Rosetta walked hurriedly across the green, perfectly manicured lawns of Haven University.
She held her books tightly, her head down to avoid the curious stares. Every step felt heavier than the last. Yesterday's humiliation was fresh in her mind, and she didn't want a repeat of it.
"Just focus," she whispered to herself. "Get to class. Learn. Ignore them."
She slipped into the lecture hall and made her way to a seat near the back, careful not to draw attention. The room filled with chatter, and she kept her gaze fixed on her notebook.
The door swung open with a low creak, and the room seemed to shift. Caleb Hart strolled in, his confident stride as loud as his voice. Right behind him was a girl Rosetta vaguely recognized: Tracy Grant.
Rosetta didn't look up, but she felt their presence like a storm rolling in. Caleb's voice carried effortlessly across the room.
" Hey, our bottle girl is here again," he said.
Rosetta stiffened but didn't react. She flipped a page in her notebook, pretending not to hear.
Tracy's voice was soft but laced with amusement. "Who?"
Caleb laughed lightly, leaning on the desk beside her. '' Remember I told you about a girl who picks up trash? Her name is Rosetta. There she is again, Caleb pointed at Rosetta, '' I'm sure her trash bag is well secured ready to pick up trash as soon as the class is over .''
Tracy glanced over her shoulder, her wavy hair brushing against her designer jacket. "Seriously, Is that her?" she asked, her lips quirking into a small, almost pitying smile.
"Oh, yeah," Caleb said, smirking. "Saw her bagging a bottle in class yesterday. Can you imagine? And she works as a waitress at night at a hotel, too. A real multitasker."
A few nearby students chuckled, their laughter low but sharp.
Rosetta gripped her pen tighter, her fingers trembling slightly. Just let it go. They want you to break.
"She works at the Haven Regency?" Tracy sounded almost intrigued now. "Doesn't that place cater to, like… actual people?"
"I know," Caleb replied, his grin widening. "We should call her Double Duty."
Tracy laughed softly, her voice like a soft flowing stream. "That's awful."
"Is it?" Caleb shot back without pity. "She's proud of her work."
Rosetta inhaled deeply, forcing herself to stay calm. She scribbled something in her notebook, ignoring the laughter and humiliation that followed.
After class, Rosetta was the first to leave, slipping out of the lecture hall before Caleb or Tracy could catch up. She turned down a quiet corridor, desperate for a quiet moment.
"Hey, Double Duty!" Caleb's voice rang out, echoing down the hallway.
Rosetta froze but didn't turn around.
"You running off again?" he called, his footsteps drawing closer. "What's the rush? Got some bottles to sort through?"
"Caleb, leave her alone," Tracy said, though her voice was filled with amusement.
Caleb ignored her, stepping in front of Rosetta and blocking her path. "Where are you off to now? Another shift at the hotel? Or do you have some trash to collect on campus?"
Rosetta just wanted a quiet moment before going in search of trash bottles to collect and there was Caleb again obstructing her peace, how annoying could he be?
Rosetta met his gaze, her face calm despite the heat in her chest. "What is it to you, what I do with my spare time?"
"It's nothing," Caleb said with a shrug. "I'm just fascinated. You're like… an experiment. How much humiliation can one person take before they break?"
Rosetta tilted her head slightly. "Are you always this obsessed with people you think are beneath you? Why do you want to break me, do I owe you anything?"
Tracy let out a surprised laugh. "Oh, she is sharp-mouthed too."
"I'm just curious," Caleb said, leaning closer. "How does someone like you get into Haven? Did you win a scholarship raffle?"
Rosetta's lips twitched, but she didn't reply.
"I mean, come on," Caleb continued, mockingly. "You can't honestly believe you belong here."
Rosetta looked him straight in the eye. "I belong here just as much as you do. Maybe even more. Why does my life in this school, matter so much to you dummy?"
The smirk faltered for a second, but he recovered quickly. "Keep telling yourself that, Bottle Girl."
Tracy stepped beside Caleb, her eyes scanning Rosetta with a mix of amusement and curiosity. "What do you think you're going to get out of all this? Do you think Haven's going to… change your life?"
Rosetta's grip on her books tightened. "It's already changing my life. How about yours, is it changing it too?"
"Oh, that's cute," Tracy said, her smile sharp. "Good luck with that."
Rosetta stepped around them dropping her words before leaving,'' I don't need your good luck validation to be who I am, I think you need the good luck more. Rosetta left the corridor.
Tracy felt a little humiliated as she watched the pretty Rosetta dressed in tacky clothes walk away, leaving her and Caleb lost for words.
Deep down Tracy made up her mind to deal with Rosetta.
Later that day after bagging her bottles and sending them over to Grandpa Thomas, Rosetta sat alone in the library, going through her books quickly, she knew she would soon be heading for her night shift at the hotel.
Her books spread out across the desk.
She was trying to focus on her reading, but couldn't. Caleb's words echoed in her mind. 'You can't honestly believe you belong here.'
She exhaled sharply, flipping a page in her textbook. She wouldn't let him win.
A shadow fell across her desk, and she looked up to find Caleb standing there, his ever-present smirk firmly in place.
"Don't you ever get tired of this?" she asked, her tone calm but clipped.
"Of what?" He dropped into the chair across from her, leaning back as if he owned the space.
"Following me around, pestering me," she said, closing her book deliberately. "Mocking me. Trying to make yourself feel better."
Caleb laughed. "I don't need to make myself feel better. I'm already at the top. You, on the other hand, will always be at the bottom picking trash for a living."
He gestured to her books. "What are you even doing here? No one's going to take you seriously. You're wasting your time."
Rosetta leaned forward slightly, her voice quiet but firm. "If you're done, I'd like to get back to studying."
"Oh, don't let me stop you," Caleb said, waving a hand. "Just wanted to remind you that no matter how hard you try, people like you don't make it far in places like this."
"People like me?" Rosetta raised an eyebrow. "You mean people who work hard? Who doesn't have everything handed to them? Who picks trash and sells it to pay their tuition? Who has not been fed with silver spoons like you?"
She paused, her eyes staring at him as if, she could see through his soul
His smirk faltered, just for a moment.
"Enjoy your studying, Bottle Girl," he said finally, standing. "I'm sure it'll pay off someday. Maybe you'll be the smartest trash collector in town."
She didn't reply, her gaze turned to her book as he walked away.
Feeling unhappy, Caleb had just ruined her reading mood, Rosetta packed her things slowly, her mind swirling with Caleb's words and Tracy's sinister smiles.
Something about Tracy stuck with her. There was something about her, she couldn't place, in a way she didn't understand yet.
Shaking her head, Rosetta pushed the thought aside. She couldn't afford distractions.
As she stepped out into the cool evening air, feeling more determined to succeed, she went straight to the hotel to prepare for her night shift.
She arrived early, which gave her more time to familiarize herself with others working the shift with her. Especially with another waitress called Riley
"You're fixated on her, do you know that?" Tracy's tone was light, but the edge in her words was firm.
Caleb smiled coldly, tossing an apple in the air as he lounged in the student lounge. "What can I say? Isn't she entertaining?"
"Entertaining," Tracy repeated, crossing her arms. "Right. You've been talking about her all day, Caleb. Don't tell me you've got a thing for Bottle Girl or Double Duty as you may call her."
He laughed sharply. "Please. That's like saying I'm interested in a streetlamp. She's just fun to mess with."
Tracy's lips tightened as she flipped through her phone. "You know, a street lamp still gives light, besides, she didn't flinch when you humiliated her in class. What's the point if she doesn't react?"
"She flinched," Caleb said, leaning forward with a grin. "It's in the little things.
The way her hands tightened on her books. She felt it, even if she was trying to play it cool. Trust me."
Tracy was surprised Caleb noticed the little things Rosetta did. Did she just find herself a rival in love already? A trash picker? '' Caleb, you notice the little things like her hands gripping her books tight? ''
She asked with her mouth wide open in surprise, but anger exploded in a flip seconds, '' Are you serious right now?''
Before Caleb could reply, Tracy's phone dinged, and her eyes flicked to the screen. "Huh. Looks like someone needs a reality check."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Caleb asked, biting into the apple.
Tracy slid her phone into her bag. "Nothing. Just thinking out loud. You need to give me an answer too. If I should be worried or not"
She rose gracefully, smoothing her skirt. "I'm going out tonight. You're not invited."
He raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Because of a trash picker, do you see her as a competition? Come on" Caleb stood up throwing both his hands in exasperation. '' How can I go so low?''
" Well, you decide, and also because; you coming, you'd ruin the fun."
An idea had formed in Tracy's mind earlier. She had heard Caleb mention Rosetta worked at the Haven Regency. If Rosetta wanted to humiliate herself by working as a waitress, Tracy could make it a night to remember.
Haven Regency was her territory and a good place for messing with Rosetta. That was exactly why she refused Caleb to come with her.
Tracy felt Rosetta was already immune to Caleb's taunt so she needed a new ally to do this with her.
She scrolled through her contacts and tapped on a name. Jacob Gold. As she left Caleb, who was looking confused.
That evening, Tracy arrived at the Haven Regency with Jacob by her side. Jacob was everything Caleb wasn't. Calm, kind, and thoughtful.
He carried the quiet confidence of someone born into wealth but not shaped by it. She had a crush on Jacob but too late she was already dating Caleb.
Their relationship was due to Caleb's Dad working directly as a Director for Raymond Grant, in one of the Grant's companies. Raymond Grant is Tracy's Dad.