Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Sophia couldn’t wait to share the news with her roommates. Her heart was still racing a little from the excitement of the interview, and the thought of actually getting the job gave her a sense of accomplishment. She quickly pulled out her phone, unlocked it, and opened their group chat.

"Hey guys, I might be resuming work here anytime soon," she typed, her fingers moving over the keys for a moment before hitting send. The little dot indicating that the message had been delivered made her stomach have a sensation 

Mia was the first to reply, sending a string of celebratory emojis. "Congratulations, girl! It was never in doubt," she wrote, and Sophia couldn’t help but grin at the message. Mia always knew how to make her feel good about herself.  

Sophia stared at her phone, waiting for Olivia’s response, but there was no reply yet. It seemed Olivia wasn’t online at the moment. She let out a sigh of relief, feeling like she had something to talk about when Olivia did finally check in.

A few moments later, Mia’s next message popped up. "Hey, have you heard from Olivia?" she asked, sounding a little concerned.  

Sophia read the message and typed back quickly, "No, I haven’t. Been busy all day. Are you sure she didn’t run away with that Jake guy?" she joked, sending a winking emoji to lighten the mood. She was just playing, of course. She knew Olivia had her own life, but sometimes, with what they had seen yesterday,they couldn't help it with the jokes about Jake, she couldn’t help but tease her.

A few seconds later, Olivia’s name appeared on the screen, and a new message came through. "Hey, what are you guys saying? Gossiping about me and my love life?" she wrote, followed by a laughing emoji.  

Sophia couldn’t help but laugh out loud, especially after the comment about her and Jake. "I knew it! You were off hiding with him somewhere," Sophia joked back, knowing full well that Olivia would never disappear without saying anything to them.

"Congratulations to you, Sophia, by the way," Olivia added in a more sincere tone. "That’s awesome. You deserve it!"

Sophia’s grin widened as she read the message. "Thanks, Olivia! I’m so nervous but excited at the same time. You know, I didn’t expect to feel this way, but it’s kind of a big deal to me." She felt a wave of gratitude toward her roommates. They had always been there for her, even when things were uncertain or difficult.

Mia chimed in once more, "You’re gonna crush it, Sophia. I know you. You’ve got this. And I bet the extra cash will come in handy, huh?" She added another laughing emoji, knowing that Sophia was always worrying about money.

Sophia smiled at the thought. "For sure. My bank account has been looking pretty sad lately. So this will definitely help."  

The conversation then shifted to Olivia’s latest story about Jake and their weekend plans.

"You know, Jake and I have plans tonight, and I’m going to need you girls' help—especially with picking out what to wear," Olivia said.

"Of course, you know we got you," Sophia replied.

"Yeah, we do. Roomies for a reason! What time will you be at the dorm?" Mia added.

"I’ll be there in 30 minutes. Thank you guys so much!" Olivia responded.

"I’ll be there soon. I guess I’ll wait for you both," Mia said.

"Yeah, me too," Sophia replied. She was already close to the dorms, as a matter of fact.

"Alright then, see you both there," Olivia sent a reply along with a love emoji.

Sophia arrived at the dorm a few minutes later. Her roommates weren’t in yet, just as she had expected. She set her bag down and stretched, her mind drifting to the earlier incident with Katrina. She refused to let it bother her.

Sophia couldn't help but feel a surge of warmth. Her friends—her roommates—were there for her, lifting her up when she needed it. Even if they teased her about her job, she knew they were rooting for her.

As she sat back on her bed, reading through the rest of the messages, a sense of calm washed over her.

Lana was done with classes and finally mustered the courage to text Ryan.

Lana: Hey there, how are you? Hope you made it to classes today.

She hesitated for a moment before hitting send. Within seconds, her phone started ringing. It was Ryan.

She smiled and picked up the call.

"Lana," Ryan’s voice came through the receiver. It felt good to be needed—especially by him.

"A greeting would be nice, though," Lana teased in response.

"Oh, come on. I’ll greet you when I see you," he said with a chuckle. "Where are you?"

"I’m nearby. Want to grab a cup of coffee? Is there anything important you want to tell me?" she asked, curious about why he had called so quickly.

  

---

“I just really need someone to talk to, ” Ryan said to Lana as soon as they saw each other.

Lana knew right away something was wrong. He wasn’t being sarcastic or playful like he usually was—his tone was almost hollow. She cocked an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong, Ryan? Did you get hurt? ” she asked, studying his face. “And why aren’t you with your girlfriend? ”

"Stop it already, Ryan, " he said, running a hand through his hair. "I owe her an apology. "

Lana shook her head. ‘Oh? So you owe *her* an apology but not me? ’ she snorted, only half-joking.

Ryan moaned, Lana, please. Can’t we just do this tomorrow?

Lana sighed, sensing that whatever it was it was really weighing him down. “Fine, ” she said. “What’s wrong? What’s so important that you had to talk to me? ”

Ryan exhaled, looked away, then back at her. ‘It’s my mom, Lana. You know she’s got *eyes* on me at this school? She’s asking my professors to tell her what I’m doing. She knows everything I do here, ’ he said, frustration in his voice.

Lana blinked and laughed. "What? " she said, a little too seriously.

"Do I look like I’m joking?" Ryan shot back.

Lana forced another laugh. 'Damn, Ryan. That’s some next-level helicopter parenting, ' she said, shaking her head. 'We all know your mom is *strict*, but spying on you? That’s nuts. '

“I know, ” Ryan muttered. “I swear, she’s got spies following me around. This morning, I got a call from her last night saying exactly that she head I was not paying attention in class and when the professor burned me In class yesterday. I wasn’t even listening, so how the hell does she know? ’

Even threatened to take away all my benefits if I don't do better 

Lana gave a low whistle. ‘That’s some Black Mirror shit, ’ she said. ‘Have you told her about this? Said it’s weird and, you know, crazy controlling? ’

Ryan rolled his eyes. ‘Oh, yeah. No problem. Send her a text: ‘Hey, Mom, could you stop watching me like I’m some secret government experiment? ’ I’m sure that’ll go over well.

Lana shook her head. 'No, but seriously, Ryan. That's not cool. You're in college, not high school. You need to tell her what you can and can't do. '

Ryan sounded annoyed again. “Yeah, well, tell my mom that. Do you think she listens to me?you know how she it , she is not a stranger to you She does whatever she wants and if I say anything she pulls the ‘I’m just doing what’s best for you’ card. It’s tiring. ”

Lana nodded. ‘So, like... what do you want to do about it? What’s the plan? ’

Ryan gave a weird laugh. ‘The plan? I don’t know if there is one. I can’t really stop her. She pays my tuition, my bills, everything. If I push back too hard she’ll just make my life miserable. ’

“That’s fucked up, ” Lana said. “Can’t you even live your life without her watching over you? ”

Ryan frowned. ‘She always does. Ever since I was a kid, she’s told me what to do—what to wear, what to study, who to talk to. Hell, she might as well even select a future partner for me

Lana’s eyes widened. "Wait, what?I knew it was serious but it's that deep?"

Ryan rubbed the back of his neck. ’Yeah, she is definitely going to tell me the family of a big business mogul wants me with their daughter that it's going to be great and she will be ‘good for me and the business ’ I don't know what I will do ,in a case if I like someone else , I really do, but sometimes I wonder if I had any say in any of this. ’

Lana stared at him, trying to process what he’d just said. ‘Ryan... that’s not okay, ’ she said slowly