4 Ch 4 - Expectations and Disappointments

"Are you all right?" Emma walked over to Alex, looking worried. "You are better off without her. You've seen her true nature, and she's not worth being sad over."

"Don't worry; I'm fine," he said, smiling. After seeing Cathy's behaviour, he felt much better about the breakup.

"Good." Emma's expression brightened. "Come on. To celebrate getting away from that bitch, I'll treat you to a meal. Don't argue. How about a nice place somewhere off-campus? De Luca's?"

De Luca's was a rather upscale restaurant, and only the richest students at Preston University could afford to eat there.

"No, not this time. I don't want to bump into Cathy," Alex said, knowing that was the same restaurant she was going to with Billy. "But one day, I'll treat you to a meal at Chez Laurent!"

Chez Laurent was one of the most luxurious restaurants in New York. It was the kind of place that all students had heard of, but no one could afford to eat there.

Emma was surprised. Alex didn't usually boast, so why was he doing so now? And this particular claim was really over the top. Is this simply a reaction to his heartbreak? she wondered. If so, it will pass, right?

She felt a little embarrassed, but she simply smiled and followed Alex's lead. "All right, I'm looking forward to it. To be honest, I've never been there!"

She didn't know that Alex could eat three meals a day at the most expensive restaurant in the world and not even spend one-hundredth of his wealth.

Emma was called away by two of her friends, leaving Alex standing alone.

Two of his roommates, Ben and Carl, walked over and dragged him to the cafeteria for a meal.

Just as they reached the entrance of the cafeteria, Ben stopped walking. He stared at his phone and loudly announced, "Shit. Joe is making a fool of himself online. Check out our dorm group chat room."

"Really?" Alex and Carl quickly took out their cellphones and checked the dormitory group chat.

Joe had just sent a message: [Guys, it's official. I'm no longer single! Hurry back to the dorm, and I'll treat you to lunch to celebrate!]

"He's finally found a girlfriend. I guess he got tired of being alone," Alex said.

Carl grinned. "Let's go back to our dorm and give him hell about it."

With that, the three of them turned around and walked toward the dormitory. As soon as they entered, they saw Joe sitting on the bed with a girl, holding hands.

"You're back." Joe let go of the girl's hand and stood up, smiling at the guys.

Joe was a sports major, and he was tall and slender, with well-developed arm muscles.

"Hey, guys. This is my girlfriend, Suzan. She studies music." Then he gestured to Alex and the others. "These are my roommates, Alex, Ben, and Carl."

Suzan stood up and nodded with a smile.

Ben looked at her, and his heart started beating faster. She had pale skin, delicately shaped eyebrows, and a great body. She's perfect, he thought.

"Let's eat at La Belle Vie. Suzan's roommates are coming too, so why don't you guys go and get ready?" Joe then turned to Alex and said, "Why don't you bring Cathy along?"

Everyone knew about Alex's lack of money and that he couldn't afford to take his girlfriend to upmarket restaurants, so Joe decided to take this opportunity to help his friend.

"We've split up," Alex said bluntly.

"Split up? Really?" Joe was shocked.

Ben glanced at Joe, and he understood the silent message. The reason for the split was obvious: Alex's poverty.

"Hurry up!" Suzan looked at her phone and then raised her head. "My roommates have already left for the restaurant, and they're all quite impatient, so don't make them wait too long."

"Okay, then you guys get cleaned up and changed, and then we can get going," Joe urged them, tugging at Suzan's hand. "Come on, let's wait for them outside."

Joe stepped outside the dormitory with Suzan and turned to see her standing with her arms crossed. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She frowned. "Aren't your roommates a little too ordinary looking? I mean, Ben is not very handsome, and Carl is somewhat average, too. Alex isn't bad, but judging from his clothes, he doesn't have much money. How can I introduce them to my roommates?"

Joe felt a little uncomfortable, but he forced a smile and said, "It's just a meal. It's not like it's a blind date or anything, so why do you care so much about their looks?"

"Do you think my friends are just coming for the food?" she asked. "I know them. Although they didn't come right out and say it, they're hoping your roommates are good boyfriend material. I've shown them your picture, and they must think that your friends are like you!" She frowned.

"Then blame me, because I didn't tell you they're all biology students." His smile was a little bitter. He'd been assigned to Alex's dorm because the sports department dorms hadn't had room for him.

"Why don't you tell your roommates that the meal is cancelled?" She suggested. "They'd probably just end up embarrassed if they went."

"Cancel it? No." If he cancelled now, it would be awkward. Wouldn't that just make things worse?

"Fine then, but I'm not responsible for whatever happens!" She pouted.

Just then, she received a call from one of her roommates. Suzan held her cell phone to her ear. "Rose. You're all there? How is it? Eh… When we get there, you'll see for yourselves. All right, I'll hurry them up. Just wait!"

As she was talking, Alex, Ben, and Carl came out of the dormitory.

"Joe, see how good I look?" Ben gestured to his half-sleeve shirt as he looked at Joe expectantly.

"Cool." Joe smiled and patted his shoulder. Thankfully, Ben hadn't heard Suzan try to cancel the lunch. If he had, it would have been a blow to his confidence.

Joe looked at Alex, who had followed Ben out. He frowned. "Alex, why haven't you changed?"

"What about my friends?" Suzan asked. "Can't you get dressed up for them?"

"Alex looks fine. What do you expect him to wear?" Carl asked. "He's not Joe, and he's never going to look like him."

Suzan shook her head. Her roommates were going to be very disappointed. This was going to be a disaster.

"Stop wasting time, and let's go," she urged them, and they all followed her out of the dormitory.

**

Rose, Stacy, and Betty sat at a table in La Belle Vie. All of them were pretty, and it was clear they came from good families.

Rose had long hair that draped over her shoulders. Her skin was fair, and she had a small face with large, sparkling eyes, a straight nose, and pretty pink lips. She looked like a beautiful princess straight out of a fairy tale.

She was the prettiest of the three girls, and also the centre of attention.

"Rose, there's a lump on your forehead. What happened?" Betty gestured to the small bulge on her forehead.

"Oh." Rose touched the little mark, her sweet face looking a little angry. "Don't remind me, Betty. Remember how I said I went to Metro Sky Bank with my father to do some business? Well, I met a clumsy person who smacked a door off my head!"

"Ouch! Did he at least apologize? Metro Sky Bank's customers are quite high quality, aren't they?"

Rose used her phone to take a picture of her head and then checked it. Thankfully, the lump was not too obvious. She put her phone down and smiled at her friend. "He did apologize. I was a bit stunned when I saw him there. You guys know what kind of people Metro Sky Bank caters to, right?"

"You mean the upper class?" Stacy asked. "So, this guy didn't belong?"

"Exactly. The Metro Sky Bank only gives cards to people who have at least one million dollars," Rose confirmed. "So, he didn't belong there."

"Some people think that the poorer a person looks, the richer they are," Betty suggested. "Which means he might be a rich person keeping a low profile. Rose, tell us all about him!"

Rose rolled her eyes. "Why? Later on, when the manager came over, he found out that the guy didn't even have a card. I think he was just an idiot who stumbled into the Metro Sky Bank. Maybe he thought that the cards of the other banks can also be used there."

"If I'd done that, I would have died from embarrassment!" Stacy exclaimed.

"After all that, I didn't even look at him and just left with my dad." Rose tossed her hair over her shoulder. "We'll see if he dares to try it again in the future. Or if he dares to show his face anywhere."

"The guy's not a child," Betty pointed out. "Doesn't he have any common sense? I guess he's destined to be single for his entire life. Who would want a guy like that?"

"Let's stop talking about him. I never saw him again anyway." Rose sighed. "Why isn't Suzan here with the others yet? Seriously…" Rose picked up her phone and frowned slightly as she looked at the screen displaying her chat with Suzan. "Her boyfriend is rather handsome and quite muscly. Just my type. If one of his roommates looks like that, don't fight me for him!" Rose winked.

"Cheeky!" Stacy chuckled. "Suzan said her boyfriend is a sports major, so he should be pretty fit. We'll see about the others when they get here."

The three girls chatted and laughed, checking each other's appearance, and making a few adjustments as they waited for the guys to arrive.

Finally, Suzan, Alex, and the others arrived at La Belle Vie.

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