The moment Tiffany mentioned money, Benjamin froze.
He barely scraped by on his scholarship, surviving on a few hundred dollars a month. How could he possibly have extra to give her?
Before Benjamin could respond, Matthew jumped in. "Money? No problem. Ben's been working part-time. He's saved up a bit. How much do you need?"
Tiffany's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? I—I did the math before coming. We owe over a hundred dollars in electricity bills and 30 dollars for water. Dad needs medication and a hospital check-up. I still owe 280 dollars in school fees. I was hoping to ask for 800 dollars."
Every family has its struggles, but Benjamin's seemed harder than most.
Matthew's eyes reddened. "Only 800 dollars? I thought it'd be more. Ben's money is with me. I'll give it to you now."
He pulled out his wallet and emptied it, but there was only 600 dollars.
Liam reached for his wallet, but I stopped him. His family wasn't well-off either.
I grabbed mine instead. Between me and Matthew, we managed to pull together 1300 dollars and handed it to Tiffany.
The tension melted from her shoulders as she clutched the cash.
Benjamin looked at us with gratitude.
When we arrived at Paviluxe Restaurant, Amy and Yvonne gasped the moment they stepped out of the car.
"What's wrong?" I asked, worried something had happened.
Amy's eyes sparkled. "Look at all the luxury cars! Is that a BMW? And that—Mercedes, right? Hold on… Oh my god, that's a Porsche! William, take a picture for me!"
Before I could stop them, the two rushed off, snapping selfies with every car in sight.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: Riches in Disguise