The Year I Stopped Being His novel Chapter 415

Sloane adjusted the strap of her canvas tote and was about to head toward the Business building when a heated argument caught her attention.

A group of tall guys had surrounded a petite girl. The leader was practically shouting, "Are you completely blind?! My dad brought this camera back from Japan! Can you even afford to replace it?"

The girl at the center shrank back, her face flushed crimson, her voice trembling like a frightened mouse. "I-I'm sorry, it was an accident... But you bumped into me first—"

"Are you seriously talking back to me?!"

Sloane frowned and walked over.

She stepped right between the girl and the group of guys. Without saying a word, she glanced at the camera on the ground, bent down, and picked it up. She quickly inspected the lens cap and the body. Then she stood up, facing the loudest guy. Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight.

"The lens cap is cracked, but the body is fine. A replacement cap is twenty bucks max. You bumped into her; asking her to split the repair is fine. But screaming at her in the middle of the quad? It's the first day of class. Getting dragged into the dean's office right now wouldn't be a great look, would it?"

She stood perfectly straight as she spoke—muscle memory from her athletic days. She didn't need to raise her voice to radiate sheer intimidation.

The guys stared into her dead, unwavering eyes for a few seconds. You could practically see their bravado deflating.

The leader opened his mouth to argue, but one of his friends grabbed his arm, muttering, "Forget it, man, let's just go." The group grumbled and stormed off.

The girl looked up. She was tiny, with two braided pigtails, a round face, and circular wire-rimmed glasses.

She stared at Sloane with eyes shining like headlights, vibrating between absolute awe and deep gratitude.

"Oh my god, thank you!" She bowed a full ninety degrees, her braids slipping over her shoulders. "I'm Piper! Piper Prescott! I'm a freshman in Geology. If you hadn't stepped in, I swear I would've just died right there—"

"It's fine." Sloane was a bit taken aback by the dramatic display, waving a hand casually. "Don't worry about it."

She smiled and kept walking.

"Dude, did you see that girl? She was such a badass!"

"Right?! She just walked right into the middle of those guys, stood there, said basically nothing, and they completely folded!"

"So cool! Do you know what her name is?"

"I think I heard someone say... Sloane Sutton?"

The excited whispers rippled across the quad, landing perfectly into the ears of someone standing nearby...