Betrayal

A week passed after Nia and the others decided to investigate Ethan's relationship with May. So far, the group has made zero progress in doing so.

At Sunshine Eaters, Nia is currently dressed in her work uniform. Her work uniform is black jeans with a white buttoned shirt, and her hair is tied in a bun. Nia is currently working at the front desk of the casual side of the restaurant. Since it is early in the morning, the line for the casual side is so long that it goes outside the door. Nia has been taking orders for the past two hours with no sign of business slowing down.

An overweight white-skinned man walks up to the front desk and starts making his order.

"Uhhh, let's see what I want."

The man starts staring at the menu.

"Uh"

In the back of Nia's mind, she says, "Can he hurry up? There's a bunch of people behind him."

"Um, can you tell me what I should order?"

"Oh well, our breakfast sandwich with coffee is really good at this hour. I think that would be perfect."

"Do I have to get that?"

"No, because at the end of the day, it's up to the customer to order."

"Oh well, then I don't want that."

"Then what would you like to order, sir?" She says with a crooked smile.

"Umm, let me think."

As the man says, "Umm," Nia looks at him with an awkward expression.

"Would you hurry up and order already?" she screams in the back of her head.

"Umm"

From behind the man, Luna grabs his shoulder.

"Hello, sir, I suggest that you order the cheese and egg sandwich. You can even put bacon or sausage on it if you would like meat with it!"

"Oh, that's a great idea. I'll have what she just said!"

"Great, and would you like a drink with that?"

"Umm"

Luna grabs the man by the shoulder once again.

"You probably want the orange juice!"

"Oh, yes, I'll take the orange juice!"

Nia writes down the man's order and hangs it on a string behind her.

"OK, your order will be out very soon."

"Thank you!"

The man goes and takes his seat. When he's gone, Nia releases a breath of relief and looks to Luna.

"Thanks so much, Luna. I thought he would have sat there forever, thinking."

"You need to work on your recommendations, Nia! You need to have more excitement when you make a recommendation; people are more likely to take it."

"Well, having to deal with so many of those types of people in a row takes a lot out of me, so bringing the energy might be a struggle. I wish I could be as positive as you. Wait, Luna, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I hope you haven't forgotten! We were going to look into Ethan and his friend today."

"Oh, right," Nia says with a conflicted expression.

"Don't look like that, Nia; we don't even know if he's cheating or not. We're just looking into their relationship, that's all."

"Alright, but I've been with him since the start of last year. I just feel like he wouldn't throw all that time away."

"Well, that's what we're about to find out, so meet us outside after your shift is over."

"Alright"

"Also, can I please get some water? I'm kind of thirsty!"

After Nia finishes her shift, she goes outside and meets up with Luna, Raven, and Serena, who are surrounding Serena's car.

Luna rushes over to Nia and gives her a big hug.

"OK, are you ready to go?"

"Yes, but how are we supposed to exactly do this?"

Raven pushes past Luna with her phone out.

"I'm glad you asked! Me and Serena found out that May and that slimeball will be going to the movies together in an hour."

"We found out by asking Ethan's other friends." Serena remarks.

"And get this, Nia, his friends thought you two broke up and Ethan and May were dating! There had to be something going on with that trash can of a man and May!"

"Uhh, maybe you're right," Nia says with a nervous tone.

"Great, now that you know, let's get over to his dorm and follow them to see what they do!"

Serena gets into the driver seat, and Raven gets into the passenger seat. Before Nia gets into the car, Luna stops her.

"OK, before we do this, Nia, I just want to make sure you are prepared for whatever we find out."

"Don't worry, Luna. I'm completely fine. I'm sure we won't find anything."

"You don't have to lie to me, Nia. I can see your hidden, worried expression from a mile away. I just want you to know that I'm here for you."

Nia looks Luna in the eyes and smiles. Both of the girls get in the back seat, and Serenea drives all of them over to the elephant dorms on the west-north side of Sunshine University. Serena parks the car behind the dormitory, and all four girls get out of the car.

"Alright, May should be meeting that slimeball right in front of the dorms, so let's go watch."

"Raven, can you please stop calling Ethan all those bad names? He's a good person."

"Fine, Nia, but I'm only doing it because you asked nicely."

The girls walk to the front of the dorm, and what they instantly see is Ethan and May walking out of the dormitory laughing together.

"Wait, I thought they were going to meet up outside; it looks like they just came from the dorms," Raven states.

Serena crouches near the corner of the building to get a closer look at the two.

"They might have been hanging out with each other before we got here."

"I think we should go check his dorm to see if there's any type of evidence that will tell us what type of relationship they're in," Luna suggests while squinting her eyes at May and Ethan.

"It's all up to Nia at the end of the day, so what do you think, Nia?" Serena asks.

Everyone looks over to Nia to see what she's going to say. When she realizes the weight of the decision, Nia thinks hard.

"Well, we can't just go into his dorm without a visitor pass. If we get caught in the men's dorm without one, we might get thrown out of the school."

"Yeah, she's right, it's way too risky."

"Come on, Serena, there's an easy solution for that; we just don't get caught," Raven remarks.

As everyone thinks about what to do, Luna notices that Ethan and May are getting in the car and are about to leave.

"Ok, I have an idea! Me and Nia will go look in the dorms since Ethan gifted you a copy of his key card, and fewer people going in will be less suspicious."

"What will me and Serena do then?"

"You will go follow those two, but you have to hurry before they leave!"

Raven grabs Serena by her shirt and starts pulling her back to the car.

"Say less! I will gladly catch that cheater with my own eyes! Don't worry, Nia, we will save you from that man!"

"You can stop dragging me! I have legs. I can walk to the car myself," Serena says with an annoyed tone.

After the two of them leave, Nia and Luna look over to the dorms.

"OK, Nia, you have that keycard he gave you for your birthday, right?"

"Yeah, of course I always carry it with me."

"Good, then let's get in there!"

The two girls go to the third floor of the dorm and reach room 37.

"Ok, Nia, swipe the card so we can get in! I'll stay outside to watch for campus security. Ethan still lives in a single dorm, right?"

Nia swipes the card on the scanner on the door, and it makes a "buzz" sound.

"Yeah, it's a single dorm, so I won't have to worry about any roommates!"

Nia opens the door to the dorm and is about to walk in.

"Alright, good, the doors open! Make sure you are quick in there, Nia, but still make sure to check everywhere."

"Ok, thanks!"

Nia runs into the dorm, and I instantly notice how small the dorm is. The dorm is small but clean, the bed is well-made, and the dresser with a TV on top of it is well-kept.

"Am I really supposed to find something in here?"

Nia starts to smell something very strong in the room.

"What type of perfume is that?"

Nia opens the top drawer and sees a bunch of underwear.

"Ok, it's just his underwear. Wait a minute. On the left is men's underwear, but on the other side is women's underwear. Does he really have someone living with him in this small dorm?"

Nia opens all the other drawers and realizes that there are a bunch of women's items in each drawer. Stuff like menstrual pads, mascara, and hair clips.

As she looks through all his stuff, many thoughts go through her mind.

"All this stuff. There's no way Ethan is the one using these. It's only been a week since we all moved back to Sunshine University, so how long has this been going on? No, there has to be an explanation for this; he wouldn't betray me like this!"

Nia walks to the bathroom on the left of the room. She opens the door and sees the clean bathroom.

Outside the dorm, Luna is keeping watch for campus secrecy. Luna looks to the left and sees a campus security guard going to the elevator out the window.

"Oh shit!"

Luna runs into the dorm to get Nia.

"Nia! We have to leave campus; security is snooping around!"

Luna looks around the room and doesn't see Nia anywhere. She notices that the light in the bathroom is on, so she walks in.

"Nia?"

When she walks into the bathroom, she sees Nia standing over the small trashcan in the left corner.

"Nia, come on, we have to go before we get caught!"

"But I thought we were going to give each other our virginities," Nia whispers to herself.

"Wait, what did you say, Nia? Why are you just staring into the trash can?"

Luna walks over to her and looks into the trash can. When she looks into the trash can, she sees six clearly used condoms.

When she sees the condoms, Luna covers her mouth.

"I'm so sorry, Nia, but we have to go before we get caught!"

Luna grabs Nia by the hand and runs out of the dorms. When the two girls get out of the dorms and get back outside, they notice that the sky has been filled with dark clouds.

Nia crouches down next to the dormitory with a devastated expression.

"How could he? He promised me that we would both be our first."

A few tears start to slide down Nia's face.

Luna walks over to Nia and gives her a hug around her neck.

"I'm sorry, Nia. I know this must be hard, but I promise I'm here for you."

As tears go down her face, Nia notices Raven and Serena running towards them.

"Thank you, Luna, for being my best friend."

"Of course, Nia."

Nia stands up, and at the same time, Raven and Serena join them.

"This is some bullshit; they didn't even do anything; all they did was watch a movie and eat dinner," Raven screams.

Serena stops Raven from speaking any further once she sees Nia's face.

"So I'm guessing you found something."

"Yeah, we did," Luna answers.

Nia sees Ethan walking back to his dorm, and she clears the tears from her eyes. Nia gets up and starts walking to him.

"Are you sure you want to do this right now?" Luna asks.

"Yes"

With the rain pouring on her, Nia walks in front of Ethan before he can reach the dormitory.

"Oh, Nia! What are you doing here?"

"Where's May?" she says with a depressed tone.

"Oh well, I took her back to her dorm. Why do you ask?"

"I looked in your dorm."

"Wait, you did? Please, Nia, just let me explain myse—"

"No! I have had enough of your lies! You're just like them. I guess I really couldn't trust you."

"Nia, you have to listen to me. You got everything all wrong. There is nothing between me and May!" he says with a panicked expression.

Nia starts to think about all her memories with Ethan.

"I love him, but he's not the only person I love, and I refuse to be played with any longer."

Nia looks Ethan directly in the eyes and notices that he looks stressed.

"Ethan, this relationship is over."

Chapter 4 end