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I Was Their Best Joke, Until I Wrote My Own Story
Novelix
Completed
Erin has always been the quiet target of "pranks" by her childhood friends Kyle, her brother Luke, and the seemingly sweet Sophia. On the first day of junior year, a cruel rooftop prank shatters her hopes, revealing that her pain is their entertainment. As the humiliations escalate—from sabotaged interviews to leaked private videos—Erin realizes no one will protect her. She quietly applies to an overseas university, withdraws from school, and leaves without goodbye. Abroad, she finds respect, genuine friendship, and academic success. Meanwhile, those who bullied her face guilt, regret, and public backlash. Erin finally learns to be her own light.
Chapters (3)
第1章
On the night before the start of junior year, Kyle texted Erin.
【Registration ends tomorrow. I have something to tell you.】
Erin stared at the message, her heart racing all night.
The next day, he told her to wait at the East Entrance.
She waited for an hour. He said he got it wrong—it was the South Entrance.
She dragged her luggage to the South Entrance. Then he said the student council had called him in unexpectedly, and asked her to meet him on the science building rooftop.
By the time she climbed up, out of breath, she saw balloons and roses everywhere.
Her eyes stung with heat.
So the first two detours were just to set up the surprise.
But the next second, Sophia stepped out from the sea of flowers, wearing a paper crown, doubled over with laughter.
"Erin, you didn't actually think this was for you, did you?"
Kyle leaned against the railing, twirling a ring box in his hand.
"Prank success."
"Next time I'll use this to actually confess to you. Today was just a rehearsal—Sophia helped me run through the process."
The people around them burst into laughter.
Luke even made sure to film it and send it to the family group chat.
"Our Erin is still so easy to fool."
She looked at them and suddenly felt that her feelings for Kyle had turned dirty.
"Erin, your eyes were all red just now. You didn't really think Kyle was about to confess to you, did you?"
Sophia circled her, holding the paper crown.
The laughter on the rooftop hadn't stopped.
Erin looked at Kyle, hoping he would at least walk over and say, Enough, stop it.
But he just smiled, closed the ring box, and slipped it into his pocket.
"Just testing the effect today. Looks like it was pretty convincing."
The classmates around them joined in.
"Kyle's too much—who wouldn't fall for that?"
"That's what happens when you grow up together. You can mess with her and she won't get mad. Anyone else would've flipped."
She didn't say a word.
Luke stepped out from the crowd, his phone camera pointed straight at her face.
"Everyone look—Erin got tricked into crying again."
The flash stung her eyes. For the first time, she didn't play along and smile with them.
Instead, she looked at Kyle, her voice dry. "So that message you sent last night—was that part of the script too?"
Kyle paused, the smile still on his lips. "How else were you going to come up?"
He said it matter-of-factly. "You've always liked that kind of ceremonious stuff, haven't you? Consider it a preview."
Her chest went cold, bit by bit.
She liked ceremony because once, when she was being ostracized by classmates and hiding alone on the playground crying, Kyle had walked over and handed her a piece of fruit candy.
He said that from then on, he'd be there for her on every important day so she wouldn't have to be alone.
She still kept the wrapper in her diary.
Sophia, seeing Erin stay quiet, clutched her chest and softened her voice.
"I just wanted to give you an unforgettable memory for your first day of junior year."
"If you don't like it, I'll apologize, okay?"
Luke immediately put his phone away and pulled Sophia behind him.
"Alright, Erin. Sophia's sensitive. Don't scare her."
She looked at her own brother and felt only bitterness.
"I'm the one who got pranked. Why am I the one scaring her?"
Kyle frowned and stepped in front of Sophia. "You know they only mess with you because they see you as one of us."
One of us?
She used to find those words warm. Now they felt like a slap to the face.
Sophia, trying to smooth things over, peeked out from behind Luke.
She held out the paper crown, trying to place it on Erin's head.
"Come on, today you can be a princess too, alright?"
Erin turned her head away. The crown fell to the ground with a soft thud.
The rooftop went quiet. Luke's expression darkened.
"Erin, it's the first day of the semester. Do you have to make everyone uncomfortable?"
Her heart tightened. Suddenly, she remembered when they were kids—every time Sophia played a prank, ruining her homework or cutting up her dress, her parents said the same thing.
They said, Erin, don't be a downer. Don't make things awkward for everyone.
She unclenched her aching fingers, gripped her suitcase handle, and turned toward the stairwell.
Kyle called after her, "Don't be late for the welcome dinner tonight. I still need to talk to you."
She didn't look back. She didn't answer.
Her phone buzzed. She glanced down. A video had just been posted in the family group chat.
Luke's title: 【First Day of Junior Year: My Sister Got Pranked into a Breakdown.】
Relatives quickly lined up laughing emojis.
Her aunt said, "Erin's always been so earnest."
Her mom sent a long voice message. "Erin, Sophia and your brother tease you because they love you. Don't be petty and make a scene."
Standing in the stairwell corner, she finally let the tears fall.
Not because Kyle hadn't confessed. But because everyone acted like she deserved to be their punchline.
第2章
The dorm door was half-open. When Erin pushed her suitcase inside, Sophia was sitting on the lower bunk by the window.
She was hugging a giant pink plushie, swinging her legs.
"Erin, you're back."
She pointed to the upper bunk near the bathroom door.
"Can we switch?"
Her roommate, organizing things nearby, paused and looked uncomfortable.
Sophia smiled sweetly. "Erin's the sweetest. Of course she'll say yes, right?"
Erin looked at her luggage piled haphazardly by the door—things she'd folded and packed carefully before coming.
She forced a smile. "No, I don't want to."
Sophia's smile froze. Before she could respond, Luke walked in carrying two bags of snacks and caught Erin's reply.
He set the snacks on the table. "Sophia's particular about where she sleeps. Do you have to make a big deal out of this?"
Kyle followed Luke in.
He was holding a small night-light and walked straight to the window, plugging it into the outlet by Sophia's bed.
"Sophia's afraid of the dark. This spot's closer to the light anyway, and it'll be easier for you if you need to get up at night."
Erin stood by the door, her voice quiet. "I'm afraid of the dark too."
Kyle's hand paused on the plug, then he chuckled.
"You've always been brave. You'd light a candle and do your homework during blackouts. Don't be dramatic."
Her heart sank.
She wasn't never afraid of the dark—she'd just learned too early not to trouble anyone. That was why they assumed she didn't need light.
That night, at the freshman welcome dinner, Kyle texted her saying he wanted to make it up to her.
She stared at the address on her screen, hesitated for a long time, and went.
When she pushed open the private room door, it was already full.
The only empty seat was in the far corner, right under the air conditioning vent.
Kyle and Luke sat on either side of Sophia.
"Erin, sit down—we've been waiting for you."
Sophia suddenly clapped her hands and suggested they play Truth or Dare.
"Let's warm up before the food comes."
The bottle spun a few times and stopped pointing at her.
Sophia's eyes sparkled.
"Erin, truth or dare?"
"Truth."
Sophia propped her chin up, her voice soft but loud enough for everyone to hear.
"You've liked Kyle since freshman year. If he doesn't like you back, would you feel humiliated?"
The room went dead silent. A few seconds later, it exploded with laughter.
Kyle frowned slightly, but he didn't look at Erin. Instead, he turned to Sophia. "Don't ask it that bluntly."
For a moment, she found it absurd and laughable.
She'd been stupid to believe Kyle's so-called apology.
She slowly stood up. "I'm not playing."
Sophia's eyes instantly welled up with tears.
"Is Erin mad? I was just trying to help everyone get closer."
Luke ripped off his gloves and slammed them on the table.
"Erin, can you stop making everyone uncomfortable for once?"
Kyle lowered his voice too.
"This is Sophia's first time at one of our school dinners. Cut her some slack."
Looking at the two of them, she suddenly understood a simple truth.
When it came down to her and Sophia, the one who always had to give in would always be her.
So there was no point staying.
Without a word, she opened her email.
At the very top was the final confirmation notice for a full scholarship from an overseas polytechnic university—sent three days ago.
She clicked the admission link.
In the confirmation box, she typed her name and hit accept.
The screen instantly redirected, initiating the final activation process for her overseas enrollment.
第3章
The next morning, she went to her interview for the school's Honor Student Representative—a presentation she'd spent half a month preparing.
In the waiting room, she opened her laptop and clicked on her speech file. The text was completely different.
Her carefully written competition experience and academic plan had been replaced by large, bold, colorful fonts.
Sophia hurried in holding two cups of coffee.
"Erin, I thought your materials were too boring, so I added some livelier content."
Erin's hand trembled on the mouse as she scrolled down.
The file now contained several screenshots: one of her at age ten, covered in mud after falling into a puddle; one from middle school, when a ball hit her face during a track meet; and one from yesterday on the rooftop, her eyes red and dazed.
At the top was a bold headline:
【Ten Years of Being Healed by Friends—From Elementary to College.】
All her most embarrassing moments, lightly packaged by Sophia as a "healing story."
She turned to Sophia, her face blank. "Who said you could touch my computer?"
Sophia flinched. "Your computer wasn't password-protected. I thought you wouldn't mind."
Kyle walked in, saw the commotion, and quickly went to Sophia's side. "What's wrong?"
Sophia's eyes were red as she pointed at the screen.
Kyle glanced at it and patted Sophia's shoulder.
"Sophia was just trying to help."
Luke strolled in with coffee. "Teachers like authentic students. Don't always put on that stiff overachiever act—it's not a good look."
She closed her laptop and, swallowing the metallic taste in her throat, went onstage using a backup draft on her phone.
Halfway through the interview, the bespectacled professor in the middle put down his pen.
"Erin, was that online prank video posted with your permission?"
She froze. The professor frowned.
"The university takes student mental health seriously. That video's current public reception is very negative."
She walked out of the interview room and opened the campus forum. The top pinned post read:
【After Three Years of Crushing on Her Childhood Friend, the Aloof Scholar Finally Smiled After Our Prank.】
The rooftop footage had been edited beyond recognition, leaving only her red-eyed stare at Kyle and her final retreating back.
There were already over a thousand comments. "This girl is so pretentious. If you can't take a joke, don't play."
"He's her childhood friend—it was just a joke. Why is she making such a face?"
She felt cold all over. For the first time, she realized her pain was just their entertainment.
That afternoon, her academic advisor called her into the office.
He gently informed her that her candidacy for Honor Student Representative had been temporarily revoked.
"Erin, you need to address your public image first. The university needs to maintain a positive reputation."
She walked out of the admin building and went straight to Sophia, demanding she take down the post.
Sophia clutched her phone to her chest. "That video has thirty thousand likes—it's my first viral hit."
Erin stared at her. "Did you get my consent before filming me?"
Sophia's tears fell instantly. "I just wanted people to know you."
Kyle walked over with a tray and handed Sophia a tissue first. "Don't cry."
Erin looked at Kyle. "Did you know I lost my Honor Student Representative status?"
Kyle blinked, then quickly recovered. "There'll be other opportunities."
He pushed the tray toward Sophia. "Sophia's channel is just starting out. This is important to her."
She found it absurd.
Her years of hard work, her opportunity—meant nothing.
Sophia's casually edited, unauthorized video—was too important to delete.
Her voice went cold. "Then I'll call the police."
Luke had just gotten his food and overheard. He slammed his tray on the table.
"Erin, are you insane? You'd ruin Sophia's life over one video?"
That night, her parents called.
Her mom's voice came through the speaker. "Your brother said Sophia didn't mean it."
Her dad added, "You're too introverted. Be glad someone wants to include you. Don't be ungrateful."
She sat on the dorm balcony, staring at the streetlights below, and suddenly laughed.
So she was supposed to thank Sophia for being willing to play with her—even when it meant being bullied?
She hung up and opened the pre-application page for withdrawing from university. She clicked submit.
