My Deskmate, My Savior Chapter 1

My desk mate was the school’s golden boy.

So many girls left sweet treats on his desk.

During my poorest year, I stole from those piles every single day.

A mini cinnamon roll today, a blueberry muffin tomorrow.

When the long recess bell rang and everyone headed to the track for laps, I would slip a slice of his freshly delivered strawberry brioche into my bag, saving it for lunch.

Until one day, I saw the floating comments.

【She’s been shameless since she was a kid. Stealing at this age, she’ll never amount to anything.】

【Her mom ran off with someone else, her dad is a hopeless gambler. A piece of trash like her doesn’t deserve to be anywhere near Asher. She needs to look in a mirror.】

【Let her steal. Her dad is going to sell her to cover his debts anyway. She’ll never have the right to stand in front of Asher.】

* * *

My gaze remained locked onto those drifting lines of text. I forgot to chew; the stolen muffin sat heavy and tasteless on my tongue.

Carefully, I pulled the stolen slice of brioche from my bag and slipped it back into Asher’s desk, hiding it away like a shameful secret.

I had no idea if the messages floating in the air were real.

But my dad was a gambler, that much was true. My mother had walked out years ago, unable to bear the weight of his debts. To the rest of the world, she had simply abandoned us.

So, if the text said he was going to sell me to cover what he owed...

It was probably true, too.