3: 3
Back in the dorm, I dropped into the chair and didn't say anything for a long while.
Josie Wheeler and Celeste Floyd saw my face and hurried over to ask what was wrong.
I told them everything that had happened at the barbecue joint.
When I finished, Celeste sat quiet for a long moment before she said,
"That boyfriend of yours isn't trying to date you."
"He found out your family's got money, and now he's filing to raise his budget."
Josie was blunter.
"Good riddance."
"If he'd split a couples' account like that, then once you actually married him, he'd carve off a chunk of your family's house by the same math."
It stung, but I knew they were right.
Lambert and I had been together six months.
He was two years ahead of me, the vice president of the college student council.
When we first met, he seemed mature and steady, patient with everyone.
Plenty of girls at school liked him.
I'll admit I paid attention to looks.
Lambert had a clean-cut face and knew how to talk.
Back then he'd waited outside the library for me half a month straight, and I got soft and said yes.
While we were together, he'd often bring me a late-night snack down at the foot of my dorm.
Even when I said I didn't need it, he'd insist.
I used to think that was devotion.
Looking back now, it was more like a performance staged where everyone could watch.
I was still thinking it over when the dorm door swung open.
My roommate Delilah Donaldson walked in with her bag.
She didn't greet anyone the way she usually did. She came straight over to me.
"Ada, don't you think you went too far today?"
I looked up at her.
"What?"
"Lambert."
Delilah frowned, disapproval all over her face.
"He went with you to Charleston, and he wouldn't even spend money on a meat dish at the dining hall."
"And over a few angry words you just left him alone at the barbecue joint?"
"He's your boyfriend, at least. How could you be so cruel?"
Watching her get so righteously worked up, I suddenly found it a little funny.
"Lambert and I breaking up, what does that have to do with you?"
Her eyes darted away.
"I just can't stand watching you bully a decent guy."
She pulled out her phone and showed me the payment record.
"After you left, I'm the one who covered the rest of Lambert's bill."
"The barbecue balance was two hundred sixty-eight, the umbrella thirty-nine, the cab back to school twenty-six. Three hundred thirty-three total."
"Transfer it to me."
I stared at her for a few seconds.
"Delilah, did Lambert tell you to pay?"
"No. I saw he was out of money and offered."
"If you offered, then why are you asking me?"
She said it like it was the most reasonable thing in the world.
"Isn't it because of you?"
"If you hadn't left him there alone, would I have had to spend this money?"
"You get nine grand a month in allowance. You can't spare three hundred?"
So she even knew what my allowance was.
Lambert really got the word out fast.
I pushed her phone back at her.
"Whoever's heart aches for him, pays."
"Since you're so happy to take care of Lambert, go get a receipt from him."
Josie couldn't hold back a laugh.
"Delilah, just call the three hundred thirty-three your entry fee for the guy you've got a crush on."
Delilah's face went red all at once.
"What are you talking about?"
Celeste chimed in from the side, easy and slow.
"Nobody said who you had a crush on. Why are you so eager to admit it?"
Delilah's eyes rimmed red with fury. She spun around and rushed out of the dorm.
