Chapter 19

Chapter 19

And he definitely seemed to have an interest in Jessie.  

"I think that is enough introductions," Lana said as she cut off their conversation.  

Ryan frowned at this a little but couldn't say anything as Lana started with the questions.  

"So, how do you like your room, Ryan? And your roommates?"  

"Argh," Ryan exclaimed. "I don't want to talk about it. It's terrible."  

"The bed is way smaller than what I have at home. I'm used to sleeping in a king-sized bed…"  

Lana rolled her eyes at this.  

"There's no jacuzzi. How am I meant to relax?"  

"Let it go, man. This is a university, not a relaxation resort," Lana blurted out. She couldn't help but feel Ryan was kind of bragging to look good in front of Jessie. She had seen it play out a couple of times, so she could spot when Ryan was doing it from a mile away.  

"And then my roommates—they all seem to know each other, like they were passing some kind of smoke around, it seems," Ryan said as he took a slice out of his bacon.  

"Well, it's common for that to happen," Jessie said to Ryan. "Being that you are in the boys' hostel, the majority of the people there are likely to be old study mates."  

Ryan kept on smiling as she spoke, happy he was finally getting into a conversation with Jessie.  

Lana, on the other hand, wasn't cool with it. One of the reasons she didn't like keeping female friends was playing out right before her eyes—Ryan drooling over them, when she had always been there, right in front of him all this time.  

"So, where do you stay?" he asked her.  

"Stay? Of course, I stay in this school—the girls' hostel, like we all do," Jessie replied, and Ryan felt dumb.  

Lana made it all worse by bursting out laughing. It was an awkward moment for Ryan, and what was worse was that it wasn't even all that funny.  

He didn't say anything more as he continued with his meal. Lana kept on laughing, and it was getting on his nerves.  

"Hey, what happened to your phone?" he said, pointing to the small crack on it, desperate to change the topic.  

"Oh, some dumb girl bumped into me and broke my phone. I'm still looking around for her—she better pray I don't find her."  

Lana stopped laughing and began looking around. At one corner of the cafeteria, there she was. Lana recognized Sophia in an instant, sitting with her roommates. They were almost done with their meal.  

"Would you look at that?" Lana said to Ryan and Jessie as she pointed in their direction and immediately got up.  

"That's the girl who broke your phone?" Ryan asked as he stood up with her.  

"Yes," Lana said as she nodded.  

"So what do you plan on doing? And why are you standing up? Don't tell me you plan on causing any trouble," Ryan cautioned her.  

You're one to talk," she scoffed and began making her way toward the table, with Jessie following behind.

"Will you calm down for a second, Lana? I'm sure it was an accident," Ryan called from behind as he quickly gulped down a bottle of juice and followed them.

But Lana had no plans of listening. She walked toward Sophia and banged her fist on the table in a very rude way.

Sophia looked up to see who the person was—it was the rude girl from earlier today.

"What in the world does she want?" Sophia said to herself.

"Umm, excuse us, how may we help you? And you should learn to speak with your mouth—you can't go around banging tables before you make a statement," Olivia was the first to speak, obviously irritated by Lana's attitude.

"I'll excuse you right after this girl here pays for what she did to my phone," Lana pointed at Sophia as she said this.

"What do you want?" Sophia turned to her, visibly pissed at this point.

"Look at my phone," Lana said as she shoved the phone in Sophia's face. "This is because of you."

"Yes, I see it," Sophia said softly. "We both weren't looking where we were going and bumped into each other. I see no reason for you to find me all the way here. And you still haven't answered the question—what do you want?"

Sophia maintained her cool as she said all this.

"Let's just go, Lana," Ryan said to her. "I'm sure it was an accident."

It was at that moment Sophia turned to the guy who had followed them here, and she began taking in his features. He was quite tall, had this kind of jet-black hair around his head, and lovely eyes that seemed to pierce the air as he spoke.

But Sophia wasn't the type to be swayed by features or looks.

"Shut up, Ryan, and let me handle this!" Lana began seething, dragging Sophia from her thoughts.

"I want you to pay for the damages done to the phone, meaning you are going to give me money to fix the broken glass."

Lana was raising her voice at this point, and Sophia found it embarrassing.

"To be honest, I don't know what you're talking about. When it happened, I asked if everything was okay, and in your own words, you said, 'I was lucky nothing got broken.' And now, hours after the incident, you're coming back here to tell me your phone's screen was broken?"

"I am sorry, but I don't buy it. For all I know, it could have broken elsewhere, and you're coming back here trying to pin it on me," Sophia paused to catch her breath.

"Are you implying that I am a liar? Would you imagine the nerve of this girl?" Lana said, absolutely fuming at this point.

She then turned to Jessie.

"At what point did I find out my phone was broken?"

  ---

*"It was immediately you stepped into the room, I saw it. You broke her phone, and now you're going to pay,"** Jessie scoffed.  

*"I am not paying a dime for anything."

**"Yeah, you can't just come over here barking out. Pretty sure you need to learn some manners,"** Mia spoke this time around.  

**"Excuse me? What did you say?"** Lana looked like she was about to get aggressive.  

Sophia didn't like this and sought to end it immediately. Plus, the attention already being drawn was a bit too much for her.  

**"So, how much are we talking about here?"** Sophia said this with confidence, knowing she had only a little in her account.  

**"I don't know yet,"** Lana said, **"but it should be around $60. My phone was quite expensive too, mind you."**  

**"Come on, Lana, let's just let this slide. I'm sure you have more than that to fix it,"** Ryan kept on trying to talk her out of it.  

Sophia gasped within. That amount was literally all she had left in her savings account—money she had hoped would carry her through the semester for airtime bills, coffee, and some textbooks. Still, she wasn't willing to be embarrassed today.  

**"Oh, no worries, it's fine. Do you want it wired to your account?"**  

**"You don't have to do this, it's okay,"** Ryan said to Sophia, and she kept on wondering why he was so nice.  

**"I'll handle it,"** he said to Lana.  

**"Ryan, what are you doing? Stay out of this, please, and she clearly said she will wire it."**  

Sophia stood up, not wanting to look like a pity case.  

**"I appreciate your generosity, sir, but do not worry—I got this covered."**  

**"You see?"** Lana snapped.  

Sophia whipped out her phone and asked Lana to input her number, which she did. Then she went ahead and wired the money, which was literally all she had in her savings account.  

**"Happy now?"** Sophia said with a sneer and picked up her bags, planning on heading to her room.  

**"Yeah, I have received it,"** Lana said to her as she walked away.  

**"That wasn't cool,"** Ryan remarked.  

**"Don't try to guilt-trip me over this. I know you would have done worse if it was you involved."**  

Sophia got to her room and collapsed on the bed, fuming from what had just happened. She had just given away all of her money over some rude, loud girl—an expense she hadn't planned on, especially not on her first day in school.  

She would have to look for a part-time job, start saving again. Who knew how poor the pay would be, her being a student and all?  

She felt so mad at herself. She didn't think it through and had done it in the heat of the moment. Now, it was like she was back to square one all over again.  

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