Chapter 4
“We’re seniors now. Why should we have to room with a freshman?”
“We can pay for that empty bed, or arrange for someone else to live there.”
“Anyone but River.”
I was stunned to see my senior roommate, who had been so friendly just that morning, now insisting on throwing me out.
I was so shocked I couldn’t even keep hold of the watermelon in my hand.
It fell to the ground and split open, red juice spreading across the floor like my seemingly bleeding heart.
“But we were getting along so well just a few days ago,” I said desperately to my senior roommate. “Why do you suddenly want me to leave?”
“Why does no one want to room with me? What did I do wrong?”
I completely broke down, grabbing my roommate’s arm and practically begging him for an explanation.
I was on the verge of kneeling down to plead with him.
But no matter what I said, he just coldly demanded that I pack up and move out immediately.
He threatened that if I refused to leave, he would make such a fuss that the entire dorm building wouldn’t be able to sleep.
Even when the RA threatened to withhold his diploma, it didn’t sway him one bit.
To avoid disturbing the other students, I had no choice but to silently pack my things and move out.
The RA told me he truly couldn’t find any room willing to accept me anymore.
He had already applied to the school to refund my dorm fees and suggested I find off-campus housing to rent.
At this point, I had completely given up hope. With no other options, I found a part-time job at a bubble tea shop to cover rent.
Fortunately, I quickly found a suitable apartment. With the refunded dorm fees to tide me over, I didn’t need to ask my parents for money.
One day while working my shift at the bubble tea shop, I unexpectedly ran into Zack coming to buy a drink.
We hadn’t spoken since that time I had begged him to be my roommate.
But seeing me working as a cashier, he surprisingly came over to chat.
“River, I still need to thank you, no matter what,” he said.
“If it weren’t for you, I might have really fainted on campus that first day.”
“Anyone who passed by probably would have helped. No need to thank me specifically,” I replied coldly, handing him his drink.
The experiences of the past few weeks had left me utterly exhausted. I no longer wanted to engage with anyone from school more than necessary.
“River, I…” Zack trailed off, his expression suddenly looking very guilty. It was a far cry from his arrogant refusal before.
Seeing I wasn’t responding, he lingered by the shop entrance for a long time, seemingly wanting to say something but unable to get the words out.
He finally left when other staff started urging him to move along.
“What’s his deal? Does he owe you money or something? Why was he looking at you like that?” a coworker asked curiously after Zack left.
I just shook my head. I was also confused why, ever since I had moved out and given up on living in the dorms, many classmates seemed to have become much friendlier towards me.
They no longer avoided me in the hallways. Many even started inviting me to join their groups for class projects.
Especially Zack. He seemed to constantly be looking for opportunities to repair our relationship, but would always stop short of actually saying anything when he got near me.
I had no idea why things had changed. But since I couldn’t figure it out, I decided not to dwell on it.
Living independently for four years would be fine. Once I graduated, I could leave all this unpleasantness behind.
But just when I had come to terms with everything, it turned out someone else hadn’t.