He Picked My Roommate, I Picked a PhD Instead Chapter 09
“I’ve said it so many times. We’re done.”
I turned and walked away without looking back.
Just before I reached the library entrance, I caught him in my peripheral vision. Still standing there. Hospital bracelet on his wrist. His eyes stuck on me. When I paused, hope flickered across his face.
I didn’t stop. Went straight back inside.
From bits of roommate gossip later, I pieced it together: While Keaton was in the hospital, Sierra used his money and his name to get close to his friends-the rich guys in his circle.
Took their gifts. Slept with them. Told people Keaton was easy to scam. Sold his stuff online.
Keaton’s mother overheard her. Rumor was Keaton blocked Sierra immediately.
Two weeks later, a journal editor messaged me. The paper I submitted was flagged for plagiarism. The “original author” had submitted theirs two weeks earlier than mine.
I clicked the link. The “original author” field said Sierra Vance. The content was almost identical to mine. A few irrelevant numbers changed.
I found her in the dorm, trying on a new necklace. “You copied my paper?”
She blinked, then laughed.
“Copied? You copied me. I talked about this topic with Keaton ages ago. You probably eavesdropped.”
“Okay. No copying. My mistake.”
“It’s just funny how two papers can be exactly the same. Word for word. Almost like someone turned in somebody else’s work and thought they’d get away with it.”
“Yeah. That’s what I figured.”
I smiled coldly, didn’t watch her face shift, and walked away.
That night, I pulled out another paper I’d been working on. Tweaked it and submitted to a different journal.
A month later, the university announced a visit from state education officials.
Rumor was two related papers from our school had caught their attention. They wanted to see “young academic talent” in person.
At the meeting, cameras pointed at all of us. The official asked if anyone had concerns to raise.
I raised my hand. “I’d like to report that Sierra Vance failed five classes but received the Scholarship in my
place. The department head appears to have altered the selection results.”
The room went silent. Sierra’s face turned white.
The department head stammered, getting tangled in his own words.
Then I pointed at Sierra’s bag and necklace. “I also submitted a paper that’s identical to the one Sierra claimed as hers. She plagiarized it. And on top of that, she filed for financial aid as low-income. But those luxury bags and necklaces…”
Sierra snapped, “Keaton bought them for me! And I wrote my own paper!”
The official frowned and looked at the administration.
The dean’s expression soured. He shot the department head a warning glance, then forced a smile at the
camera.
“Perhaps there’s been a misunderstanding. Sierra has always been a model student…”
Sierra suddenly pointed at me and shouted, “She’s just jealous because I’m with Keaton! This is revenge! The
bags and necklace are from Keaton. And I talked about my paper topic with him first. She must have
overheard!”
I didn’t wait for the dean to smooth things over. I pulled out my revision history from March to now, plus
email chains with my advisor. Every version had a timestamp.
“If Sierra can produce earlier evidence of originality, I’m happy to cooperate.”
Sierra’s face went bloodless. Her voice shook. “I-I just didn’t save anything! Keaton can prove it. I told him
about my topic!”
Right then, one of Keaton’s people pushed the door open.
“Keaton never gave Sierra any luxury items. Sierra repeatedly showed up at the hospital uninvited and stole a
watch from his room.”
He pulled out a USB drive and opened their chat log. “As for the paper topic-Miss Hayes asked Keaton for
help with literature searches in March. Keaton never discussed anything related with Sierra.”
Sierra’s knees buckled.
The dean’s face collapsed. Before the official could ask another question, the department head started trembling. “It-it was Keaton. He asked me to look after Sierra. I changed the scholarship results. Her grades
were also…”
The room erupted. Cameras swarmed Sierra’s face.
