The Imperfect Girl

Chp. 3 - The Social Experiment

(Adeline)

College was still as underwhelming as ever. I was pretty much the invisible girl who could float through hallways without anyone noticing. Which, as far as I was concerned, was a win-win situation for me.

But my goal of staying unnoticed had one fatal flaw: 

And everyone bow to the majestic- "group projects." (terrorizing☠️☠️)

It was a typical day in my Liberal Arts course when Mr. Talks-Too-Much dropped the bomb. "Everyone will pair up for a col-lab-or-ative assignment." He pretty much spelled out the word- probably cause he thought that we were illiterate animals who jumped all the way to college-- Which I'm pretty sure- most people are. (obviously- excluding me 💅)

 Perfect. I glanced around, avoiding eye contact. I wasn't really here to make friends.

Some girl with bubblegum-pink hair tapped my shoulder. "You wanna pair up?"

My internal sigh almost escaped, and I help back the urge to say- 'Nah- I work alone' . But I nodded instead. "Sure." 

At least this was better than getting roped into someone else's drama.

(Damon)

Business majors are pretty straightforward: Get the degree, make some money, and avoid as much work as possible. Today, that work came in the form of a group project, but luckily, my crew had a solid plan: make someone else do it.

"So, who's our 'victim' this time?" Tyler asked as we walked out of the lecture hall.

I scanned the room, and there she was—overly neat, the "1950s" glasses sliding down her nose, clutching her books like they were a lifeline. 

Bingo.

"Four-eyed nerd over there," I nodded toward her, already knowing she was our best shot.

Tyler smirked. "Yeah, she'll definitely say yes."

We walked up to her, and as expected, she nearly jumped out of her seat when we approached.

"H-Hi," she stammered, pushing her glasses back up.

"Hey," I said, keeping my tone friendly. "You look like you've got your stuff together. Wanna join our group?"

Her face lit up like she'd just been invited to the cool table. "R-Really? Oh, um... sure!"

We snickered quietly as we walked away. Too easy.

[Damon's POV- Later]

Later that night, we invited her over to Tyler's place. She thought we'd be working on the project, but that was the last thing on our minds. She arrived, looking nervous but eager to please.

We spent a little time pretending to care about the project, but eventually, the mood shifted. The "fun" we had with her wasn't something she expected. Flustered and overwhelmed, she went along with it, clearly not knowing how to say no.

The next morning, her photos—let's just say not her most flattering—appeared on the "cool-kids" forum. 

We didn't see her in class after that.

Mission accomplished.

(Adeline)

My spot in the library was my safe zone, away from the chaos of real life. I lost myself in words, creating worlds where I was in control.

But when I overheard the guys at the table next to me laughing about something, I glanced up. They were talking about some girl's photos circulating online. The smug voice belonged to none other than that cocky guy from the Business program.

I shook my head and went back to my notebook. 

This place is a zoo.

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