Chapter 20

Chapter 20

She was jolted from her thoughts by the sound of her phone ringing.

"Who could it be?" she said to herself as the caller ID displayed on the screen. It was Justine.

She immediately sat up.

"Hey, cousin!!" Justine's familiar voice called over from the other end. "How was the first day at school? Sorry I missed your call, was busy helping Grandma take a bath. Not to sound lazy, but I miss having you around already."

Sophia laughed out as she heard this—one of the few times she had smiled genuinely in this shitty day.

"Well, school is fine, and about Grandma, don't worry, you will get used to it with time," Sophia replied.

"Why do you sound like that?" her cousin asked. "Sophie?? What happened at school today?"

Justine was the type that was very observant with everything. She could tell when something was wrong—any slight change in Sophia's voice or attitude, and Justine would pick it up and question her. At this point, it was clearly looking like something was off.

"Nothing is wrong, Justine. I am just tired out, today was quite stressful for me."

"Are you sure? You literally said today wasn't going to be packed with activities. Did something happen to you? Do you want me to come down there?"

Sophia began tearing up and put the phone away from her. She didn’t know why she suddenly started crying—this was going to be more difficult than she thought.

All those people here, having parents that got their backs... her giving away all of her savings to a rich brat… she was overwhelmed.

She gathered herself and began recounting the day's events to her cousin over the phone, deliberately leaving out the part where she bumped into Lana.

"Well, that's sad. I'm sure you can come over home for the weekend, lots to talk about," Justine said as soon as Sophia was done.

"Yeah, I guess. I'll see if I'm free and I'll definitely come."

"And also, I forgot to tell you—I resume work tomorrow. I got a call from him today, and the pay is also going to be nice. So do not hesitate to put a call through to me when you are in need."

Sophia sniffled on hearing this.

"Wow, that's great then! Pretty sure things are going to work out between you and your boss," Sophia teased.

"Oh, shut up! But I mean it, though. If you run out of favor or need help, I'm only a phone call away. I know how rough things can get over there, especially for a student."

"Thank you, Justine. I really appreciate it."

"It's nothing, cousin. We've only got each other. I best get to bed then, don’t want to be resuming work late tomorrow."

"Yeah, that's true. Goodnight, cousin."

"Goodnight, Sophia," Justine said as she hung up.

Tears began streaming down Sophia's cheeks as she sat alone in the room.

She heard the footsteps of her roommates approaching, then quickly wiped her tears and faced the wall, not wanting them to see her in that state.

"Hey, Sophia," Mia was the first to say as they walked in. "Are you asleep already? I could have sworn I heard you talking a few minutes ago."

"No, I am not asleep. Just figured I should rest my head for a little," she said, not turning to them.

Mia came to sit beside her on the bed.

"You should have let us give that dumb girl a piece of our mind. I don’t like how it feels—you let her win."

"I agree with Mia," Olivia said and sunk into the chair. "I was ready to take her down, talmbout broken phone."

Sophia sat up and smiled.

"Guys, it's okay, really. I didn't want it to escalate, but I'm really happy to know that you’ve got my back. Even though we've only been together for a day, it feels nice."

"Of course we do," Mia said as she went in for a hug, then let her go. "All the time, roomie."

"Now, I shall be going to bed. Huge lecture day tomorrow—got to keep the mind sharp," Olivia said as she stood up and lay on her bed.

"Do you all mind if I turn off the lights?" she asked them.

"Yeah, sure thing. I'm also going to bed," Sophia replied.

"Goodnight, everyone."

Sophia closed her eyes and covered herself with the sheets. Her challenges only seemed to be starting.

"You were so rude to that girl back there. What is $60 that you can't afford?" Ryan scolded Lana as they sat close to a tree.

"Why are you defending her? You don't even know her or what transpired. And that shit you pulled back there? It wasn't cool at all. You're supposed to be my friend and have my back at all times—not the other way around," Lana snapped back.

"Of course I do have your back, Lana. You know I always will."

"Well, you have a funny way of showing it, don't you, Ryan? You sided with a total stranger over me and even offered to help her. The other night with Zach—you know what happened, right? We came into this school together, and we ought to stick together."

"Okay, you're right, Lana. I'm sorry. It didn’t seem like I had your back. I should have done better."

"Hell yeah," Lana said, but she was still frowning.

"Don't be like this, bestie. I already apologized," Ryan teased as he poked her shoulder, trying to lighten the mood.

She finally softened up and smiled. "Fine, I hear you. But don't do that next time—at least not in public and definitely not in front of a stranger."

Ryan raised his hands in surrender. "All right, I hear you loud and clear."

"You better do," she snapped back.

"Soo... about your roommate," Ryan said with a smirk as he walked closer to Lana. "I think she's kind of cute."

Lana rolled her eyes as she felt a pang of jealousy. "You barely know her, Ryan. It's too early to be finding her cute."

"Well, that's what I'm trying to do, don’t you think? Getting to know her better. You don’t mind sharing my number with her, do you?"

"Ryan, it's late, and I don’t talk to her like that—much less share numbers. There are lectures tomorrow. Goodnight." Lana said and began walking away.

"Yeah, I hear you. We'll talk about this later," he called out to her.

"There's nothing to talk about, Ryan. Go to bed, and I'll see you tomorrow."

They both parted ways.