Roommate 027: The Sugar Daddy Scam

My roommate dates a massive control freak.

The guy actually types up a custom "Girlfriend Rulebook" for her: "Text 'Good morning,' 'Good afternoon,' and 'Good night' exactly on time.

Miss one text: $15 fine." "Say 'I miss you' or 'I love you' in every single conversation. Penalty: $15." "Submit a full daily schedule 24 hours in advance. Need an exception?

Get formal approval. Penalty: $50." "Keep strict distance from all guys. Block all male contacts. Make zero eye contact with men on the street.

Penalty: A 10,000word apology essay and $50." … Honestly? I treat their entire dynamic like a free reality TV show. Until this unhinged psycho fails to reach Kennedy.

He blows up the phones of all three remaining girls in our dorm room. "You failed your supervisory duties as 027's roommates.

I fine each of you $50 and demand a twominute vocal apology." I glare at my screen. Excuse me? They can wallow in their own walking red flag of a relationship.

That stays their business. But the exact second their toxic obsession bleeds into my life? I shut that down. Chapter 1 "Oh my god! My boyfriend specifically shipped that for me.

How could you just ignore it?! Don't even take your shoes off! The mailroom isn't that far.

Go grab my package right now!" Sadie and I had just dragged ourselves into the dorm, dripping with midday sweat.

Kennedy immediately shoved us back toward the hallway, her face flushed with frantic irritation. Inside was a crisp, seventydegree breeze from the AC.

Outside was a blistering hundreddegree heatwave. She had the absolute audacity to ask, but I couldn't even stomach listening to it. "Your package isn't my problem.

Go get it yourself. Move." I shoved her shoulder aside and marched into the room. I slumped into my desk chair, taking a massive drag of my iced boba. The chill hit my chest.

Pure bliss. Kennedy practically stomped her feet. "The delivery guy is a man! I told you guys, I have to keep my strict distance from all men!" I threw my hands up. "And?

Again, not my problem." Her lips trembled. She knew better than to mess with me.

She shot me a venomous glare before pivoting all her fire toward our sweet, pushover roommate, Sadie.

Sadie's cheeks flushed crimson. "You texted us too late," she murmured helplessly. "We were already at the building entrance when I saw it. Just grab it later." "No!

I have to FaceTime him right now. If Troy finds out I disrespected his gift, he'll be furious. Plus, this is entirely your fault.

If you had just checked your phone and gone straight to the mailroom, we wouldn't be having this issue! I don't care. You're fixing this.

You aren't stepping foot in this room until you get my box." Kennedy slammed her leg across the doorframe, physically blocking the entrance.

The two of them stood locked in a tense standoff. Predictably, Sadie caved within two minutes.

By the time she hauled the cardboard box back upstairs, Sadie looked like she just crawled out of a pizza oven. Heat radiated off her flushed skin.

Kennedy snatched the box, her nose wrinkling in disgust. "Ew. You got your sweat all over my package. That's so gross. Whatever. Just pay attention next time.

Stop ignoring my texts and causing unnecessary drama." Completely ignoring Sadie’s crushed expression, Kennedy spun around.

She ripped into the tape, already hitting the FaceTime button to call Troy. A rough male voice came through the phone speaker, sounding annoyed. "027.

Why are you calling me so late? My lunch break is almost over." Kennedy called Troy Mister. She claimed he was a mature, dominant older boyfriend.

She avoided the word "Daddy" because she thought it sounded too much like a cheap sugar baby setup. Instead, she insisted Mister gave off a moody, romantic Kdrama vibe.

The second Mister demanded an answer, 027 jutted out her bottom lip, weaponizing a baby voice. "Ugh, Mister, blame my roommates. They refused to pick up the gift you sent me.

I wasted so much time begging them. But I fixed it! I love your present so much. It's the cutest little mouthwash cup. It even has a tiny heart on it." "Yeah.

I camped out in a TikTok Live drop for hours to score that," Troy grunted. "That crack on the bottom? It perfectly matches your initial. It's one of a kind.

In return, you better step it up for my birthday next month. You know what I like.

Don't disappoint me." "I won't, Mister!" … Chapter 2 The FaceTime dragged on for nearly forty minutes.

Right before hanging up, Troy's rough voice cut through the phone speaker. "Did you forget something?" Kennedy blinked, her baby voice wavering instantly. "What?

I said 'I miss you' and 'I love you.'" "You never said 'Good afternoon.' Not once." Kennedy gripped the phone, frantic. "Oh, Mister! I was thinking it!

I just forgot to say it out loud." "Forgetting is still a violation. Accept your punishment. Venmo me fifteen bucks right now.

Don't let it happen again." I tuned them out, pulling up my messages to text Margot. "Her toxic boyfriend sent her a 'gift.' She forced Sadie to run out in the blistering heat to fetch it, then called her disgusting for sweating on the box.

And the gift? I caught a glimpse when she ripped the tape. It was a highly defective plastic mouthwash cup.

The kind you get for ninetynine cents with free shipping on Temu!" Margot texted back instantly. "WTF?! Honestly, 027 is a walking red flag, but Sadie is insane too.

Did 027 save her in a past life or something?" Margot was my closest roommate.

She took a few days off for a family emergency, leaving me to watch this trainwreck of a reality show all by myself. It just wasn't the same without her running commentary.

I typed back rapidly. "Probably. But if she refuses to stand up for herself, there's nothing we can do." Margot and I used to shield Sadie from Kennedy's unhinged demands.

But the second Kennedy raised her voice, Sadie would instantly cave and apologize. It always made us look like the bad guys. After a while, I washed my hands of it.

I just couldn't be bothered to care anymore when Kennedy picked on her.

Margot’s text bubbled up again. "Damn. 027's monthly allowance has to be completely drained from all those 'fines' by now, right?

She's definitely going to start begging for cash again. A girl from the dorm next door asked me about her.

Apparently, 027 has hit up almost every single room on our floor for money." Honestly, you had to hand it to Troy. The guy was running a highly profitable scam.

A thirtysomething "businessman" dating a broke twentysomething college student. He didn't spend a single dime on her.

Instead, he manipulated her into funneling him hundreds of dollars a month. We tried warning Kennedy in the beginning.

We told her to stop sending some random older guy her meal money.

She just scoffed at us. "You guys just don't get it," she bragged, eyes gleaming with sheer delusion. "Mister is a highly successful entrepreneur. Discipline is his core value.

He demands discipline from me so I can elevate myself and stand by his side. That's the magnetic pull of a mature man. You wouldn't understand.

You're all dating broke college boys." You can't fix that level of brainwashing.

Remembering her track record, I shot Margot one last text. "Lock up your jewelry, bags, and skincare before you get back.

When 027 runs out of victims to borrow from, you know she's going to resort to her old stickyfingered habits." The rest of the week dragged by in a tense, suffocating silence.

Kennedy surprisingly didn't hit a financial crisis. Instead, she clamped onto Sadie like a parasite. Suddenly, they were absolute besties.

Besties who shared the exact same plate of food and the same cup of soup. Every single mealtime, Kennedy shadowed Sadie.

Whatever Sadie bought from the dining hall, Kennedy shamelessly hijacked it.

She would slide the container over, scrape the massive portion onto her own plate, and shove the pathetic leftovers back to Sadie. "You're looking a little puffy lately.

You need to cut back," Kennedy lectured, aggressively shoveling Sadie's pasta into her mouth. "Guys want a sizezero aesthetic.

You're never going to lock down a man looking like that. It's so hot out, I barely have an appetite anyway. Consider this me keeping you in a calorie deficit.

When you finally get skinny and land a boyfriend, you better thank me." Chapter 3 Sadie suffered in silence, swallowing all her retorts under Kennedy's intimidating gaze.

Sadie survived on absolute pennies—a pathetic hundreddollar monthly allowance from her parents.

She practically killed herself working parttime shifts just to afford basic groceries. Now she had a parasite draining her dry. Every single day grew darker.

Kennedy obviously tried to sink her claws into Margot and me first. Margot flaunted a trustfund lifestyle.

I wasn't filthy rich, but I never checked price tags at the grocery store. We definitely ate better than Sadie. But we weren't easy targets to take advantage of.

Margot shoved her phone in Kennedy's face the second she tried it. "Take one bite of my food, and I’ll blast your face all over campus snapchat.

Try me." I went straight for the throat. "I get violent when my blood sugar drops.

If I accidentally crack your jaw, just remember we're roommates, right?" Kennedy backed off immediately. She locked onto Sadie as her sole host.

Within days, Sadie physically withered. Her cheekbones jutted out. Her shoulders slumped. Margot couldn't stomach it anymore.

The second Kennedy fired up another FaceTime with Troy, Margot raised her voice, letting the sound carry perfectly across the room. "It's so crazy how some girls brag about dating highly successful men.

I've never met a rich CEO who shakes down his college girlfriend for cash. I definitely haven't met one whose girlfriend has to beg for scraps from her roommate's plate. Honestly?

Sounds like a cheap scammer to me." The phone speaker crackled. Troy's tone dropped into a menacing, deadpan octave. "027. Are you humiliating me in public?

Why exactly does Margot think I'm a fraud?" Panic flared in Kennedy’s eyes. "No! No, Mister, don't listen to her! Paying your fines is my love language. I love doing it!

And the food? I've just lost my appetite lately! Sadie is on a diet, so we share! She loves it. Look, I'll show you." Kennedy brutally whipped her camera around.

The lens aimed dead center at Sadie. Sadie had just stepped out of the bathroom. Damp hair clung to her neck.

Sadie let out a shriek, quickly crossing her arms and clutching the loose collar of her pajamas to keep from exposing herself. Kennedy just sneered. She didn't flinch.

She didn't lower the phone a single inch. "Tell him," Kennedy demanded, her voice dripping with venom. A damp microfiber towel flew across the room. Smack.

Margot nailed Kennedy's screen, plunging the FaceTime into total darkness. "Don't let her gaslight you, Sadie!" Margot snapped. "Spit it out!

She has zero shame, why should you?" Dead silence suffocated the room. Sadie trembled. Kennedy tapped her foot, letting out a sharp, impatient hiss.

Sadie’s gaze dropped to the floorboards. "No one is bullying me. I… I volunteered." Margot slammed her hand against her desk in pure frustration.

A nasty, selfsatisfied smirk crept onto Kennedy's face. She peeled the rag off her phone. "See, Mister? Margot is just desperately jealous.

She's fuming because I locked down a highvalue man like you." Troy grunted, completely inflating his own ego. "Gen Z girls are like a pack of wolves, and an established older guy like me is just an innocent sheep thrown into the den.

Obviously, they swarm me. Obviously, she's jealous. Tell them to fix their attitudes. If they impress me, maybe I'll introduce them to some of my investors.

But real men want pure, gentle girls. They need an attitude adjustment, or no one will ever want them." A sharp breath hissed through Troy's teeth. "That being said.

You failed to brief me on this situation. You completely jeopardized my reputation as your dominant partner. Unacceptable. Fiftydollar fine.

And I want a twothousandword apology essay sitting in my inbox before midnight." Chapter 4 Kennedy’s nasty, selfsatisfied smirk vanished instantly.

Her face dropped. "Wait, Mister? Can I just write the essay? I completely drained my allowance this month. My parents don't wire the next batch for a few days." "Denied.

I'm not negotiating with you, 027. I'm giving you a direct order. The fifty dollars hits my Venmo by tomorrow night. Figure it out." Sadie was useless.

She had already dumped her last few dollars into her campus dining card. The parasite had completely sucked her host dry.

So, Kennedy actually had the sheer audacity to turn her sights on me. "Darcy, Venmo me fifty bucks." She crossed her arms, jutting her chin out with unearned confidence. "I know you have cash.

If you spot me, I’ll wipe our slate clean. I'll even have Troy set you up with one of his boys. His network is elite.

Guys you could never even dream of pulling without me pulling strings. Honestly?

You're practically robbing me with a deal this good." I was halfway through an episode on Netflix, a mouthful of iced boba sitting in my cheeks.

I choked so hard on my boba I almost passed out. "Are you actually insane, Kennedy? The way you beg for cash is so natural. Is panhandling your new major?

What, am I supposed to bow down and worship the ground you walk on for the privilege of paying your toxic boyfriend's fines? And keep your geriatric sugar daddy to yourself. Please.

Do not project your garbage taste onto me. Walking around campus with a guy that old? People would literally think I was setting my grandma up on a blind date.

Also, what 'slate' are we wiping clean? We only have bad blood. You know I despise you, yet you're still crawling over here begging.

Are you blind, or just fully delusional?" I flashed her a sickly sweet smile. "Sorry. I'm just a really blunt person. If any of that hurt your feelings, please tell me.

I’d love to repeat it." Kennedy's face flushed a deep, ugly magenta. She stood there, mouth opening and closing like a suffocating fish.

Her fingers were shaking uncontrollably. "You…" She finally choked out, struggling to find her voice. "I'm not arguing with you. You're so incredibly shortsighted.

The real world is going to chew you up and spit you out. Fine. Don't lend me the money. Just give me back the eighty bucks you scammed out of me freshman year.

Do that, and we're totally done." I took a loud, obnoxiously slow slurp of my boba. I raised my eyebrows, feigning pure shock. "Scammed you? When?

You need to bring receipts when you make wild accusations like that. Otherwise, I’m slapping you with a defamation suit." I absolutely scammed her. But she completely deserved it.

Early freshman year, our dorm room got hit by a serial thief. Margot's jewelry, bags, and skincare kept vanishing. Sadie's loose cash and toiletries disappeared.

Even Kennedy swore her new clothes and perfumes were stolen. I tore my closet apart. I checked my inventory three times. Nothing of mine was missing. Not a single thing.

Back then, we barely knew each other. To avoid sticking out like a sore thumb—and accidentally looking like the prime suspect—I lied.

I claimed a highend lipstick and a fiftydollar bill had vanished from my desk drawer. Then, the thief got caught. It was Kennedy.

The university administration desperately wanted to sweep the scandal under the rug. Margot wanted to drag her out of the dorm in handcuffs and call the cops.

Sadie and I stayed completely silent. Eventually, they forced a settlement. Kennedy had to publicly apologize and reimburse all three of us for our "stolen" goods.

Kennedy, of course, screamed that she never touched my stuff. But her credibility was dead in the dirt. No one believed a convicted kleptomaniac.

The RA threatened to just call the police if she kept fighting the charges. So, I was "forced" to accept her eightydollar compensation.

I pocketed the cash and took the secret to my grave. Chapter 5 Looking back, I finally pieced it together.

The only reason Kennedy never touched my stuff was that she planned to frame me for the entire crime spree. Margot screamed rich.

Sadie was a terrified mouse, but she had a massive social circle. Meanwhile, I walked around with a permanent resting bitch face and zero desire to network.

I was the absolute perfect scapegoat. She just never expected me to hijack her master plan. I reported my "stolen" goods first.

Then, her subtle little hints trying to point the finger at me went completely over Margot and Sadie's heads. In the end, Kennedy swallowed her own trap. Honestly?

I found the whole thing hysterical. I didn't feel a single ounce of pity for her. I had no idea how she scraped the cash together for Troy's fine.

But during her next daily itinerary report, I overheard her mention applying for a parttime job. Margot and I barely blinked. Sadie, however, practically collapsed in sheer relief.

The second Kennedy hung up the FaceTime, Sadie eagerly asked about the gig. Kennedy tilted her chin up.

Her voice projected across the room, dripping with arrogant superiority. "Oh, I'm not working some tragic minimumwage shift like you.

You know that hyperexclusive artisanal roast bar at the end of the promenade? The one where a single pourover costs eighty bucks? I got in.

My sister pulled some major strings with management. The base pay is a hundred a day, plus tips. But that’s entirely irrelevant. The real payout is the clientele.

I'm strictly networking with the one percent now. Fate is wild, isn't it? Some people peak in college.

They'll graduate and desperately scramble for some pathetic fortythousandayear cubicle job. Meanwhile, I might be a little tight on cash right now, but give it a few months.

You guys won't even be in my tax bracket." I rolled my eyes. I swiveled my chair toward Margot. "Hey, Margot?

What's the starting salary for an entrylevel intern at your dad's firm again?" Margot caught the alleyoop instantly. She projected her voice flawlessly. "Sixty grand a year!

Fully paid corporate housing! Biannual salary raises! And toptier platinum health benefits!" My eyes lit up, and I pretentiously punched Margot's shoulder. "Wow!

If I can't land a tragic fortythousandayear cubicle job after graduation, you have to save a spot for me!" "Obviously," Margot deadpanned. "I'll give you the nepotism discount.

Double the signing bonus." "You're a lifesaver. Otherwise, I’d have to beg my relatives for a connection just to pour coffee for rich people." We bounced the mockery back and forth.

Kennedy looked like she had just swallowed a fly. "Keep laughing," Kennedy hissed. "You have no idea how the real world works." "True," I sighed, taking a loud sip of my boba. "The future is a mystery.

But the present is fantastic. Honestly, I should have ordered this at thirty percent sweetness. Fifty percent is just too sweet.

Kind of like my life right now." Margot nodded in solemn agreement. Sadie shrank into her chair, radiating awkwardness. Kennedy looked like she was going to have a stroke.

Before this, Kennedy’s "strict distance from men" rule meant she rotted in her bed twentyfourseven, forcing Sadie to run all her errands.

Now, the second she finished class, she bolted to that coffee shop. Most nights, she didn't drag herself back until right before dorm curfew.

Without her unhinged daily FaceTimes with Troy, Margot and I actually lost our primary source of entertainment. The room felt bizarrely quiet.

That eerie peace lasted right up until Valentine's Day. Kennedy called out of her shift.

She spent three hours contouring her face and curling her hair for a massive date with Mister. Exactly two hours later, the dorm door violently slammed open.

Kennedy stumbled inside. Heavy sobs ripped through her chest. Mascara bled down her cheeks in thick, ugly streaks.

She gasped for air, her fingernails digging so hard into her palms that the skin turned stark white. Chapter 6 Margot and I exchanged a loaded look. Did they finally break up?

I was dying to ask, but there was no way I was giving her the satisfaction of my attention. Thankfully, I didn't have to wait long.

She whipped out her phone and mashed the FaceTime button. "027," Troy's voice immediately snapped through the speaker. "Have I been too lenient with you lately?

You think you can just throw an attitude at me? Was I wrong? Good girls don't walk out of the house looking like that. The skirt is too short. The makeup is too heavy.

Scrub it off and change. I'll wait. You're young. You're naive. I'm telling you this for your own good.

You need to listen to my guidance." Kennedy choked on a sob. "You just don't love me!

All I wanted was a stupid boba, and you wouldn't even buy it for me!" She gasped for air, tears ruining her heavy contour. "My friends' boyfriends would never treat them like this!

You don't care about me at all!" She wailed like a boiling kettle. I lay dead still on my bed, physically vibrating from holding in my laughter.

Troy let out a heavy, patronizing sigh. "Fine. Stop crying. I'll buy it. But remember what I taught you. I will provide for you, but you can never ask for things.

Begging lowers your market value. Do you understand?" "I understand, Mister," she sniffled. "Good. Now, I'm testing you.

Repeat the lesson I just taught you word for word." Dead silence. "You forgot already? Failure to retain my guidance requires correction. Venmo me fifteen dollars.

Let that be a lesson." "Okay. Sending it right now." "Good girl. Now go change your outfit and come back out. I'm buying you that boba." "Okay, Mister!

You're the best." Kennedy instantly stopped crying. She scrubbed her face, threw on a baggy sweatshirt, and practically skipped out the door. I stared at the ceiling.

Margot stared at me. We didn't get it, but we tried our best to respect it. A few days later, the toxic duo had another massive blowout.

Kennedy had formally requested to drop her midday itinerary report so she could focus on her highend coffee shop shifts.

Troy completely vetoed it. "You have the energy to work a shift, but you don't have the energy to check in with me?" he demanded, his voice dangerously low. "It's constantly the coffee shop with you lately.

What exactly is going on over there? Who are you talking to?" Shockingly, Kennedy actually pushed back. "Stop hovering! I'm an adult.

I have my own life and my own goals now." Margot leaned over from her desk. "How long until she caves and apologizes this time?" "I'm less concerned about the timeline and more curious about the final invoice," I whispered back. "How much is that apology going to cost her?" I had absolutely no idea we were about to become collateral damage.

We thought we were just watching a trashy reality show. We didn't realize we were pawns in their twisted little game. Kennedy had been selling us out to him since day one.

None of us slept well that night. When I finally dragged myself out of bed and checked my phone, my screen was glowing with notifications. Thirteen missed calls.

All from the same unknown number. Assuming it was an emergency or a delivery driver, I tapped the screen and called back.

A harsh, distinctly familiar male voice picked up on the first ring. "Darcy. Why the hell are you just now answering my calls? Do you have any idea how urgent this is?

Why is 027's phone turned off? Tell her to call me back. Immediately." Chapter 7 Damn it. It was Kennedy's boyfriend.

My suppressed morning rage directly boiled over. "Are you psycho? Why the hell are you dragging me into your drama with Kennedy?

You don't know why her phone is dead, but somehow I'm supposed to? You can't even manage your own girlfriend, yet you have the sheer audacity to bark orders at me?

You're actually insane." I slammed the end call button and blocked his number instantly. I looked up.

Margot and Sadie were staring at me, their expressions completely twisted. "He blew up our phones too," Margot muttered. "Not just calls.

Look at your messages." I unlocked my screen. My notifications were a total warzone.

A contact named Troy had spammed me with a vicious barrage of texts, voice memos, and FaceTime requests.

To top it off, he forcibly dragged me, Margot, and Sadie into an iMessage group chat. In less than thirty minutes, my unread badge had exploded past ninetynine.

We sat there in absolute shock. None of us had any memory of giving this guy our numbers. I racked my brain.

That piece of trash must have slipped in through one of those massive freshmanyear dorm group chats. But a cold knot of dread tightened in my stomach.

Getting our numbers from a mass chat was one thing. What about everything else? It hit me. The last time he FaceTimed Kennedy, he dropped Margot's full first and last name.

He knew way too much about us. We had zero direct contact with him. We had literally just learned his real name that day.

In the group chat, Sadie was already frantically typing, swearing we had no idea where Kennedy went. Troy aggressively shut her down. "You're her roommates.

It is physically impossible for you to know nothing. Even if you're completely useless, what about your social circle? If you actually cared, you'd track her down. Here is the deal.

I'm giving you exactly ten minutes to make 027 call me back. Furthermore, as 027's roommates, you entirely failed your supervisory duties.

Since this is your first offense, I'm letting you off easy. Venmo me fifty dollars each and record a twominute vocal apology." Margot practically saw red.

Her thumbs flew across her keyboard. "Are you actually fully delusional?

With skin as thick as yours, you could probably spare a few layers, right?" "Margot, you dare speak to me like that? Did your mother teach you zero respect?

No wonder 027 says you're so poor that the only thing you have left is money." Margot let out a sharp, dark laugh. "Wow.

I didn't think Kennedy was actually capable of forming a coherent thought. But let me make one thing crystal clear. I am not your pathetic little 027.

I don't tolerate redflag garbage. Watch your tone when you speak to me, because I will absolutely ruin you." I couldn't laugh. My blood ran ice cold.

I typed out a single, harsh text. "How exactly did you get our contact info?" "Oh, Darcy," his reply popped up instantly. "I have a lot more than just your phone numbers." "What is that supposed to mean?" "Exactly what I said.

I have zero problem telling you this. Any information 027 has access to? I have it too.

Cross me again, and you will deeply regret it." The atmosphere in the room instantly plummeted