To stop me from escaping, they tied me up with rope, arms pinned tightly behind my back, and secured the other end to the window handle. Even if I managed to crawl to the door, there was no way I could open it with my hands bound like this.

Mirabelle then slammed the door shut and pulled the curtains closed, turning the balcony into a sealed pressure cooker.

Soon, I collapsed onto the scorching floor, every inch of my skin burning.

Through the glass, I could still hear them inside, laughing and chatting while watching their drama.

As noon approached, the heat became unbearable. Breathing grew harder by the minute.

My lips cracked, and blood started to seep from the dry skin.

I slowly inched toward the glass door and knocked my head against it, hoping someone would notice.

I kept banging my head until blood ran down my forehead. Finally, Mirabelle pulled back the curtain, only to give me a warning look.

"You better stay quiet. The school officials are doing a dorm inspection soon. If they find you like this, you’re dead meat."

A spark of hope flared in my chest.

If I could just get their attention during the inspection, maybe I’d be saved.

Clinging to that thought, I steadied my breathing and leaned against the wall, trying to conserve my energy.

The sun soon climbed higher, and the heat pressed down like a weight, making my vision blur and my head spin.

Then, finally, I heard unfamiliar voices. The inspectors had arrived.

Adrenaline surged through me. This was it. My one shot. I started slamming my body against the door, over and over.

The sound quickly drew their attention.

"Is there someone out on the balcony?" one of the officials asked, frowning in the direction of the noise.

Mirabelle quickly covered, "Oh, that’s just a wind chime. We keep the window open, so it bangs around when the wind hits it. I’ll take it down later."

The inspector nodded and turned to leave, clearly pressed for time.

At that time, panic gripped me. If they left now, Mirabelle and the others would definitely take it out on me.

I pressed my face to the glass, peeking through a gap in the curtain.

Then, I saw him. My uncle, Bernard Carter. He was among the inspectors.

My heart nearly leapt out of my chest.

He knew I lived in this dorm. If he didn’t see me, he’d definitely think something was wrong.

Fueled by desperation, I slammed my head against the glass again, trying to create as much noise as I could.

My forehead was already numb from the pain, and blood covered my face.

I tried to shout, but with the rag still stuffed in my mouth, all I could manage were muffled, pitiful sounds.

My uncle paused mid-step and turned back toward them.

"Isn't there a girl named Sydney in your dorm?" he asked.

Mirabelle froze. "Uh… yes."

"Why haven’t I seen her today?" he asked.

Camille quickly stepped over to block the curtain slit with her body.

Before she could speak, Abigail jumped in, "She’s kind of weird. Barely comes back to the dorm. It’s been days since we’ve seen her."

My uncle frowned. "She doesn’t come back at night?"

Abigail pressed on, lying smoothly, "Apparently, her personal life’s a mess. She’s always with some guy outside of school. Makes him buy her stuff like bags, clothes, and everything. Honestly, people like her don’t deserve to be students here."

Camille also jumped in to back her up. "She acts like she’s rich, but she never pays for anything. She used the air conditioning like it was free and didn’t even pay her share of the electricity bill."

Quickly, Mirabelle joined in, "She even skipped class all the time. Forced us to mark her present. Students like her really drag the rest of us down. The school should do something."

My uncle hesitated, then gave an awkward laugh. "Ah… maybe I was thinking of someone else."

Another school official chimed in, "Don’t worry, students. We’ll investigate thoroughly. If everything you said is true, she’ll be expelled immediately. No tolerance for behavior like that."