After being framed by an illegitimate woman

The opening ceremony was a big deal, and I was chosen to give the welcome speech as a new student. But then, my roommate, Tiffany, decided to turn it into a Jerry Springer episode, claiming I was sleeping with her dad.

“I saw her getting out of the car my dad bought for me, laughing and chatting! He even said he’d get her a new ride!” she screeched, loud enough for the whole auditorium to hear.

Suddenly, I was public enemy number one. The school was even threatening to kick me out. So, right there in front of everyone, I called her so-called “dad.”

“Hey, Dad,” I said, “When did I get a ‘sister’?”

1.

I could tell Tiffany had a serious vendetta against me right from the start. During orientation week, she'd been passive-aggressively making my life miserable. I usually just let that stuff slide, figure it’s not worth the drama. But after orientation, I finally figured out why she had it out for me.

So, there I was, about to give this big welcome speech. As the emcee called my name, I smoothed down my skirt and headed to the stage. I took a few deep breaths, ready to go, when I heard this whispering in the crowd.

“Is that her? She’s kinda cute, I guess, no wonder she could…”

“Shhh, quiet, she can hear you.”

“Who cares? If she’s gonna act like that, she better be ready for people to talk!”

“Damn, she’s a looker. Wonder if my money’s good enough to get her attention?”

Mixed in with all the murmuring, I saw this slimy look from some guy, Liam. It was obvious somebody was spreading some dirt about me.

My eyes immediately went to Tiffany, sitting in the second row. She met my gaze, a smug look on her face. Did she think this would throw me off? She totally underestimated me.

I focused, cleared my head, and delivered my speech, just like I practiced.

At first, the school administrators looked at me with a mix of disapproval and curiosity, after hearing the students’ chatter. But as I spoke, they seemed to let go of the prejudice.

I was almost done when this shrill voice cut through the air.

“Since when does a homewrecker get to represent the freshman class?”

That’s all it took for the room to erupt. The quiet was gone in an instant. The administrators’ faces tightened up again.

I turned to the source, and yep, there was Tiffany, again.

“Tiffany, from day one, you’ve been on my case,” I said, my voice calm. “I figured we’d be classmates for four years, so I let it go. But now you’re doing this during the opening ceremony? That's a bit much, don't you think?”

The emcee, a student government type, tried to smooth things over. “Guys, the ceremony’s halfway through. Let’s continue, and you can work out any misunderstandings later.”

Tiffany scoffed at that.

“Nah,” she said, “I planned this. I'm exposing this skank for who she really is.”

“She’s a homewrecker, and she deserves to be publicly shamed!”

Tiffany’s conviction got a lot of people on her side.

“No way, I heard a rumor, but I didn’t know it was this bad,” someone whispered. “Tiff...