Alex looked at Eric's face. He could see that Eric was pretending, but he didn't care. He was just asking for food.
"All right, go ahead. I'll pay for your meal after dinner," Alex said.
"Mr. Alex, we have been starving for days. We want to eat something good on the second floor," Eric pushed, gesturing at his classmates beside him.
"Fine, go ahead", he said.
The group behind Eric laughed, and suddenly the remaining students from Class 6 stepped forward and gathered around Alex.
"Mr. Alex, what about the rest of us?" one of them asked. "How can you offer to pay for their dinner and not ours?"
"Yes, we have run out of money for meals, too," another student pitched in. "And all the exercise from this morning's lesson has left us feeling so exhausted."
"Mr. Alex, everyone deserves to eat. It wouldn't be fair if only a few of us got a nice meal. Can't you pay for the others too?" Eric asked.
Alex put down his fork and glanced at the students, who were supposed to be from rich, aristocratic families. "Why does someone always have to disturb me when all I want to do is sit by myself and eat?"
He looked at all their faces and noted that Heidi and Dylan, as well as the other six classes, were not there.
"All of you have no money?" Alex asked suddenly.
All the students nodded.
"I see. Well—"
"Students of Class 6, don't pressure Mr. Alex. You don't know him very well yet," a voice broke through. A space cleared to reveal Billy, who couldn't pass up an opportunity to mock and humiliate Alex. "When he was in college, he never knew where his next meal was coming from, and he had to apply for the minimum living allowance. Don't be hard on the poor man. He barely has any money to spare. I'll buy dinner for you all."
Alex watched Billy's performance quietly, allowing him to continue. "You don't even know why Alex's girlfriend broke up with him when they were in university. It was because he didn't have any money. He was so poor that he couldn't even afford to support his girlfriend."
"Are you rich?" Alex raised his eyebrows, surprised at how much Billy remembered of his past.
"Of course. I have more money than you, at least," Billy said haughtily. Alex's poverty was his weakness. He had wanted to see how long Alex could last in a school like this, surrounded by people from affluent families. In the end, the only thing that mattered was money.
"Okay. I'm going to pay for all the students in Class 6 to have a good meal. What are you going to do?" Alex asked.
"As long as you dare to buy Class 6 dinner, I'll pay for all the students on the first floor to have dinner too!" Billy said in a loud voice, drawing the attention of people in the canteen.
"Poor fool, daring to challenge me in front of everyone", Billy thought. "Let's see him put his money where his mouth is."
Billy turned and looked around the dining hall. He estimated that there were about seven or eight hundred people eating on the first floor. One hundred people would cost a little over a thousand dollars. For him, that wouldn't really be a problem. As long as he had the opportunity to beat Alex, he would spend as much money as he had to. It would definitely be worth it.
"Shall we make this a little more interesting?" Billy was bold now, as he finally had the means to crush Alex.
"How?" Alex asked.
"If you can afford three meals for your students, I'll pay for everyone on the first floor to have three meals. If you pay for ten meals, I'll pay for ten meals. If you pay for one hundred meals, I'll buy one hundred. How about that?" Billy asked scornfully.
Of course, he knew that Alex wouldn't be able to buy any meals. He remembered Alex from their time in university. He had no money and no family background. There was no way he would be able to afford to buy meals for his students.
"I'm going to defeat you, Alex, and let you know I'm not one to be underestimated."
Billy was sure there was nothing Alex could do. He was the very man who had stolen Alex's girlfriend and had been able to travel around the world with all the money he could want at his disposal.
He was startled out of his gloating by Alex's next words.
"All right, call the kitchen manager," he said cheerfully. "Let's go upstairs now."
Before Billy had time to react, Eric and Lance had loudly spread the news. They didn't care who won or lost, or if a fight broke out. In fact, the bigger the fight, the better. They just wanted free food. "Hurry up!" they beckoned to the others.
Billy collected himself and straightened his shoulders. He looked proud. This was the perfect chance to get rid of Alex." I'll play along, and let you pretend you have money. The truth will be revealed soon. Then you'll have to give Class 6 to me."
Everyone went up to the second floor, and the manager met Alex and Billy at the counter.
"So, I'll buy a few meals for Class 6, and you'll buy a few for the other students?" Alex asked Billy.
"Of course. Do you think I would go back on my word in front of so many people?" Billy sneered.
"However, if you beg me for mercy, I can consider letting this go, so you don't embarrass yourself here as you did in university." He was confident that Alex would begin to get nervous after buying five meals and admit defeat sooner rather than later.
Alex smirked and turned to the manager. "Well, sir, you're here now, and you have heard all about what we're doing." The manager nodded. "Then I would like to officially announce that the students of Class 6 can order any meal on the second floor, three meals a day, for three months, and I will settle all their accounts."
Billy laughed scornfully. "Alex, don't be so brash. You don't want this to backfire. You better check your wallet again before you make a decision like that." Alex didn't react to Billy's words. "Do you understand me?"
"There's no way Alex can pay for these meals. He'll probably have to sell the clothes off his back to have enough to settle the accounts." Billy chuckled at the thought.
"How much is it, sir?" Alex was asking the manager.
"That will be 106,000 dollars," the manager said, after quickly calculating.
Billy laughed. "106,000 dollars. You have that much?"
He might as well have asked Alex if he was the President of the United States. However, in a flourish, Alex pulled out a credit card and slammed it onto the counter.
"Swipe the card," Alex demanded and sneered at Billy.
Billy was stunned, but he wouldn't let Alex win. "You dare to pretend," he immediately retorted. "You take out a bank card and think you can fool everybody? Are you trying to scare me?" He scoffed.
"Swipe it." The manager picked up the card and ran it through the register. A small receipt squeaked out.
Billy quickly snatched the paper up, reading it up and down carefully.
"Really? The transaction went through?" Billy still refused to believe it. He clearly remembered when Alex couldn't even afford to eat. He couldn't imagine where the money could have come from.
"Isn't he still working to pay back his student loans? Didn't he have to work as a security guard just to get by?" Billy was a little confused.
"Mr. Wilde?" Lance suddenly asked. "Mr. Wilde, don't be alarmed. It's your turn. The manager will run up your bill now. See how much it will cost for eight hundred people."
Everyone waited in silence as the manager calculated the cost. "All right," he said after a pause, looking at Billy. "That will be three million dollars."