Going Dutch

"Mr. Rudd, your classmates are here."

"Then let them in," George said lazily as he tapped the table with his fingers.

"Well, your classmates asked me to call you out. They haven't paid for the taxis and they're hoping you'll take care of it," the manager said.

"Hmm? I'll go out and sort it." He got up from his chair and followed the manager out. As he approached the door, he saw his classmates looking at him with annoyance. He sneered and walked over slowly. "What's wrong? Why don't you come in? I've been waiting for you inside. You guys are so slow." George said lightly.

"You still had the cheek to say that. We haven't paid for the cabs yet. George go and pay them." Alex said.

Why should I pay for them? What a greedy bunch they were. You would've thought they would be grateful that he was treating them to a meal. But no, they expected him to pay for their taxis too. Even though George was now rich, it didn't mean that he was suddenly stupid.

"Why do you care about the car money when you're already treating us to such expensive food?" Ashley asked.

"That's right. George, you have $50,000 in your right hand. It's nothing much to cover the taxis. Just a few dollars." Lex didn't want to cause too much trouble. So he tried to reason with him.

"Terry, what's going on? Didn't you say you would treat me to a meal. What's he doing here? Can he even afford to be here?" Maddy was annoyed at the sight of George.

"Maddy, don't get angry. Listen to me. This brat is treating us all to a meal because he won the lottery. I brought you here because it'll be a laugh. Didn't you say he stole your phone before? You just wait and see. I'm going to kick his pathetic butt right out of town." Terry hated the fact that he had been shown up in front of Ashley and the others. He was so embarrassed that he almost lost his cool. Luckily he was smart and quickly thought of an idea to get her back on his side.

"Oh, all right then." She reluctantly went along with him.

"The money is mine. I'll spend whatever I want. I just don't want to spend it on a bunch of ungrateful kids who don't even have the courtesy to cover their own taxi fares." George rejected Lex's argument. He didn't want to be taken for a fool.

Lex's eyes were filled with jealousy and hatred. "This smelly brat is asking to get his butt kicked." When they saw that George wasn't willing to budge, they didn't know what to do. They still didn't want to pay the fare themselves.

"George you're so stingy," Terry said. "You're not even willing to pay the fare. We've treated you like a friend and this is what we get in return."

He secretly cursed, "A bunch of idiots."

He walked up with Maddy on his arm, an obvious slap in the face for George.

"I'm stingy. Then why don't you pay for everyone? I'm already treating them to a meal so you can pay for the cars." George replied sarcastically.

"That's right. Let Terry pay for everyone's cars." Someone shouted from the back.

Terry was a rich kid who drove a BMW to school every day. His family was wealthy and he had the security of his family business behind him. Their eyes lit up when they saw Terry. Everyone waited eagerly for him to speak.

Terry was secretly annoyed. Why should he cover the taxi fares for his classmates? But he also didn't want George to get the better of him.

"Why aren't you willing? You still have the nerve to call me stingy?" George said. Everyone's eyes suddenly darkened. And they looked at Terry with growing contempt.

"Why aren't you willing? Isn't it just a taxi bill? Terry can afford it. He's not as stingy as you." Maddy couldn't stand George being so arrogant. She tugged Terry forward a few steps.

George looked over and saw her. She was the girl who had accused him of stealing her phone and cost him his job at the steakhouse.

"Exactly. I'm not as stingy as you George. It's just car money. I'll pay. I'll pay it all." Terry really couldn't back down at the stage and he wanted to impress Maddy. However, the moment he took out the money, he couldn't help but curse at George under his breath. "You better watch your back, Rudd."

"Terry's taking control," Ashley said.

"Terry's rich," someone else shouted.

Everyone was beaming with joy. They admired him a bit more than before. "All right, the fares have been paid. Let's go in and eat now." He couldn't wait to get his own back on George. Maddy followed Terry into the restaurant.

George suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, she's not in our class. She's at the academy of arts."

"Not only is she not from our class, she doesn't even attend Harrison," Natalie said.

"George, what are you saying? Can't my date join us?" Terry asked angrily. Maddy was actually a little scared when George stared at her, his gaze was sharp and it felt like needles and pins pricking her skin.

"No, this girl can't join us." He pointed at her and shook his head.

"But George, she's Terry's girlfriend," Ashley looked disapprovingly at him.

"But she's not my classmate. And she isn't my roommate's girlfriend," George said. "And I didn't invite her."

Maddy's face was burning with embarrassment. When Terry had brought her here saying that he wanted her to watch a good show, this wasn't what she'd expected. She glared at him angrily. Terry was angered by this and they both felt humiliated. George was obviously going against him on purpose by doing this.

Alex cursed, "You poor idiot. You think you're awesome just because you want a few thousand dollars on the lottery?"

"I'll treat whoever I want to. If you guys keep complaining, then I won't treat you either." Now that George had returned to his family, he was rich and powerful. So he wasn't afraid of any of them. With the power of the Rudd Family behind him, he just needed to click his fingers and he could squash Alex and the others as easily as crushing ants.

"George, don't say that. It's not fair. After all, we're all students. Let's try to get along. If it gets out of hand, it won't do anyone any good," Lex said. He saw George as his foolish roommate. Although he kept saying that he would take care of him, he was actually siding with Ashley and the others. On the surface, he looked kind and amiable, but he was scheming behind George's back. He just didn't want to make it too obvious.

"Stop wasting your breath. Let's do it." Ashley clenched his fist and prepared to make his move. Lex and Alex joined him ready to gang up on George.

"Any sort of trouble is forbidden on these premises. If you want to cause trouble, do it someplace else", the manager said, standing beside George. Behind the manager, were a pair of very tough looking security guards.

When Terry saw this scene, he pulled Ashley and the other two back and said to George, "How about this? You let Maddy in and we'll go Dutch."

George laughed and said, "Sure. Let's go Dutch."