The Popular Girl Manipulated Our Applications I Went To Stanford Chapter 04
My phone blew up immediately. Countless texts and missed calls poured in.
Lindsay called, her voice shrill and distorted.
“Jennifer, did you call the police? Was it you? The news said the portal locked early. Our applications can’t be changed back!”
I held the phone away from my ear and kept my voice calm.
“I didn’t call the police. The state board detected unusual data activity.”
“That’s impossible. Tiffany said the hacker was just about to fix everything!” Lindsay sobbed hysterically on the other end.
“You bitch. You’re just jealous of Tiffany. You called the police. You ruined everything for everyone. I’ll never forgive you for this.”
I hung up, turned off my phone, and tossed it on the couch.
Finally, some peace and quiet.
I walked to the window and looked down.
Several classmates who lived in the same apartment complex had run out of their buildings, running around like chickens with their heads cut off.
Some squatted on the ground crying; others were frantically making calls.
Within seconds, my front door exploded with pounding again.
“Jennifer, get out here!”
Chad kicked the door like a wild animal possessed.
“Why did you call the police? Why did you ruin Tiffany’s plan? Do you know that hacker was about to fix everything? Five more minutes. Just five more minutes!”
I stood inside and watched the door shake.
“Chad, you still believe in that so-called hacker of hers?”
“Shut up. This is all your fault.” Chad screamed. “Tiffany said if you’d just given her your account as a bridge, the system never would have flagged anything.”
“You’re selfish. You ruined everything for everyone.”
“Call the state board right now. Tell them you’re the valedictorian and demand they reopen the portal. Or I swear I’ll break down this door and make you pay.”
I pulled out my backup phone and dialed 911.
“Hello, someone is trying to break down my door and has threatened to kill me. The address is…”
I hung up and heard Leonard’s voice outside.
“Jennifer, open this door!” Leonard shouted.
“You called the police and sabotaged what was supposed to be a class activity, and now everyone’s applications are locked. You need to take responsibility for this.”
I raised my voice through the door, clear and loud.
“Mr. Kowalski, the portal is locked and everyone is going to that technical college. Maybe you should start thinking about how you’re going to explain this to over thirty sets of parents.”
The hallway fell silent for a second, then erupted with even louder banging.
“Jennifer, stop trying to deflect!” Leonard screamed in fury. “If you hadn’t called the police, the system never would have locked early.”
“Tiffany’s hacker had countermeasures ready, and you ruined everything.”
“Call the state board right now. Use your Stanford admission to guarantee that they reopen the portal.”
I listened to this absurd logic and felt too exhausted to even be angry.
“Mr. Kowalski, do you think the state board is a fast-food counter where you can file a complaint? Countermeasures? Have you even asked Tiffany what this hacker actually looks like?”
Chad roared from outside. “Tiffany passed out from the stress, and you’re still attacking her. Jennifer, if you don’t fix this right now, everyone in this class will make you pay.”
Just then, sirens wailed from downstairs.
Two police cars pulled up to the building, and officers quickly ran up.
“Everyone stop. Get back!”
An officer’s sharp voice cut through Chad’s rage.
I opened the door and saw Chad pinned against the wall by two officers. Leonard stood nearby, pale and shrinking back.
“Officer, that’s the one who tried to break down my door,” I said, pointing at Chad.
“That’s a lie!” Chad struggled and yelled. “Officer, she’s the one who made a false report and got everyone’s college applications locked.”
“Over thirty of us are going to a technical college because of her.”
The lead officer frowned and looked sharply at Chad and Leonard.
“College applications locked? You’re from Riverview High, the honors class?”
Leonard nodded quickly as if grasping at a lifeline.
“Yes, officer. This is all a misunderstanding. One of the girls in my class played a joke. She hired a hacker to change everyone’s applications.”
“It was just about to be changed back, and then the portal locked. It’s all Jennifer’s fault. She called the police without thinking about the group.”
The officer looked at Leonard like he was an idiot.
“A joke? Hiring a hacker to change college applications is a joke? Do you have any idea that sabotaging a government computer system is a felony?”
“And the portal locked early because the state board detected unusual mass changes. It had nothing to do with this student calling us.”
Chad froze, his eyes wide in disbelief.
“That’s impossible. Tiffany said the hacker was a dark web professional who couldn’t be traced.”
“Dark web professional?” The officer laughed coldly. “Our cyber division already traced it all. There was no hack.”
“Every single change was made using your own usernames and passwords from a regular IP address at a local coffee shop.”
Those words hit the hallway like a bomb.
“That can’t be right,” Leonard said, slumping against the wall.
I looked down at them, full of contempt.
“Mr. Kowalski, did you forget that the spreadsheet with everyone’s passwords was saved on your school laptop?”
“There was no hacker. Your sweet, innocent Tiffany stole that spreadsheet and changed every application herself.”