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It all started in college. The moment she got accepted in the university, her world came crumbling down. Ava had to juggle part time jobs just to survive and now that college is starting, she needs something short of a miracle to even afford staying in the university dorm.
She chose to share a dorm room on her first year and meeting her first university roommate was the best and worst thing that ever happened to her 18 years of existence.
"I'm Rian..." She waves a hand at her as she strolls her luggage to one side of the room. It was a small cramped up place ideal for one but apparently can be shared by 2 struggling students who can't afford the room entirely to herself.
"Ava..." She waved back with a weak smile, feeling her tummy grumble. She had to use lunch money to pay for the cab ride and now her body is making her regret not having a meal just to move in to her dorm.
"I see you're all set?" She gestures to the stack of books already laid neatly on the bookcase near your bed.
You got 2nd hand books from another struggling student who sold them to you at a good price. You wished you got a better bargain but seeing how that other student badly needed the money, you just made the deal with eyes shut.
"You want to join me to the cafe?" Rian asked, scooping her sling bag from her bed. For a supposedly struggling student, she seemed to have really nice looking stuff.
"It's okay, I still need to arrange my things." Ava said, still getting distracted by the nagging hunger that's making her head hurt.
"My treat..." She replied, regretting it the moment she saw Ava's face looking offended.
"It's really okay..." Ava said with a weak smile. The last thing she wants is to be anyone's charity case. She'd rather starve than see someone look at her in pity.
Ava ended up cleaning everything in sight, including her roommate's side. She needed to distract herself from the gnawing pain in her tummy. A few hours more and she can sleep and let the feeling fade away.
She laid in bed praying to doze off right away only to be awakened by the sound of the door opening. Ava ignored it and just laid on her side, turning her back so she won't have to face her roommate.
She got distracted by the aroma of something really mouthwatering. Maybe she's imagining things right? Sitting up, she massages her temples a bit, that pit in her tummy is still there but not as painful.
Ava thought she's seeing things, blinking a few times, unsure if the bento box is just a figment of her hunger. She went over to sit in front her desk. Touching the box but nudging it to the side instead.
Rian sees her as she gets back to her bed to sleep. "Ava, it's not charity, you can pay for it when you have the money. It doesn't have to be anytime soon."
Ava felt a bit guilty. She didn't mean to be rude, she wasn't raised that way by her nana. Turning to her side, she sees Rian already tucked in her bed. "I'm sorry..."
"If you're really sorry then eat up before it gets cold... Don't make me regret lining up for almost an hour just to get takeout." She says sitting up to look at her, making sure she eats.
"Yes ma'am..."
******* "Ava! Table 7, new customers!" Yoongi, her coworker at the campus cafe shouted.
"On it!" She hurriedly goes to that table, bringing out her notepad to get the orders. In the booth is her classmate in Business Management, Arianne, a hot freshman who's apparently on a date with another hottie like herself.
"I don't know... hmmm everything seems to be swimming in oil... what do you recommend?" She asked Ava as if not knowing who she is despite the fact that they're working on a project together. "Something that's not oily, has no calories and won't make me fat..."
"Uhmmm... water?" Ava tells her in an unsure tone and the guy she's with just gave out a restraint laugh, concealing it with a few bouts of coughing.
"Ohhh... so you're smart huh?" She snapped, eyeing Ava from head to foot.
"This is a cafe, everything here has calories." Ava tells her politely.
"Then water it is! Oh, make that an Evian..." She said looking smug.
"Sorry we only have regular bottled water..." She said in reply.
"Then bring me that... geez why did we even come here?" She asked her supposed date.
"What do you like to have?" Ava asked her date and he just stare at her for a few minutes before finally opening his mouth.
"Your number..." He said in a flirty vibe, nudging his phone to Ava's direction and sending his date to go full-on hulk.
"Hello! I'm right here!?" She was staring him down but his eyes were on Ava.
"Sorry, but that's not on the menu..." Avareply smartly, giving him a nice smile.
He leans over to his seat, stroke his hair, looking cocky. "Then a date?" He shamelessly blurted out, sending his current date slamming her palm on the table, giving Ava a death glare before walking away.
*******
😬 "Here we go again with a plot that I need to develop along the way... let's see where luck takes me this time."
