When did you realize the phrase “blood isn’t thicker than water” is actually true?

Consequences and Resolution

I got my answer at 8 a.m. the next morning when my phone exploded with notifications. I had three emails. One from the Literary Society, one from the university’s academic integrity office, and one from Trevor himself.

The Literary Society email came first.

Dear James, we’ve received your complaint about plagiarism. After reviewing the evidence, we’ve disqualified Trevor Michael’s submission, and we’ll be considering your original submission for the competition. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.

The academic integrity office wanted to schedule a meeting with me to discuss the evidence I’d submitted. They would be conducting an investigation into Trevor’s academic history. Trevor’s email was just a string of angry accusations and threats ending with, “You’re going to regret this.”

I forwarded that one to the university office as well, just to have it on record. I was brushing my teeth when the door burst open and Trevor stormed in. His face was red with anger as he shouted at me.

I just calmly rinsed my mouth before responding.

“You’re not welcome here anymore,” I told him quietly. “Dan didn’t invite you and I certainly didn’t.

You think you can just ruin my life and get away with it?” He snarled, getting way too close to my face.

I held my ground. I didn’t ruin anything. You did that yourself when you decided to steal my work.

It was just a stupid poem. Why are you being such a little Because it wasn’t just about the poem I cut him off. It’s about everything. The way you treat Dan like your personal servant.

The way you leave your mess for others to clean up. The way you took advantage of my hospitality and then stabbed me in the back.

Dan walked in during my speech, stopping in the doorway with wide eyes. Trevor immediately tried to get him on his side.

Dan, tell your psycho roommate to back off. He’s trying to get me kicked out of school, but something had changed in Dan’s expression. He looked between us and finally said, “Maybe you should go, Trevor. We can talk later.”

Trevor’s jaw dropped.

You serious right now? After everything I’ve done for you, what exactly have you done for him?

I asked. Name one thing.

Trevor sputtered, but couldn’t come up with anything concrete. He shot me a venomous look before storming out, slamming the door behind him so hard that several books fell from my shelf.

The hallway echoed with his angry footsteps as he stomped away, cursing loudly enough for the entire floor to hear. The silence that followed was awkward.

Dan sat on his bed, looking at the floor.

I saw the emails, he finally admitted. Trevor left his phone unlocked while he was in the bathroom. I saw what he said about you. About me, too.

What did he say about you?

I asked, genuinely curious.

Just stuff about how easy I am to manipulate. how he’s been using me since high school.

Dan’s voice was quiet.

I always knew on some level. I just didn’t want to believe it.

The conversation was interrupted by my phone ringing. It was my sister. I answered and she excitedly told me she’d received an email from the Literary Society congratulating me on being a finalist for the competition.

They hadn’t announced the winner yet, but being a finalist was a good sign. After I hung up, Dan asked if we were cool.

I told him I needed some time to process everything. He nodded and left for class, looking dejected, but understanding.

Over the next week, things were tense. Trevor was suspended pending the academic integrity investigation. Apparently, once they started looking, they found multiple instances of plagiarism in his past assignments.

Some professors had suspected but could never prove anything before. Dan and I existed in an awkward truce. He tried to apologize several times, but I wasn’t ready to forgive him yet.

I focused on my classes and tried to put the whole mess behind me. Then it happened. I got the email from the literary society.

Congratulations. Your poem, Chromebook Chronicles, has won first place in our annual competition. Please attend the award ceremony next Friday to receive your $1,000 prize.

I actually jumped up and down in my empty dorm room, then immediately called my sister to tell her the good news. She screamed so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. The laptop was back on.