1 My roommate, Cassie, was the ultimate player. She was currently dating five different guys online. Since they all happened to ask her out on a first date for the exact same evening, she was terrified of being exposed. To solve her dilemma, she decided to hold a boyfriend auction right in our dorm room. The other four girls in our room happily bought up one guy each. But when it was my turn, Cassie’s face twisted into a mocking sneer. "Bridget, you’re hideous and dirt-poor. Shoving a man toward you would be a crime against humanity." "The only way you’ll ever get a taste of a man is if you hang around the dark corners of the campus track field at midnight." By telling me to go to the track field at night, she was mocking me, implying that only under the pitch-black cover of darkness would a man be blind enough to look at me. Unfortunately, I didn't catch her underlying meaning. Instead, I stood up and asked in a small, tentative voice: "Can I buy the last one?" ... Cassie was a master of scheduling. She juggled five online relationships simultaneously, her face glued to her screen all day, sweet-talking them one by one through voice calls late into the night. One minute she’d be sweet-talking Boyfriend A into carrying her to a higher rank in an online game, and the next she’d be sending a breathless, baby-voiced voice note to Boyfriend B, whining that she was craving boba. My bunkmate, Becca, watched this daily show with a mix of awe and deep envy. "Cassie really has all the luck," she sighed. "Managing five guys at once? She's single-handedly meeting the relationship quota for our entire floor." "What if all five of them ask to meet up on the exact same day?" I couldn't help but ask. Cassie poked her head out from behind her bed curtains, giving me a dismissive smirk. "I'm not an idiot, Bridget. I'd never let that happen. If you have so much free time to worry about me, why don't you go jog on the track tonight? Who knows, maybe some blind fool will bump into you in the dark." "Why the track at night?" Becca asked, genuinely confused. Only a cruel snicker from Cassie answered her. The others caught on instantly, their lips curling into nasty, quiet smirks. A familiar, sharp ache bloomed in my chest. I was born with dull, dark skin and heavy monolids. Growing up in grinding poverty meant years of hard labor in the fields, leaving my stature stunted. When she told me to run at night, she was mocking me, saying that only under the cover of pitch-black darkness would a man be blind enough to look at me. I silently climbed back onto my bunk and drew my curtains shut, sealing out their malice. The curtain was a tattered, hand-me-down piece left behind by a graduating senior. I had smuggled it back to our room while the dorm mother wasn't looking. But none of us could have guessed that my idle question would turn into a prophecy. A few days later, Cassie was pacing the room in a frenzy, her fingers flying across her phone screen. In a fit of rage, she slammed her phone onto the desk. The sound made my stomach sink. That phone cost nearly a thousand dollars, equivalent to months of my living expenses. Sensing my gaze, her face twisted in fury. She stormed over to my bunk, hauled me down, and slapped me across the face twice, hard. My ears rang, and my head spun from the sheer force of it. The commotion drew the others, but they didn't care about the red welts swelling on my cheeks. They only cared about why Cassie was so angry. "It's all this peasant's fault!" Cassie snarled, pointing a shaking finger at me. "Her jinx of a mouth actually worked! Every single one of my guys demanded to meet in person tomorrow night. They won't take no for an answer. They said if I don't show up, we're over!" She was too blinded by rage to notice the brief, satisfying glints of schadenfreude passing over the others' faces. "Oh, what a nightmare," Valerie murmured. She was the prettiest girl in our dorm, crowned the department's beauty queen, but she was also incredibly green with envy. She hated how many handsome guys Cassie juggled. Watching Cassie face a total romantic collapse was probably the highlight of her month. "I guess you'll just have to make a choice and dump the rest." But Cassie didn't look defeated. Instead, she fell quiet, her lips curling into a secretive, chilling smile. "Do you guys want boyfriends? I'm offering a sister discount." And just like that, a boyfriend auction began in our cramped room. I, the girl who had just been slapped for absolutely nothing, was instantly forgotten. 2 "First up is a varsity athlete from the neighboring college," Cassie announced, scrolling through her photos. "Six-foot-two, tanned, rock-hard abs." She passed the phone around. The girls gasped. "Tara, you're always working out and you love extreme sports. This jock is perfect for you. You two would have so much in common." She leaned in, whispering something into Tara's ear. I sat on the edge of the room, but from her lip movements, I could make out three words: seven-inch prize. Tara bit her lip, hesitated for a second, then pulled out her phone to scan Cassie's Cash App code. She sent over half her monthly allowance. One hundred and fifty dollars. To me, that was enough to buy cheap instant noodles and stale bread to survive for months. Seeing someone take the bait, Cassie struck while the iron was hot, pushing the next target. "Next, we have the starving artist type," Cassie pitched, moving to the second profile. "He's broke, but his face is pure luxury. A sugar mommy tried to buy him a Mercedes last term and he turned her down to keep his pride. He's incredibly sweet and attentive. Perfect for Regina." Regina was a rich girl with a spoiled princess attitude. During our freshman year, I had practically acted as her maid, fetching her water and hand-washing her delicate undergarments just to earn a few crumbs. But she found my face too repulsive to look at and quickly hired a poorer student from across the hall instead. Regina didn't care about money. Spending a hundred and fifty bucks for a handsome plaything to massage her ego was a steal. Cassie turned her gaze toward Valerie, her smile sharpening. "This next one is four hundred dollars. But Valerie, I know you'll want him. He's a corporate VP. Sure, he's a bit older, but he's incredibly generous. That Chanel bag in my closet? He bought it for me." "You're gorgeous, Val. Your charm is way better than mine. Play your cards right, and he'll probably clear those online credit cards you've been hiding from the dean." It was a blunt slap to Valerie's pride, a silent jab at her materialism. But despite her annoyance, Valerie paid up. She desperately needed a savior. If she didn't clear her debts soon, the collection agency would notify the university. Becca grew anxious, grabbing Cassie's arm. "What about me, Cassie? We're best friends, you can't leave me out!" Cassie let out a soft snort, showing her a profile screenshot. "Wouldn't dream of it. A top-tier pro-gamer. He'll carry you through every match, gaming queen." Becca's eyes lit up, and she squealed with delight. "What about the last one?" Valerie asked suddenly, her eyes narrowing. "Aren't you going to introduce him?" Cassie waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, the fifth one is pretty average. He doesn't have any outstanding qualities." She sounded modest, but the smug triumph in her eyes was impossible to miss. "Average" meant he had no flaws. He was a perfect all-rounder: wealthy, handsome, athletic, and attentive. I didn't catch her underlying meaning. I stood up, clutching my pockets, and asked in a small, trembling voice, "Can I buy the last one? I... I can pay a hundred dollars first." 3 They all turned to look at me. The silence in the room was instantly filled with sneers, disgust, and disbelief. My face burned hot. I squeezed the crumpled bills in my pocket, bracing myself against their sharp, judging eyes. Cassie's smile vanished. She slowly sauntered over to my corner. She pinched the sleeve of my pilling, oversized sweater between two manicured fingers, then yanked a strand of my dry, straw-like hair. "Bridget," she drawled, her voice dripping with pity. "Do you even own a mirror?" "Look at yourself. You're ugly, you're dirt-poor, you can barely afford to eat, and you walk with a limp. Shoving a man toward you would be a sin." Valerie giggled, covering her mouth. "Don't be so harsh, Cassie. She really can't afford a mirror. That sweater she's wearing? I watched her fish it out of the communal recycling bin down the hall and scrub it like it was some designer piece." Every ounce of my dignity was stripped bare before the very people I had to live with every single day. My face throbbed with a burning heat, and I could no longer tell if it was from the slaps I had received earlier or the crushing weight of my own shame. As they squealed and added their new targets on their phones, discussing what they would wear for their dates, I crawled back behind my curtain. I huddled in the dark like a sewer rat. But I had perfect vision, and a flawless memory. When Cassie had opened the contact page of the man she had kept for herself, I had memorized his username. Staring at my cracked screen, I typed in the username. His profile picture was an abstract, dark portrait that felt strangely cold. A spark of pure, quiet malice flared in my chest. I tapped the send button without a second thought. The request was accepted almost instantly. Hi, I typed. I'm Bridget. The next evening, the four girls spent hours putting on makeup and doing their hair. They left the room in a cloud of expensive perfume, laughing and chatting about their dates. Meanwhile, the mastermind behind all these dates remained in the room with me, with no intention of going out at all. Cassie was furiously tapping on her screen, the rhythmic, violent clacking revealing her mounting frustration. I curled up on my mattress, pulling my blanket over my mouth to muffle my silent, hysterical laughter until tears leaked from my eyes. Before curfew, the roommates began trickling back into the dorm. Only Tara sent a message to our group chat, telling us she wouldn't be returning tonight and asking us to cover for her. It seemed she was already getting her money's worth. As we lay in the dark, the girls began whispering about their encounters. Becca gushed about her gamer guy, saying he was witty, charming, and seemed to come from a wealthy family. She was completely smitten. Valerie came back with a delicate box. A shimmering Van Cleef bracelet now rested on her wrist. Regina didn't say much, but she begrudgingly admitted her handsome artist was even more stunning in person than in his photos. But as the gossip died down, Valerie noticed how silent Cassie was. For someone who loved bragging more than breathing, keeping quiet about her "perfect" date made no sense. "Hey Cassie," Valerie called out, her voice dripping with faux-innocence. "How did your night go? You haven't said a word." "It was fine," Cassie muttered. Her voice was flat. Even Becca noticed the tension. "Cassie? Is everything okay?" Realizing the spotlight was on her, Cassie's pride kicked in. She began to spin a beautiful lie, describing how incredibly attentive her date was and how he had fallen head over heels for her. "But you were in the dorm room the entire night, weren't you?" I threw the words into the darkness like a bomb. The room fell into a suffocating, dead silence. In the quiet, I could hear Cassie grinding her teeth so hard they threatened to crack. "Ha," I let out a sharp, ugly little snicker.
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