3
358words
“But Emma,Sophie’s behaving strangely.She’s usually so sloppy,but today she washed her hair and put on lipstick.”
“And yesterday,I saw Ryan liked her social media post about the flowers.”
Ryan had added Claire and Sophie as contacts while chasing me.
I let out a faint smirk.
Already?
I couldn’t wait to see Sophie and Ryan involved,but I kept my cool.
“No big deal.You know I don’t have feelings for Ryan.”
“Let them do whatever they want.”
Claire nodded without saying anything.
She knew my family was wealthy.Though I had a younger brother,the estate was mine to inherit.
Men were a distraction Claire’s studies and my ambitions.
That afternoon,Sophie cut class.
By chance,our usually lax professor took roll call,marking her absent.
At 10 p.m.,Claire and I were ready for bed—we’d both gotten into the habit of going to bed early since freshman year.
Sophie barged in,grinning ear to ear,clutching a bubble tea.
Claire and I exchanged a glance.
I spoke up first.
“Sophie,where were you?”
“The professor called out your name today.”
In a rare good mood,Sophie didn’t snap back,waving it off.
“Oh,whatever.I’ll have someone cover for me next time.”
Claire asked,“Where’d you get that bubble tea from?”
“Don’t you work part-time to send money back home?”
“A substitute costs around ten bucks—not cheap.”
Sophie, slurping loudly her drink,seized the chance to brag.
“The tea?My boyfriend bought it for me.”
“I said I didn’t want to spend his money—didn’t want to seem like someone whoisjust after his money—but he still bought me an eight-dollar tea~”
Her face lit up with pride and a hint of girlish shyness.
“And he gave me a $200 gift card to spend however I want.”
Claire and I exchanged a glance,barely containing laughter.
Eight bucks?$200?
Some one after his money?
Was it really that easy?
But,eager for gossip,we went along with it,feigning envy.
“Sophie,your boyfriend’s so sweet!”
“These days,guys are either broke or stingy.It’s rare to find a generous one~”
“But when did you get a boyfriend?Do we know him?”
A flicker of guilt across Sophie’s face as she stammered,“Uh,well…”
“You sort of know him.”
“It’s Ryan.”
