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671words2026-01-26 09:11

I pretended to be a big-shot influencer to try makeup at a counter.
The saleswoman rolled her eyes at me,mocking me for being poor yet acting pretentious.
My roommate,who came along,secretly recorded it and posted it online,slyly asking netizens,

"What do I do if my roommate tries makeup but doesn't buy?Should I tell her to stop being vain?"
She and others were scheming together trying to force me into buying the pricey cosmetics.
They didn't know the entire building the counter was at belonged to my family!
...
My first day as a Youtuber.
I posed as a million-follower influencer to try makeup at a cosmetics counter.

Wearing plain,ordinary clothes and no makeup,I pointed at a foundation."Can I try this one,please?"
The red-lipped saleswoman lazily eyed me from head to toe."You sure you want to try it?"
"Yup."
I was still cheerful at this point.

Pointing my camera at myself,I grinned broadly.
"This set's really expensive,"she said,rolling her eyes,not even reaching for it.
Wow.
You'd have to be really dense not to catch that sarcasm.
My parents always told me to be polite and act low-key in public.
But I'm no one to mess with.
Having seen countless online videos of people retorting back at rude saleswomen,this was a piece of cake.
I flashed her a sweet smile,blinking innocently.
"Wow,it's that expensive?I thought it was cheap,seeing you just standing there."
"You!"
The saleswoman's face turned bright red with anger.
I pressed on,unrelenting."Please,let me try this,this,this,and that one too.Or I'll have to complain to the yoru manager:)"
She slunk off to grab the products,while I laughed gleefully at the counter.
But I didn’t know at the time that,my roommate Chloe Sanders,who happened to be at the mall,secretly filmed it all.
She and posted the edited edition of the video online.
"What do I do if my roommate tries makeup but doesn't buy?Should I tell her to stop being vain?"
What she posted was only parts of the original video, made to look like the whole thing.
So what viewers saw was me deliberately giving the saleswoman a hard time by haughtily demanding to try products,then leaving without buying.
It sparked outrage.
"This girl's so arrogant!What's with that attitude?"
"Picking on an ordinary service workers?Really?"
"Poor saleswoman!"
Only when my other roommate,Mia Turner,showed me the video did I realize I had been maliciously edited.
Mia said timidly,"What do we do now?Everyone on the internet's trying to tear you apart."
I knew Chloe's motive.
She didn’t do this just to expose me.
She wanted to compete with me for the school's only scholarship for student with financial difficulties this year.
What a joke—who'd bother competing with her?
As soon as I got back to the dorm,Chloe and the other roommates were waiting.
"Claire Evans,didn't know you were this vain!"
"Going to counters to mooch makeup?And bullying the saleswoman?Tsk tsk!"
"You dragged Chloe along,too.So embarrassing!"
The four was unusually united.
Chloe,the class president,was charming and had gotten along extremely well with teachers.
She had a say in almost everything,snagging awards and a bright future.
I on the other hand kept a low profile,unassuming but never groveling.
The other three had long sided with her,subtly ganging up on me and Mia.
Normally,we coexisted peacefully,but today it all erupted!
I wasn't one to be bullied.
I snorted."I'll try on or buy whatever I want.Do I need your permission?"
Chloe feigned concern.
"Claire,as class president,I have to advise you—spending beyond what you can actually afford is bad.Don't sell your dignity for vanity.After all...your family's not well-off."
She gave a knowing look.
"Exactly!You're always so stingy,where'd you get money for makeup?"
"You always buy the cheapest stuff.That water bottle's ancient,and you won't even replace it."
"Look at your clothes—outdated rags,ugh!"
Nonsense!
My parents raised me to be frugal,not flashy.
Despite that it seemed to be a trend for girls at Uni to wear expensive jewelry or clothes,it was never a habit of mine.
My parents taught me not to flaunt wealth—how did that become a crime in their eyes?