Nadia waited for the school to be over but the offer from Yoko did not come.
In fact, Yoko didn't even look close to guilty throughout the day. The girl who ran after Nadia to ask her for friendship was nowhere to be seen.
But the worst of it all was the other classmates they had. Those bastards didn't even wait a minute before jumping at this new opportunity to take advantage of the hole Nadia left behind.
'They are all leaches. I hope they all get scammed by Yoko just like she did to me. It would serve these fools right.'
Nadia's brain was a mess while she walked home. She needed to hurry and check how much savings she had in her pocket.
She needed to pay these losers back as soon as possible or Nadia would be in trouble soon.
Nadia had seen what happened to the students who had debts pending and the future was not pretty for them. This place might just be a school but it was the foundation of society.
The connections made in School went a long way to secure a bright future.
"Hey Nadia, I hope you have our money with you. Ah, but I heard that Yoko dumped you. So where are you going to get our money now?"
'Agh, I wanted to avoid these jerks today. Looks like I ran out of luck."
Nadia forced a polite smile on her face as she turned toward the seniors she had invited to lunch as well.
Since Nadia had been sure that Yoko would pay off the bill, Nadia had seen no harm in expanding her influential circle with important people.
Who knew that this move would backfire so much on her?
"Hey, I said that I would get you your money and I will do it tomorrow. Just give me a day to collect that money first."
"But I wanted the money today. Why should I give you until tomorrow to pay back the money? Don't you care about your reputation at all?"
Nadia wanted to swear at hearing those seniors' words.
'What reputation could I have possibly left after Yoko's betrayal and the fiasco from the afternoon. I am already ruined.'
Nadia's smile was bitter but she still forced herself to smile. These seniors held powerful cards against her and Nadia could not afford to anger them.
"Ah, that reminds me. Isn't your uncle an employee in our branch company? I'm sure that he would love to know what you did to me and how it will affect him now."
'That's a threat. Why are you dragging my uncle into this?'
A decent person would have not dragged unnecessary people into this fight but no one standing in that circle was innocent. And Nadia shuddered to think what would happen to her if her uncle got fired because of her.
"Fine, I will get you double the money I owe you tomorrow. Can you please let me go now?"
"Now that's a deal I can accept. Don't forget your words Nadia or your future will become bleak pretty soon."
Nada cursed inside her head even as she smiled a soft and thankful smile toward those seniors.
'I'm fucked now. How will I get all that money.'
Had Nadia chosen a common restaurant for lunch then this would not have happened? But she had to choose one of the most elite restaurants on campus with astronomical rates.
Not to mention, the seniors had not held back when they ordered food there. The resulting bill had been more than Nadia's parents made in two months.
'I cannot ask my parents for money like this. What should I do now?'
Nadia was scared and also in a lot of trouble. Not only her peace but her very lifestyle was at risk now.
Even if she somehow managed to gather enough money to pay the seniors back, what will she do about her buying habits and clothes?
After all, Nadia could not just wear those same clothes to the high-end parties she had managed to weasel her way in because of Yoko. Nadia needed those future connections.
"I know what I can do. I can ask 'them' for help. He said that he will help me whenever I needed a small price from my side. And I have nothing to lose."
Nadia was a desperate woman and she chose the worst option available to her. This was the turning point for her but the teen did not know it just yet.
___________________________
"Finally, the day is over. I cannot believe how boring the school is. To think that I will have to deal with this five times a week."
Amane watched the people around hurry out to leave the classroom. Many even called out to her in an invite to hand out but Amane declined them all with an excuse of being 'too shy' right now.
'As if I cannot see the greed shining in your eyes. You just want me there for my money.'
Amane was not desperate enough for friends to make the same mistake as Yoko. The second she started showing an interest in friendship, these leeches would suck her dry.
However, not everyone was like that. Frankly, Amane was surprised to see Lady Ely looking her way a few times before Faridha slapped her back and dragged her over.
"She wants to hang out with you after school. Just accept or reject her so that she can stop being this foolish mess."
"Lady Faridha! I'm sorry Lady Yoko, I-"
"I don't mind hanging out but we will need to pick up my cousin Sakura on the way as well. I promised her that I will spend the day with her. If you both have no trouble then you can join us."
Amane liked how to direct Lady Faridha was. She did not beat around the bush like other people and she also had no interest in Amane's money.
For someone who claimed to love money, Lady Faridha sure was weird. Or maybe Amane was just reading too much into things.
"You are inviting me to hang out with you as well? Well, how interesting. I will agree with you under the terms that you follow me to the place I want to go. Do you have a problem with that?"
Was this a test to see if Amane would agree or not?
But frankly, Amane had no problem with following after Faridha. People like Faridha were resourceful and rare to come by. Amane had a feeling that it would be good to follow after her.
"Am I going to be taken advantage of by you Lady Faridha? Will you try and scam me out of my money as well?"
Amane teased the younger but by the expression on Lady Faridha's face, it might not be that far off from the truth either.
'Wow seriously? I ask you to hang out and you still try to profit off me? Now you've made me curious.'
"I am neither going to agree nor deny your claims. Just let me know if you agree to my terms or not."
It felt more like a business proposal to Amane than a casual hangout. She could see that Lady Ely was getting uncomfortable with this conversation as well.
"Alright, I agree. Let's pick up Sakura first then head to where you wanted to. I didn't have any solid plans of my own so this works out."
Amane watched amused as Lady Faridha's eyes narrowed when she looked at Amane.
But in the end, all she did was nod in agreement and lead Amane toward the building Sakura was housed in.
Amane had ot say that if it was not for her two partners, she might have never found the right way to Sakura's building.
Her cousin was waiting in front of the main door while checking her phone out. Sakura had a bored expression on her face but it was surprising to see no one with her.
From the morning drama, Amane was sure that Sakura was fairly popular in the school. So the lack of friends was a little surprising to see.
"Yoko, you sure took your time….."
Sakura's annoyed expression turned into a blank one as soon as she saw Amane's company. Amane had a feeling that Sakura was disappointed at the additional people surrounding Amane.
"So this is Lord Tsurugi's daughter? I have to say that she looks rather ordinary. Well, not exactly ordinary. Those things are a weapon of their own but still....I don't know what I expected."
Amane nearly lost it at Faridha's comments. It did not take a genius to know what 'those weapons' Lady Faridha was referring to.
The school uniform made Sakura's boobs look even larger than they were. Amane had not wanted to say it in the morning but she had thought the same.
"You should not laugh since you are in a similar situation. But you are lucky that you are wearing the boy's uniform and not the girl's."
"I know. But you don't have to say it to my face." Amane's scolding was more of a taunt to the Faridha.
"Uh, I think we should stop speaking of this topic now. Lady Tsurui — I mean, Sakura doesn't look comfortable with it."
Ely was a good person for trying to divert the conversation. Sakura did have a complicated look on her face but Amane knew it was not because of the comment made on her chest.
'One meeting and you are already thinking whether you can use these people or not? Sakura sure adapts fast.'
Amane recognized the look in Sakura's eyes. But she let the younger one try her best this time as well.
It was not like these kids were a threat to Amane's position and she did want to make use of them.
The world was not the same place Amane remembered it being. She needed allies until she adjusted to this world.
"Now Lady Faridha, kindly tell us where you wanted to take us?" Amane finally asked the question.
To say that she was not excited would be a lie. Amane was excited to know where someone like Lady Faridha would take her.
"Ah, didn't I tell you? We are going to the casino to earn money. A casino is such a magnificent place to earn easy cash but they banned me from betting on most Casino Chains. So this time we shall try your luck."
'Lady Faridha taking us to a Casino to gamble? This doesn't suit a money-hungry lady like her.'
If Amane knew anything about Casino, it was that they did not like winners and losing money. Lady Faridha was also someone who did not like losing money.
There was no way she would have a good relationship with a Casino. But for the female to still suggest them going to a casino was odd.
'This feels like a trap. Now I want to step in and check the Casino out.'
Amane was sure that this was likely a scheme to make Amane lose money. Sakura's distasteful look was visible on her face.
"A casino? Lady Faridha, I don't think this sounds very safe." Lady Ely's hesitant.
"Or legal. Isn't gambling a crime for minors?" Sakura added her words into the mix as well to get Faridha to change her mind.
But Lady Faridha just laughed their concerns away with a loud sound.
"Non-sense. It's only a crime if we get caught and I have a few connections that can get us past security. Besides, you don't need to bet big to enjoy the casino. You all have some spare cash to use anyway."
Lady Faridha did not back down even after she watched the disapproving looks of her companions.
Amane was just plain amused at the absurdity of the situation before she decided to add her two cents as well.
"Well, I don't mind taking part in a little gambling. And I would also like to see how a casino operates. Sakura, let's go to the Casino."
"Yoko, WHAT? HAVE YOU GONE MAD? YOKO!"
But it all fell on deaf ears and the party ended up in front of the Casino in no time.