Five of Everything

"Wait." The waiter was about to leave the dining room when George called out. Everyone looked at him wondering whether he was regretting the size of the order.

"What? You want to go back on your word?" Terry mocked.

"No, I haven't quite finished." George glanced at Terry lazily, and looked at the menu. "Five more scallops, five more calamari, five more..." As the number of dishes increased, so did the price.

Terry's expression turned darker. Maddy, Alice and Natalie clicked their tongues in disbelief. Ashley, Lex and Alex, and the other students all thought that George had gone completely crazy.

"George, are you crazy?" Terry voiced their suspicion aloud.

He just smiled. "I'm done. Do you want to add anything else?"

Terry shook his head and said, "No thanks. I'm going to stretch my legs before dinner. See you in a bit." As he went out, he gave Ashley, Lex and Alex a glance and gestured for them to follow.

"George, stop ordering. We can't eat that much. You're just wasting money." Matt said anxiously.

"Relax. I invited you to this private room. Since we're going to eat, let's have a good time." George said with a smile. His eyes shown with a strange light.

"This is what happens when the poor win the lottery. Give them a bit of cash and they become instantly extravagant," Maddy said with a frown.

"Exactly. If you have a little money, then spend it like you don't care. At the end of the day, we'll all end up in the same place."

"George. Let's just stop now. We won't be able to finish all the dishes as it is. Save a bit of your money. You can buy me some clothes or something." Natalie said, softly.

"How much is this meal going to cost?" She added in her head. "Why doesn't the idiot care about the money?"

George ignored the girls. He didn't even like them much. So he couldn't be bothered to justify himself to them. When he had no money, they despised him for being poor. When he had money, they despised him for being extravagant and wasteful. Damned if I do, damned if I don't. He glanced at the three girls, leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes for a moment.

Soon after, Terry and the others returned. They each wore a rather sinister smile. George didn't need to guess what they'd been up to when they went out. It was definitely nothing good. "Let me see the menu. What did you order?" Terry asked.

"Oh, there's no need to look. I've ordered everything on the menu. We'll know when the dishes are served later," he snorted and laughed.

Terry looked at George in doubt. He thought that this idiot should be terrified.

"Has he just ordered the most expensive dishes? What did you order?" Terry asked again.

"Oh, this and that. If I can afford it, you definitely can," George laughed.

"What do you mean?" Terry sensed that something was wrong.

"Did I do the wrong thing? Why don't you take a look at the menu? The dishes I ordered are definitely within your price range." George handed the menu over to Terry.

Ashley and the other two moved to Terry's side. When they saw the menu, their faces dropped.

"Terry, what's wrong with you? Did I do something wrong?" George looked over and asked. "Don't tell me the tycoon's son can't afford these dishes." After George finished speaking, the room quieted down and everyone stared at Terry.

"You little swine. Who said I can't afford it?" Terry roared, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"George, are you crazy?" Alice asked. "George must be crazy. Look at the dishes he ordered. I think this meal will cost more than $20,000. Even going Dutch, it's still a lot of money."

"I'd say more like 30,000," Maddy glanced at the crowd without batting an eyelid.

"What? $30,000 on a meal." The crowd burst into an uproar.

George really was treating them. Terry and the others had been planning to beat George up. But now that they were surrounded by the other students, they didn't feel so confident. Terry's face had turned a shade of dark purple. He had a limit of $10,000 on his card. But now that it looked like he'd have to pay 15,000, he really didn't have that kind of money.

"George, you are playing with fire. You'll get burnt." He threatened.

"I'm really not concerned. If you can afford it, I'll be able to deal with it. Could it be that you are scared?" George looked at him provocatively and grinned broadly. He was having a great time.

Terry was speechless. He really didn't know what to say. However, he had no choice, but to speak. So many pairs of eyes were staring at him.

"George, you have some balls. It's only a few thousand dollars. I have plenty of money. I'm just concerned for you." Terry stood his ground.

"Good. Your imposing manner has impressed me. I admire you from the bottom of my heart," George said happily. In truth, the reason George was so happy was because of Terry's anger and stubbornness. The two had been at loggerheads for a while and only after the dishes were served did the atmosphere improve.

Halfway through the meal, Terry concocted an excuse to go to the washroom and planned to slip out of the restaurant early. But George alerted the manager and he was brought back to the suite.

"Hey, Terry, what's the matter?" George shouted attracting the attention of the crowd.

"We tracked him down, sir," the security guard said coldly.

Terry looked at everyone with an awkward expression. "Um, I got lost. I was brought back by these two kind-hearted gentlemen. It's nothing. Let's continue with the meal."

George chuckled and didn't say a word. Terry sat back down at his original seat. Thinking about how much money was being spent on a single meal made him feel sick. As he watched more and more glasses of wine being poured, he gradually started to lose his mind. After three rounds of drinks, everyone had become pretty animated.

Natalie leaned her body against George and said, "Mr. Rudd, I seemed to be drunk. Don't, don't take advantage of me."

"Sure." George agreed without hesitation. The girl was drunk. So he wasn't really interested.

On his other side, Alice put her wine glass down on the table with a loud clatter. As she said, "Boring." George glanced at Alice. At this moment, her eyes were filled with jealousy and anger.

"Alice, what are you doing? Everyone's eating. Don't be so rude," Mary said. No matter how much amenity Alice had towards George, they couldn't afford to be impolite to their host.

"George, come on, a toast to you and Alice." Mary held her glass of wine and crossed in front of him, smiling sweetly. "Compared to usual, George, you look a little different. You seem to have extra charisma."

George laughed. "What a coincidence. The first time I saw you, I felt that you were different from the other girls. You have a special temperament."

"Oh George, have you got honey in your mouth? You really know how to sweet talk a girl," Mary giggled loudly. What girl didn't like to be praised by others for being attractive. She threw a small fist at George's chest. As Alice watched the two interact, her face darkened.

When Mary left, Lisa also came over to express her compliments. Alice's face darkened a few shades further and she felt a faint stifling anger in her heart. Natalie sneered, coldly, as she cursed under her breath. "You little slut. How shameless."