Chapter 31

Chapter 31

She walked over to the window, pressing her palms against the cool surface as she took in the view.  

She hadn’t spent much time on this side of the room before. From here, she had a clear view of the campus. Despite the darkening sky, the school grounds were still alive with activity. Students walked in groups, some chatting excitedly, others in deep discussion. A few hurried across the pathways, likely trying to get somewhere before it got too late.  

The light in the school flickered on, casting a kind glow over the walkways. The soft view of life outside reminded her that the world kept moving, no matter what she was dealing with personally.  

For a moment, Sophia allowed herself to relax. She watched as a group of students gathered around a bench, laughing over something. Another student jogged by, earphones in, focused on their own rhythm. There was something comforting about it all—the predictability of it, the way life went on regardless of how she felt.  

She sighed, leaning her forehead lightly against the glass. The conversation with Justine still lingered in her mind. It wasn’t that she didn’t appreciate her cousin’s concern—she did. But at the same time, she needed to do this for herself.  

She turned back to her roommates, both still completely lost in their own worlds. Maybe she would tell them about the job later, or maybe she wouldn’t.  

For now, she just wanted to enjoy the quiet moment, standing by the window, watching the world outside continue as if nothing had changed ,in a few minutes her and her roommates were going over to the cafeteria for food , do she decided to stay in this moment 

       Soon after she walked back to her bed , and looked again at the pizza ad , tomorrow first thing after class,she class she was going to head there, luckily nothing about a CV of resume was asked for so the chances of her being employed was on the bright side 

    She opened her phone went through her socials , she seemed to be more inclined to do so these days , 

Sophia sat cross-legged on her bed, phone in hand, scrolling through Pappie’s official page. She had to admit, she was impressed. The page was well-organized, filled with vibrant pictures of their employees—just as Mia had mentioned, most of them were students. Some were behind the counter, wearing warm smiles as they handed over pastries, while others worked in the kitchen, carefully preparing dough or decorating cakes.

The comments section was just as lively. Customers raved about the quality of the pastries, how fresh they always were, and how friendly the staff was. "Best cinnamon rolls on campus !" one person wrote. "Their croissants are heavenly," another gushed.

What truly caught Sophia’s attention, though, were the reviews from employees.

"A great place to work if you're a student. The shifts are flexible, and the managers actually care!"

 "Pappie’s made balancing school and work so much easier. Highly recommend!"

 "One of the best jobs I’ve had—fun environment, good pay, and free pastries!"

Sophia felt a wave of relief wash over her. If other students were managing just fine, maybe she could too. The idea of earning her own money, gaining work experience, and still being able to handle school felt even more possible now.

Excited, she decided to explore other pages. But as she kept scrolling, she noticed something strange—her algorithm was completely messed up. Her feed was now flooded with posts and pictures from the people she had looked up earlier.

Katrina, Lana, Ryan—all of them.

It was almost crazy how they kept on appearing, maybe she shouldn't have searched about them earlier she thought, their updates filling her screen. Ryan had just posted a picture of himself at what seemed to be like a lounge drink in hand, flashing his signature smirk. Lana shared a short video of her day, looking effortlessly cool as always. Katrina’s post was more subtle—a quote about hard work and success, followed by a picture of her study setup.

Sophia sighed, shaking her head with a small smile. Social media had its way of pulling her into a rabbit hole, but for now, her focus remained on Pappie’s. She was going to apply tomorrow, and that thought alone filled her with excitement.

   She stopped going through her socials and opened PDFs some being from today's class , maybe instead of consuming other people's content, she should consume what will be related to her school stuff , who knows when next she will have a lot of time on her Hands, it was already a few minutes to dinner, soon they will be heading to the cafeteria, it's best to keep herself occupied with this ,just for a few minutes even 

    

The whole crew sat in the dimly lit living room of Zach, the sitting arrangement as it had been,the movie playing on the screen, but there was an awkward silence in the air. None of them made snide remarks about the movie or any of the characters. The earlier incident had left a mark on everyone, making the usual lively atmosphere feel stiff and forced. Nobody wanted to be the one to bring it up, so they all pretended to be absorbed in the film.  

Outside, the night had fully settled in,they weren't really aware ,casting long shadows through the window. The faint hum of cars passing by could be heard in the distance, but inside, the only sounds were the dialogue from the movie and the occasional rustling as someone shifted in their seat.  

Lana, however, wasn’t paying full attention.she was watching the movie halfheartedly, she could not focus on it Her eyes were switching from the screen to Ryan every now and then, but her focus kept drifting elsewhere—to Jessie.  

She couldn't help herself. She found her gaze slowly sizing Jessie up, from her perfectly styled hair to the way she casually leaned against the couch, seemingly unbothered by the tension in the room. Sure, she had pretty,lovely hair, an adorable face and a fine build,—Lana could admit that. But was *pretty* really all it took to hold Ryan’s attention so quickly?  

Less than three days. That’s all it had taken for Jessie to step into the picture and somehow claim a place next to him. And for him to be all over Jessie 

Was it really that easy?  

Lana's stomach twisted slightly,what was her deal with Ryan , Zach's cousin had made a pass at her several time but she refused, he was handsome and all but she did not seem to be able to pick an interest in any other person,now here she was feeling irritated by Ryan and Jessie though she couldn’t tell if it was irritation, confusion, or something deeper she didn’t want to acknowledge. She had never seen Ryan settle with someone this fast before. He was the type to take his time, to play his options—but with Jessie, it seemed different. Although they said it wasn't official,but she couldn't see it any other way , knowing Ryan ,he was playing the friendship game with Jessie, she wouldn't be aware they were dating until he decided to steal a kiss at her, the thought pained her even more 

She exhaled quietly, forcing herself to look back at the screen. Maybe she was overthinking it. Or maybe, just maybe, she was starting to realize she cared more than she had let on