Streaming Her Sins

The new transfer student claims she is the main character of a dark romance salvation trope, so when I buy my seatmate an iced boba, she lunges across the aisle and trashes it.

I buy my seatmate an iced boba. She lunges across the aisle and trashes it.

I know you had a tragic childhood. You resent her perfect family. But drugging her is crossing a line.

"Do not worry. I can fix you."

I share my exam study guides with the class for free. She rips them to shreds.

"I know your miserable life twisted your mind. But you cannot sabotage everyone's SAT scores with fake notes."

"Do not worry. I will save you."

The isolation creeps in like a disease. They brand me a psychopath. The principal expels me. She plays the righteous savior.

TikTok crowns her their Sunshine Goddess.

Clinical depression swallows me whole until I jump off a roof.

Then I wake up on the exact day she transferred.

Chapter 1

My seatmate shared her snacks with me yesterday. Today, I ordered us DoorDash boba. I reach over to hand her the cup.

The transfer student, Victoria, lunges across the aisle. She rips the cup from my grip and slams it into the trash can.

"Do not drink that!" she shrieks. She turns to me. Her chest heaves with righteous indignation. "I know you had a tragic childhood."

"You resent her happy family. But drugging her is crossing a line."

It is her. The exact same toxic script. Word for word. I'm back.

God finally got sick of the joke and hit rewind.

I just stare at her.

She pivots to my terrified seatmate, dropping her voice into a sickly sweet register. "You are safe now. I threw it away. He cannot hurt you."

She glances back at me with exaggerated pity. "This is Harrison's first time doing something so twisted. His toxic household ruined him. We should forgive him."

"I can save him."

The whispers start. Eyes dart toward me, guarded and suspicious.

In my past life, I panicked. I stuttered out pathetic denials. I assumed everyone would see through her delusional savior complex. I brushed it off.

That was my fatal mistake.

The isolation crept in. When I handed out my AP study guides, Victoria shredded them.

"I know your miserable life twisted your mind. But you cannot sabotage everyone's SAT scores with fake notes."

"The SAT dictates our entire future!"

Nobody believed my defense. They called me a psychopath. They bullied me in the halls. Parents complained to the school board until the principal expelled me.

Victoria stood in front of the entire class and vowed to fix my broken soul.

Fix what? I had loving parents. A perfectly normal childhood. No trauma to speak of.

She posted the whole saga online. The internet canonized her as their Sunshine Goddess.

I suffocated under the gaslighting. Clinical depression destroyed me. My parents' crushed expressions broke whatever was left inside my chest.

I walked up to the school roof.

I stepped off the ledge.

Not this time.

I push my chair back. It screeches against the tile. I step right into her personal space. I lock eyes with her.

"Are you clinically delusional?" I ask. My voice is deadpan, flat. "What does my boba order have to do with you?"

I walk to the trash can. I pull the cup out. I grab the crumpled DoorDash bag. I dangle the plastic in front of her face.

"I literally just broke the delivery seal in front of my seatmate. How exactly did I drug a factory-sealed cup?"

Victoria scoffs. She rolls her eyes. "Stop gaslighting us, Harrison. We all know you poisoned it."

I reach into my pocket. I pull out my phone. I hit record. I shove the camera lens toward her.

"Go on," I say. "Tell the camera exactly how you know I poisoned a sealed drink. Show them the evidence."

"This is my order. The freshly opened delivery bag and the boba cup are right here."

Chapter 2

Victoria lunges forward to swat the camera away. "What are you doing? Stop recording!"

"I know I hurt your ego by exposing you," she says. "But what you did is toxic. If I keep quiet, I am enabling you to hurt others."

"It's not your fault your childhood was a tragedy. Even if you almost crossed a line, I will pull you out of the abyss."

"I will save you."

A dry laugh escapes my throat. "Are you clinically insane?"

"Tell me exactly how my childhood was a tragedy. Diagnose my twisted mind. Go ahead."

She lifts her chin, fully embracing her savior complex. "Do not think I am clueless just because I am new."

"Your parents prioritized their business over you. You were raised by nannies. You were passed around to relatives' houses like a burden. It is so sad."

She actually stalked my background.

My parents are busy executives, sure. But our nanny never replaced their affection. And those summers at my relatives' houses? They begged me to visit because they adored me.

How did her twisted brain spin that into a tragic backstory? "Stop projecting your weird delusions onto me. My childhood was perfectly fine."

Victoria shakes her head, drowning in denial. "It is okay to deflect. People with severe trauma act out."

"I can still fix you."

I cut her off with a cold stare. "Save the script for TikTok. You want to frame me for poisoning a drink? Not happening."

I dial the boba shop on speakerphone. It is also an old shop that has been open for several years. It is a staple spot right across the street.

"Hey, I just got a DoorDash delivery from you guys," I say. "My classmate is screaming that the drink is laced with drugs. Send a manager over right now, or I am calling the cops."

Victoria's eyes widen. The mask slips. "Why would you call the store?"

I give her a flat, weaponized look. "To clear my name, you swore the drink was laced. I know I did not touch it. So logically, the baristas must be trying to poison us."

The manager sprints into the classroom minutes later. A drug allegation could shut his business down overnight. He is out of breath and furious. "Who is spreading rumors about our drinks?"

I point a single finger at Victoria. "Her."

Victoria shrinks back in pure panic. "No! It was Harrison! He put the drugs in!"

I let out a mocking snort. "The whole class is watching. Everyone heard you scream that the boba was poisoned."

My seatmate nods vigorously. "Yeah. You are the one who yelled about drugs. You snatched it and threw it away before anyone even touched it."

The surrounding classmates mutter in agreement. The tide shifts instantly.

The manager glares at Victoria. "What gives you the right to slander my shop? Are you trying to ruin my livelihood over a prank?"

Victoria points a trembling finger back at me. "He did it! Harrison poisoned it!"

I cross my arms, letting her unravel. "My seatmate literally watched me break the delivery seal on the bag. You ran over and claimed it was drugged. If there is something in that cup, it came from your imagination or their kitchen."

The manager pulls out his phone. "This is complete slander. I am calling the police."

Victoria lunges forward to grab his arm. "Wait! Do not call the cops!"

She spins to me. Her voice drips with desperate manipulation. "Harrison, just admit what you did! Why are you dragging the police into this?"

I roll my eyes. The absolute audacity. "Why would I confess to a crime I did not commit?"

Chapter 3

The police arrive. The situation spirals out of control. Even the school administration gets dragged into the mess. The shop owner refuses to let Victoria off the hook.

He demands the cops run a full toxicology screen on the boba. He offers to pay for the lab test himself. He makes it crystal clear that if the cup is clean, he is pressing charges against Victoria for defamation and suing for damages.

Victoria bursts into tears. She knows better than anyone that the drink is completely fine. Cornered by the threat of a lawsuit, she finally breaks.

She admits the poisoning accusation was a complete fabrication. She walks out of the principal's office sobbing uncontrollably.

The whispers in the hallway erupt into full-blown gossip.

"Did you see the owner? He looked ready to throw a punch. If the principal had not calmed him down, he was going to sue her for 100,000."

"Why would she do that? What kind of psycho frames Harrison for drugging a drink?"

I finally speak up. My tone is perfectly even. "Actually, I know exactly why Victoria said that. She asked me to buy her a boba earlier, and I said no."

"She held a grudge and decided to frame me." I look right at her. "Victoria, it is just a drink. Did you really need to go to these extremes just to get back at me?"

Victoria, who is currently crying on her desk, snaps her head up in absolute shock. "When did I ever ask you to buy me a drink?"

"During the passing period," I reply without missing a beat. There are no security cameras in the classroom. No matter how she tries to spin it, she has zero proof.

She looks around at the glaring faces. "I didn't," she says. Her voice is weak and futile.

But her drug accusation was already unhinged. Now that my name is entirely cleared, my version of the story sounds perfectly logical to everyone. The entire class turns on her instantly.

"Are you kidding me? If you want boba, just buy it yourself. Expecting him to pay for it is such a red flag."

"He rejects her, so she tries to ruin his life with a fake crime?"

"That is genuinely terrifying. What a toxic stalker."

The students physically step away from her desk, creating a quarantine zone. Victoria's face drains of color.

She never expected me to reverse the narrative and weaponize it against her. She ended up publicly humiliating herself. She is so obsessed with playing the savior, yet she cannot even save herself from this PR nightmare.

The class treats me just like they used to, if not better.

"Sorry we almost doubted you, man. Do not let it get to you."

"That new girl is seriously manipulative. Who even comes up with a stunt like that?"

I offer them an easy, unaffected smile. I figure the public embarrassment will keep her in check. I assume she will lay low.

I am wrong.

The very next morning, she marches straight up to my desk. "I thought about this all night," she says. "Even though you lied about me begging for a drink, I will not stop fixing you."

"People with severe childhood trauma always put up defensive walls. You are pushing me away because you are terrified of being saved. So, Harrison, I forgive you."

"I will not take a single step back. I will never give up on saving you."

I literally have no words for this level of delusion. My buddies sitting next to me cannot handle the secondhand embarrassment anymore.

"Yo, Victoria," one of them asks, dragging out the syllables. "Are you just trying to get into Harrison's pants