On check-in day, a fresh-faced, clean-cut male freshman came up to my daughter and asked for directions, saying he couldn't find the College of Liberal Arts building.
In my last life, I'd taught my daughter to be kind and helpful, so I told her to walk him over since it was on her way.
She'd barely dropped him off before he ran straight to the student affairs office and accused her of putting her hands on him, of grabbing and groping him against his will.
The day the disciplinary notice came down, my daughter's title as the state's top liberal arts scorer became a laughingstock for the entire internet.
She couldn't survive the tidal wave of slut-shaming and abuse. She threw herself off the roof of the classroom building.
My wife's hair went white overnight, and on her way to demand answers from the school, she died in a car accident.
He, on the other hand, walked away with a four-year full scholarship as the poster boy for "boys deserve to bravely say no too," and got fast-tracked into grad school.
When he spoke as the representative at the alumni association, he looked straight at me down in the audience, my face streaked with tears, and gave a faint smile.
"Sir, some pain is just a stepping stone on the road to growth, isn't it?"
Reborn into this life, the underclassman pointed at the map on his phone, eyes reddening.
"Sir, I really can't find my way. Please, could Jeanie help me out..."
I held my daughter's hand, my expression flat.
"Oh, directions? You can spend ten bucks and buy yourself a campus map."
……
Hilary Abbott froze.
He clearly hadn't expected me to shut him down so bluntly.
"Sir..."
"My family's poor. After tuition, I can't even bring myself to buy basic necessities. Ten dollars is a whole day of meals for me."
He lifted a hand and wiped at tears that weren't there, his voice trembling.
"I didn't mean to be a burden. But I came to check in all alone, and I really can't tell which way is which..."
The crowd around us closed in at once.
A girl in a designer dress stepped forward, frowning at me.
"Sir, isn't that a little cold-blooded? You're all classmates here. What's the harm in a girl pointing a guy in the right direction?"
An older man beside her chimed in too.
"Exactly. Look how upset you've made this poor kid. You people, all dressed up nice, and you don't have an ounce of sympathy?"
"Rich folks these days. Just selfish."
The accusations flew from every side.
Hilary kept his head down, his shoulders shaking harder now.
Jeanette Dickerson took a step forward, about to speak.
I raised a hand to stop her and looked at the girl in the designer dress.
"You think he's pitiful?"
The girl squared her shoulders. "Of course! Helping people who are worse off is basic decency."
I nodded.
"Fine. Then you take him to the College of Liberal Arts."
The girl blinked, glanced at Hilary, and her face turned a little awkward.
"I just finished my own check-in. My feet still hurt. Besides, he asked your daughter, not me."
I smiled and turned to the older man.
"Sir, your heart's just overflowing with sympathy. Why don't you cover the ten bucks for his map? Ten dollars to buy yourself a saint's reputation. Quite the bargain."
The man's face stiffened, and he took a step back.
"Are you out of your mind? He's nothing to me. Why should I pay for him?"
The crowd went quiet. I turned back to Hilary.
"Hear that? Everyone feels so sorry for you. But nobody wants to lift a finger, and nobody wants to spend a dime."
Hilary's face cycled from pale to flushed and back.
"Sir, why are you humiliating me like this? So what if I'm poor?"
I stared into his eyes, spacing out each word.
"You're poor, so you're in the right?"
"You're poor, so the whole world should step aside for you? You're poor, so other people's time and goodwill are yours to mooch off for free?"
"My daughter is the top liberal arts scorer in the state. She's not a human GPS."
