Being super broke and stingy with your spendings are just two of many parts of being a college student. Some people study to achieve their dream jobs, some does just because, like a certain someone. However, one thing that is common in both kinds of students is they are all broke. Unless they are dirty rich, then maybe they are not one of the majority of college students, broke as hell. Or so she thinks.

Daphne sighs, "I'm just projecting." Her steps were loud. Her dad's boots were always like that. She walks almost too proudly with them despite being too big for her feet, because ever since her dad retired a few years ago, she never had the chance to buy new shoes. Sometimes she wishes that she can go back in time and buy everything that she wants for her college life, like shoes.. more shoes.. she just needs new shoes, actually.

Everybody here is struggling, but financially, Daphne thinks she struggles the most with it. No matter how much effort she puts in trying to save money. It would always circle back to her calling her dad to transfer her some cash because she would always end up using all her funds halfway to a month. She is pretty sure her dad does not mind, and she always tries to justify it by telling herself that it is only right for him to provide for her. Living far away from home makes it easier because she does not have to look at his face. That sounds really bad. She promises herself that she will give back to her parents, financially, especially to her dad.

Feeling so much weight on her shoulders, she sighs once again and stops at the only working water fountain at the campus. She skims her eyes across the flyers that are hanging onto their dear life on the wall next to the water fountain. Her eyes catch onto a particular, flashy promotion flyer of a seminar about self-development. She looks over to the list of speakers, one of them was Mason Hayes. She snickers. Even a guy like that can have some competency unlike me, she thinks. Mentally judging herself from judging another person. She thinks back to her first interaction with Mason in the sexual psychology class.

A week before.

"The deadline for this assignment is on the last week of this semester, the last meeting of this class. Do not slack off because this is no easy task. I give you all the assignment now, and put the deadline so far at the end for a reason," Mrs. Auburn reminded with a playful tone in her voice, but the warning did not pass unnoticed by the entire class. Some were regretting their decision of taking this class. But Daphne did not. She refused to feel even a little bit of regret. She chose this class out of her own interest and despite not having the best performance as of late, she was determined to do the best she can this semester, including in this class. That spirit, however, diminished when she got paired with one and only, Mason Hayes.

"Hey, Mason- hey! Mason!" she called out his name twice as he walked out of the class, oblivious to Daphne's calling out his name to talk about their assignment, but she eventually caught up to him and tapped him on his shoulder, "hey, Mason."

Mason who stood tall at probably 6 feet, or almost 6 feet, who cares? He was pretty freaking tall. She was intimidated, at first, but she managed to bury her social anxiety for a short moment for the sake of the assignment. Mason did not know who Daphne was, not that Daphne would be offended, anyway. However, how could you care so little that you don't even recognize the person you've been paired up with? Daphne thought.

Mason looked down in amusement. He thought she was some other girl who wanted to ask him out on a date.. or more. He stared down at Daphne, making her words catch in her throat, Mason was even more entertained, waiting for the moment she finally would finally ask him out and he had to turn her down. Although Daphne didn't notice it out of her own nervousness, Mason looked her up and down, scanning the way she dressed. She was definitely not his type. Almost. Just almost his type.

"I don't know if you're busy or anything but I think we should meet up sometime, in a cafe or something," Daphne almost fumbled her words. Mentally scolding herself for suggesting cafe meet up because she knew damn well she wouldn't want to buy any coffee to save money.

Mason craned his neck sideways before he brought out his oh so ever charming smile down to Daphne, "no can do-" before he could finish, Daphne beat him to it.

"We need to plan how we are going to do this assignment ASAP."

Too late. The damage was already done, he already said no. He read her intentions wrong. He could've played it off, but he was too embarrassed to think of how. Instead, he sticked with his answer. "No, I'm.. very busy."

Daphne blinked up at him, confused. What could make him so busy at the beginning of the semester? "Surely you can spare some time so that we can talk about this assignm-"

"I'll tell you when I'm going to be available, here's my number."

He got his number scribbled down on a paper, ready in his pocket.

Mason is one strange creature to Daphne, and incredibly annoying. She could feel her previous optimism towards the journey of straight As in this semester faltered. The semester had barely even begun.

Present

Although she made a list of things to do with the assignment, she had not hear a word from Mason, and her blood begins to boil whenever she looks at her unread texts. She groans. While putting her water bottle under the running water to fill it up, she hears a giggle and she turns her neck to the direction where the giggle came from. Well, if it isn't the very busy Mason Hayes. The cute, hot guy that Daphne hates to admit that even she is attracted to him, but she does, like, everybody, probably. They are kissing. Yuck. If there is one thing Daphne does not like the most besides being so broke all the time is PDA.

"I mean, do whatever you want I guess, but like..." Daphne grimaces when Mason pushes Mia against the lockers. He has his arms around her waist and looks like he is whispering something, probably disgusting in her ear that shortly after causes her to blush. Daphne can only assume they are going to bone tonight or something. Yuck, again.

It took her bottle to overflow with water to snap her out of her cringe-fest moment, "shit." She quickly pulls her bottle away from the sensor to stop it. She feels the water drips down her forearm to her rolled up sleeves and mutters, "great." Now, she has to deal with wet sleeves for the next few minutes.

Daphne goes back to stare at the couple. She has been trying so hard not to judge him just based on their last interaction. She wants him to have manners as good as he looks, but he makes it so hard to do so because despite being a competent speaker for a seminar and his claim to be so busy, Daphne thought he was legit a super cool, busy, totally not a slacker student, yet he can now be seen making out for everyone to see.

"Daphne."

Here comes Nicole, her bestest friend in the world. The only one who understands Daphne in every way possible and feeds her food when she runs out of money but too guilty to tell her dad about it. No, that is not the only personality that Nicole has, Daphne's feeder, no. Nicole is that friend you stay up late with to talk about the end of the world and the existence of heaven and hell, although they have talked much more extreme topics than those, like, for example, maybe, the past existence (or present) existence of lobotomy. Who is to judge which topic is more extreme, sticking a stick in someone's brain is pretty fucked up.

"Hey," Nicole greeted.

"You made quite the mess."

"I know."

"Let's go-"

Another giggle? No. A shriek, from the same person makes almost everybody turns their heads. Actually, everyone without headphones turns their heads, some thought there was legit a disaster, some frowns in annoyance, trying to study, but disturbed by the very frisky couple. Daphne and Nicole share a look to each other that says we are so gonna talk smack about them. Daphne and Nicole do not move, and continue watching the couple eat each other's faces, torturing themselves, until the busy Mason opens his eyes and locks his stare in Daphne's. Blinking a few times, Mason's eyes came to a half-opened, half-closed, stare, and winks at Daphne.

Jaw dropped, Daphne gasps for air dramatically and hurriedly ushers Nicole to go, "we gotta get out of here." Daphne shivers at the interaction and the wink that Mason just did.

"What the hell was that?"

"Yeah, what the HELL was THAT?" Daphne feels like she's gonna puke.

"Are you okay?!" Nicole genuinely asks, seeing the horror on Daphne's face.

Daphne produces weird moves with her whole body to shake off the unsettling sensation she is feeling. Disgust? Cringe? Perhaps, both? Yeah, definitely. All kinds of feelings, that are bad. "He winke-" she stops to fake an exaggerated gag,  "winked at me."

Wallet's empty, day's ruined, appetite nonexistent.

The sleeve of her shirt is already nice and dry, that is one less problem for her today, but that horrible, horrible wink added ninety-nine more to the list.

Like this.

Today's List of Daphne's Problems
1. A homework
2. Her empty wallet
3-101. The wink

Daphne ends up still hanging out with Nicole today. Nicole was going to treat Daphne to some chai latte but ends up buying her a whole meal for today's whole ordeal (bars). It seems to cheer Daphne up a bunch. A way to Daphne's heart is through her taste buds first. "Thanks, bestie, you're the best."

"Don't mention it."

"Alright, now, let's talk smack."

"Yup."

The later conversation is filled with a bunch of "eww"s, "ugh"s and eye rolls. Talking about the incident feels like it worsens Daphne's day, yet she can't help but pour out her emotions like something broke her emotional regulation dam. When she has tired herself out from all the gossip, she sighs, remembering all the 103 problems she has on the list of today's problems and previous days' problems. Money. MoNey. MONEYYY!!!

"How am I so broke, Nicole?"

"I don't know, you could try a part-time job?" Nicole suggests.

"I would if I could, but with nothing other than classes, I'm still not getting straight As, how am I supposed to graduate with flying colors with a job now? I'd tank my grades for real."

"You don't know that," Nicole tries to be positive.

"You don't know that either." Sighing, "I'm just scared I won't be able to get my grades up. Being so broke is tough enough, having a difficult groupmate is tougher, I hope I'm still at least alive by the end of this semester. GAAAHHH!!! What am I to do with that piece of turd of a man!?"

"You're right, and he's also, ugly."

"You know that's not right, he's crazy hot and that's the worst part," Daphne groans.

"You're forgetting that we have different tastes in men."

The rest of the hang out is just them shitting on other people. Other people in question: Mason. That is one people. One person, too many problems.

Maybe it is the fact that she won't admit that he is physically attractive and she is insecure as hell, or maybe he has struck a nerve in her brain that its sole purpose is to be a hater because she can't stop judging him. At least she still has some decency to be self-aware that hating him isn't healthy, but it's getting more and more difficult, thinking that he could be somewhere else making out with a girl and neglecting Daphne's desperate texts to schedule a short meeting to get their assignment started.