so i (15f) am in my school’s art club and we’ve got this big end of year showcase. super competitive, local press comes, scholarships are on the line big deal.

my best friend k (17f) has been acting all secretive about her art piece. like locking her sketchbook lying about what she's working on avoiding critiques. everyone thought she was just being mysterious and has smth big planned. cool, whatever.

anyway i was scrolling tiktok and i accidentally stumbled across this viral video over 400k likes. it's this super detailed painting... and it's k’s. except... it’s not hers. it’s an exact copy of a lesser known digital artist’s piece from 2021. like brushstroke for brushstroke.

so i panic. i printed screenshots, sent them to the art teacher. the school launched this mini investigation. turns out, k had submitted multiple copied works over the years. she’s now banned from the show and might lose her scholarship offer.

now, people are calling me a jealous snake. even my other friends think i should’ve just talked to k privately. but like?? she was stealing! and i was competing too!

tbh i think i did the right thing. maybe i could've talked to her about it privately before reporting but she obviously knew what she was doing.

so, aitah or not?