𝐴 𝑅𝐼𝐶𝐻 𝑀𝐴𝑁'𝑆 𝑊𝑂𝑅𝐿𝐷 𝕪𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕖𝕣𝕖 𝕩 𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕣

4

"And that's why Mr Ripley is such a great character- Highsmith was able to create a dynamic relationship between the reader and the protagonist, we hate to love him...."

Y/n sat at her shared desk in the lecture hall. Mr Angelo's proud and confident voice bounced around the walls of the large room. A smug look was plastered across his face, pleased with his vast knowledge in literature and linguistics which slipped out with great ease and articulation with every opening of his mouth. His arrogance greatly affected y/n's mood, she knew better than to let others affect her this way- but his arrogance was far too insufferable to withstand. Mr Angelo was a man who revelled in making people feel less than or quite frankly unintelligent, this explained the reason why most if not all students always hesitated to answer questions he asked throughout his lecture. Y/n remembered when a classmate was viciously ridiculed by Angelo in front of the whole class due to them not being able to recall the exact citations of a quote from a two-thousand-page book that the professor had recited to the class. The student didn't attend classes ever since- in fact, it had been revealed that the student left the university altogether.

The worst thing about that anecdote was that Angelo never got in trouble for his wrongdoings. He was always able to get away with murder as he was one of the university's greatest sponsors. Angelo came from old money, his family carried fortune through generations, and he took advantage of his background by donating monstrous amounts money to the school whilst encouraging his rich friends to do the same. He was an asset, a valuable one at that- the deeper the headmaster's pockets, the easier it would be for him to be let off the hook. His dictatorship would continue to thrive and terrorise his students.

Unfortunately the same would apply to the wealthier students. Y/n was lucky enough to be accepted to one of the most prestigious universities in her country through sheer determination and hard work. She wanted to make her parents proud. She wanted to achieve  greatness and make a name for herself. Y/n didn't come from a rich family- far from it, so throughout her life she'd been through a fair amount of struggle, y/n witnessed how overworked and tired her parents were, and she didn't want to suffer the same fate- she wanted to live in comfort and earn enough to provide and help her family. Being accepted by this university gave her an opportunity that she would grasp with both hands. Unlike her, millionaires' daughters and sons got in through an easy transaction. Due to their parent's generous contributions, rich students were untouchable, many abused their power and picked on the poorer students who were greatly outnumbered.

To summarise, her university was corrupted. When money is present so is dishonour.

The raising of Mr Angelo's voice harshly pulled the girl from her daydream. Her hazy mind took a moment to focus  itself on the lesson and the words emitted by the frustrated man who was staring daggers into her.

"Miss l/n! Repeat what I have just announced to the class."

All eyes set on her, it felt as if a stage light shone brightly upon her.

"Erm..so..."

Pressure started to build, her heart quickened its pace.

"So..."

Sweat started forming on her forehead. Her gaze fell upon Angelo's demanding expression.

"I..."

A gentle nudge was felt on her arm as a note slipped beside her.

He was talking about the charity event that's due to take place in a week.

A sigh of relief escaped y/n's lips.