In the Arms of the Elite (Rich Boys of Burberry Prep #4) - C.M. Stunich Page 0,84
whole, erm, popped boob thing. Pretty sure there’s a rift between her and Becky that’ll never be healed.
Revenge On The Bluebloods of Burberry Prep
A list by Marnye Reed
The Harpies: Harper du Pont, Becky Platter, and Ileana Taittinger
The Company: Abigail Fanning, Valentina Pitt, Mayleen Zhang, Jalen Donner, and Kiara Xiao
The fucked-up foursome—Harper, Becky, Abigail, and Valentina—are proving the most difficult. I mean, just think about Abigail for example: Tristan destroyed her at the casino, I gave her boyfriend proof of her infidelity, and she found out Harper had been screwing Greg behind her back all along. And yet, she’s still standing. It’s not enough, not by a longshot.
Of course, dethroning the girls from their Blueblood status was impressive, but it doesn’t take the cake.
For now, I’ve moved onto easier targets: Mayleen Zhang in particular.
She’s always prided herself on her schoolwork, just like me and Tristan. In fact, she often ranks in the top five in the entire academy. And yet, I’ve now got proof that she’s been using what’s called mosaic plagiarism to write a lot of her essays—including one she got an award for last year.
Mosaic plagiarism is when a person uses a general story idea or structure and simply finds synonyms or alternative phrases for the author’s original work while keeping the same meaning and structure of the piece they’re stealing from.
It’s more difficult to prove than direct plagiarism—that is, straight up copying and pasting. But it can be done, and I’m going to do it. Sorry, but there’s one thing about using common themes or tropes in a piece of writing and another altogether to literally pattern a new work off an existing one.
Fucking Mayleen is going down.
“You’re up to something, aren’t you? I can practically smell it.” Creed folds his arms together behind his head, watching me with curiosity and no small amount of glee. He loves the kill, just like all the rest of them do. “May I ask who, exactly, you’re focusing your eye of revenge on today?”
“Mayleen,” I say, knowing her parents are here to walk the campus with Mayleen’s younger sister. Because of the previous issues with bullying here at the academy, they’re strongly considering sending their youngest daughter to Coventry Prep. Principal Collins will be with them, too. This should work out nicely.
“Excellent. Another faceless lackey bites the dust. When do we get the big names though? That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
“I’ve got Harper under control,” I say, realizing how ridiculous that sounds considering her recent attack on my college applications. “Becky … I’m not sure about.”
“I think Zayd is working on Becky. You know, he feels like Windsor let Ileana off the hook too easily. That, and I think he’s jealous of the prince.”
“Zayd is?” I ask, glancing over at Creed. “Zayd, the rock god is jealous?” Creed shrugs his shoulders, and I narrow my eyes. “Just Zayd, huh? Nobody else.”
“No, definitely not,” he replies, raising his eyebrows and then smiling sweetly as we pass by Mrs. Collins. “Good afternoon, Madam Principal.”
“Mr. Cabot,” she replies, looking askance at us with no small amount of suspicion. Can’t say that I blame her, considering Creed’s track record.
The Zhangs are pushing a stroller slowly down the path and discussing the merits of Burberry Prep with the principal. I pretend to drop a pen, duck down, and then stick the packet of papers in the storage area underneath, right next to the diaper bag. Seems a bit anticlimactic now that I’m standing here, but I had to put hours of research into that, lining up the similarities between Mayleen’s essays and all the ones she stole from.
If she hadn’t stolen from one of mine, I might never have known.
I’ve already slipped a manila envelope with the same papers in Mrs. Collins employee mail slot.
There’s nothing Burberry Prep hates more than an academic scandal. Remember what almost happened to me? I’m sure it’ll be taken care of discreetly.
“That was subtle, not like you at all,” Creed says, as I look back over at him.
“I’m saving all the pomp and circumstance for the former queen of the Idols,” I say, exhaling and running my fingers through my hair. It’s grown out so much. I’m trying to decide if I want to cut it all off again, or if it’s truly time to grow it out. I glance over at Creed, and notice that his eyes are sparkling. “That, and I’m just hoping I survive long enough to graduate.”