Chapter 18

Chapter 18  

"You know what? I think you are rude as hell, and I'm sorry I interrupted you in the first place."  

Lana totally ignored her and faced the window.  

"What is your name, by the way?" The girl continued talking and still got no response from Lana.  

"Okay, listen, there are four of us in this room. If this is going to work out, we are going to need to communicate. But I'm not one to force anything. Well, in case you are listening, my name is Jessie, and there are two other girls in here. Both went for the induction and will be back soon.  

And I don't think they will like all this hostility. We haven't done anything wrong to you, have we? Be for real."  

Lana realized the girl was right. They'd done nothing to her. Maybe she should finally give it an opportunity.  

She decided to speak.  

"My name is Lana, and I'm sorry I sounded rude earlier. I was just pissed because of someone I ran into on the way here. She kind of ruined my phone and my mood by extension. Plus, the service here is terrible. I guess I was transferring aggression."  

Jessie nodded. "I totally get it. I also should have minded my business. You're free to use curse words however you like, and I'm sorry about your phone incident."  

Lana laughed a bit. Maybe being free outside her comfort zone wasn't bad after all.  

"And as for your phone reception, I think there's a general hostel Wi-Fi we use here, covered by the tuition f*e. The password should be in the email."

Lana checked it and saw that the Jessie girl wasn't bad after all.  

"Did you get a good look at the person who did that to your phone?" Jessie asked.  

"No, not really, but I am sure I will recognize her if we cross paths. Why did you ask? Is there anything you can do?" Lana asked.  

"Surely you're not planning on letting this go, are you? She has to pay for the damages done to it. Don't tell me you're going to let it go?"  

Lana seemed to like Jessie already. She was as mean as her.  

"Yeah, I'm sure I'd recognize her if we run into each other."  

"That's good then. Not to worry, I'd have your back if she tries to play smart."  

Lana smiled once again, genuinely.  

"Once again, I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot."  

Jessie nodded. "It's okay. I'm glad we got it out of the way."  

---

---

Sophia returned to her dorm room. It was already nightfall.  

"Hey, look who's back!" Mia said to her as she walked in. "I wonder why you even bothered to go in the first place."  

"It was nice to, you know, just connect with people in my department," Sophia responded.  

"School resumes properly tomorrow. I am sure you will have plenty of time to connect this semester, my dear," Mia said, and Sophia giggled.  

"Alright then, let's go eat at the cafeteria," Olivia finally spoke. She seemed to be engrossed in the book she was reading.  

"Umm, I think we can wait a little till eight. Not really the type to eat early," Mia said to her.  

"I'll come with you, Olivia. Let me just make a quick call home," Sophia said.  

"Are you missing home already? We've been here for less than a day," Olivia teased.  

Sophia smiled and excused herself, brought out her phone, and dialed Justine. She would be happy to hear from her.  

She held the phone to her ear as it rang, waiting for the receiver, but none came. She dialed the number again, but still no response. She concluded that maybe Justine must be busy with something. She would just call her later.  

She walked back to her roommates and spoke to Olivia.  

"Can we go now?" she asked her.  

"Sure thing." Olivia slid on her head warmer. "Let's go then."  

"Wait up! I'm coming with you guys," Mia finally spoke up.  

"You? I thought you said you're not planning on eating now?" Olivia asked.  

"So you both are really planning on leaving me here alone? Come on, girls, we are roomies!"  

They all left the room and headed to the cafeteria.  

Once they got there, it was quite more crowded than expected.  

"Wow, what is going on here? This looks particularly crowded," Olivia commented.  

"More reason why I asked to come by eight. Look at how long the line is," Mia said with a smile, feeling she had been proven right.  

"Let's go. I am sure we will be able to get something. I am going to hit the vending machines and get chocolates for us," Sophia said to them.  

---

They nodded and walked forward in line.  

The vending machine was just across from where they previously stood. Sophia slid the money into it and waited for the cookies to drop after punching the value into the machine.  

She bent down to pick them up, then saw two girls pass by her. She felt a wave of mean air.  

She turned and immediately recognized one of them—it was the girl she had bumped into the other time, though the girl hadn't seen her.  

Sophia picked up the cookies and walked back to her roommates, handing them over. They were already closer to the counter at this point.  

"I wonder what is being served. They better have all the balanced diet in the right proportions, else I'm suing. My parents are not paying a fortune for me to be served food like a prisoner," Mia remarked.  

"They dare not," Olivia added. "I looked through the menu and online reviews from students. They claim it's actually quite good. I mean, this is what we are going to be eating as we chase a degree, so it has to be good."  

Sophia gave it a thought, realizing that she was actually one of the few people here on scholarship. Even the professor the other day had explained to her that there were limited slots. She was indeed lucky and wondered how the others would feel if they found out.  

It got to their turn, and they were all served, depending on what they planned on eating. At least they could make out something from the menu.  

Sophia had bacon, yam, with a little egg on the side. Olivia decided to go for pastries and coffee, while Mia had some food in a large portion that Sophia couldn't quite identify.  

The three ladies took their trays, scanned around for where to sit, and finally settled at one table in the corner.  

A few minutes later, they were into their meals and having a discussion.  

"To be honest, this tastes really good. I'm quite impressed with the cooking here," Olivia was the first to comment.

"I mean..." Mia added. "It's nothing like home, but I can work with it." She picked up her milk and gulped it down.

Sophia sat there in silence, doing nothing but nodding her head in agreement as they spoke. She wasn't used to such meals, and this was better than anything she had in a long time. This wasn't the kind of food she and Justine ate on a regular basis. It was only occasionally, when they both managed to do some extra work, that they could afford food like this.

"Easy there on the bites," Mia said to Olivia, who was furiously taking down her food. "You don't want to get yourself choked," Mia cautioned.

"You can't blame me. I told the both of you I was starving before we got here, didn't I? Also, I think I might have a portion of your food," Olivia responded, pointing to both of them.

"Does reading books take up all your energy and leave your stomach empty?" Mia joked.

"Well, you can say that again. This is exactly what's happening today."

The ladies continued laughing as they went down on their meal.

Ryan saw Lana at the cafeteria with another girl he found attractive. He walked over to them both with his tray in hand.

"Hey, ladies," he said in his most confident and cool tone.

"Sorry, but this table is occupied. Find somewhere else to sit," Jessie snapped at him.

"Hmm, she's the feisty kind," Ryan remarked.

"And you're the mannerless kind," Jessie replied.

"Hey, easy, the both of you," Lana said as things seemed to be going south.

"Ryan, this is my roommate Jessie—well, one of my roommates, actually."

Then Lana turned to Jessie. "And this is my longtime friend, Ryan."

"Wait, you know this guy?" Jessie asked.

"Yeah, we've known each other since we were kids," Ryan chipped in. "So I don't know why you think you had to give me an attitude."

    

 Well, that explains it.  

"Oh, then I'm sorry. I thought you were just a random guy that likes to taunt girls," Jessie apologized and stretched out her hand, offering a handshake of peace.  

Ryan smiled, nodded, and accepted the offer. "How abo

ut we redo the introduction?" he said with a smirk.  

"I am Ryan Walsh."  

At that moment, Lana knew something was up with him.