Chapter 2
That night, the campus forum exploded with activity.
Cecilia's 'Lucky Livestream,' which she had been hyping up for a full week, finally went live.
The chat section was packed. Comments flew by so fast they blurred together.
She had started doing those streams on campus, and only later did her fame spread beyond it.
I curled up on the top bunk with my headphones on, quietly watching the stream, too.
Since Cecilia could no longer siphon my luck, the wishes she granted for others were bound to turn…low quality.
There was no way I was missing a show like that.
On screen, Cecilia wore a pure white dress. Her makeup was soft and flawless, her long hair falling smoothly over her shoulders. She smiled at the camera, sweet and innocent.
"Hey guys, I'm Cecilia. Welcome to my livestream.
"The rules are simple. First-come, first-served. Just send a one-dollar tip. If you're fast enough, you might win.
"Get ready, everyone. Three, two, one!"
The second she finished counting down, the screen exploded.
Donation animations flooded in. Notifications stacked on top of each other. Countless one-dollar tips poured in like a storm. The first three usernames to send theirs were quickly captured and pinned in the chat.
Cecilia smiled brightly as she read the first name.
"Congratulations to Tyson Steele for becoming our first lucky winner tonight. Tyson, tell us your wish."
She initiated a voice call.
The person who connected was Tyson.
One of the most notorious bullies on campus.
He had some money at home and acted like he owned the place. No one dared mess with him.
"So you're the so-called goddess of luck?" Tyson's voice dripped with arrogance.
"I don't want anything fancy. Just get me 30,000 dollars by tomorrow. Let me see if you're actually capable."
The chat instantly filled with mockery.
[Is he insane? 30,000 dollars? Why not rob a bank while he's at it?]
[If she can pull that off, I'll wash my hair upside down.]
Cecilia only smiled faintly.
"Got it. Tyson's wish has been received. Sincerity brings miracles. Please wait for the good news."
The second winner was Jane, the most popular girl in the literature department.
In a soft, almost shy voice, she said, "I wish Liam Chapman would confess to me. I've liked him for a long time."
Liam was the son of a school board member; he was rich, famous, and never short on female attention.
To everyone else, her wish sounded just as impossible.
Cecilia nodded again. "Your feelings will reach him."
The third winner was an ordinary guy named Julian Rogers. His wish was simple.
"I…I hope I can win this year's national scholarship. I really need the money."
Cecilia agreed to all three.
Then, with the chat still full of people waiting to see her fail, she smiled and ended the stream.
She took off her headphones, unable to hide the smug look on her face.
"Nevaeh, what do you think? Pretty impressive, right?" she said, turning to me like she was showing off.
I forced a small smile. "Yeah. Impressive."
Impressive enough to build it all on someone else's life.
The next day, the campus forum blew up.
The post came from Tyson.
The title was in bold red letters.
[Holy crap! The Goddess of Luck is insane! I got 30,000 dollars! Real cash!]
In the post, Tyson described his 'miracle' in wild, excited detail.
That morning, he had taken a shortcut to class. In a quiet, empty alley, he had literally kicked into a black leather bag.
When he opened it, there were 20 stacks of brand-new hundred-dollar bills inside.
Not a dollar more. Not a dollar less.
It was exactly 30,000.
He even attached a selfie of himself holding the cash. The excitement and pride on his face practically burst out of the screen.
The forum went crazy.
[No way! Is this real? This is straight-up fantasy!]
[Photoshopped. I don't believe it.]
[I just passed by that alley. I saw Tyson running with the money like a maniac!]
[Oh, my god. The Goddess of Luck actually works!!]
Tyson's post was like a massive rock thrown into a calm lake, sending waves everywhere.
Before anyone could recover from the shock, that afternoon, a second miracle arrived.
Chapter 3
[Thank you, Goddess of Luck! I got it! I really got the national scholarship!]
Julian posted it himself.
He had said his grades only ranked somewhere in the middle of the candidate list. He had no real chance at all.
However, when the school put up the official list of scholarship winners on the bulletin board…
His name was right there.
It was clear as day.
Julian made another post, pouring his heart out in gratitude. His tears almost seemed to reach through the screen.
If Tyson's 30,000 dollars could still be brushed off as a coincidence, then Julian's scholarship wiped out every last doubt.
That night, the final bomb dropped.
It exploded right outside the girls' dorm.
Liam, the rich upperclassman, showed up holding a huge bouquet of bright red roses. In front of a massive crowd, he looked at Jane with an almost hypnotized, obsessed expression and confessed to her on the spot.
"Jane! I love you! Be my girlfriend!"
The whole scene looked like something straight out of a drama.
Jane burst into tears of joy and threw herself into his arms.
Three wishes.
All fulfilled.
Overnight, the name 'Goddess of Luck' Cecilia echoed across the entire campus.
Her livestream followers skyrocketed. People flooded in, throwing gifts like crazy just for a chance to make a wish.
I watched it all in silence. Watched as Cecilia was lifted onto a pedestal. The smile on my face grew colder.
Three days after the stream ended, things began to shift.
Quietly.
Then, all at once.
The first to fall was Tyson.
Early Monday morning, a piece of news spread through every class group chat like a virus.
Tyson had both his legs broken. He was in the hospital.
Rumor had it that the bag of 30,000 dollars he found was not lost property at all. It belonged to a local underground banker, someone known for being ruthless. He had dropped it during a rushed deal.
Through his connections, the man quickly tracked the money to Tyson.
That very afternoon, Tyson was cornered in a small wooded area off campus.
Not only was the 30,000 taken back in full, but he was also forced to sign an IOU for 75,000 dollars. The reasons listed were 'emotional damages' and 'hush money.'
Tyson refused. They broke his legs on the spot. Then, they dumped him at the entrance of a hospital.
Before people could even process that, the second disaster hit.
Jane.
Liam's official girlfriend, a rich and powerful girl in her own right, showed up at our dorm with a group of people.
They brought evidence.
They had chat logs proving Jane had been interfering in her relationship with Liam for a long time. There was proof that Jane had been juggling multiple guys at once, playing all of them.
They printed everything out on huge A3 sheets and scattered them all over the dorm entrance for everyone to see.
In an instant, the once pure and innocent campus beauty became public enemy number one.
A manipulative homewrecker.
Everywhere she went, people pointed and whispered. The guys who used to admire her then looked at her with nothing but disgust.
Jane could not take the pressure. She was on the edge of a breakdown.
Within days, she applied for leave and disappeared from campus.
Next was Julian.
Someone anonymously reported him to the school, claiming there was fraud in his scholarship application.
The school immediately launched an investigation.
Everything in the report turned out to be true.
The outcome was obvious.
His scholarship was revoked on the spot. On top of that, he received a serious disciplinary warning for academic misconduct and dishonesty. It went straight into his permanent record.
For a while, the entire campus forum changed its tone.
"These three got their wishes granted, and then all crashed right after. Something feels off."
"Cecilia's wishes feel…cursed."
"No way she's using some kind of dark magic, right? This is creepy."
As I quietly enjoyed the chaos unfolding, the dorm door suddenly slammed open.
Then, it slammed shut just as hard.
Cecilia stormed over to my bed, grabbed me by the collar, and shouted, "Nevaeh! Was this you?!"