"There's really no need, Ms. Darcey. Trust me, I'm fine. I have money."
Sophia spoke up right away. "Wait, did the James family give you money?"
Claire shook her head. "No, they didn't. The only things I took from the James family were my textbooks and a couple of outfits."
She didn't even try to hide how things had been at home. That alone made it clear to Sophia and Darcey what kind of treatment Claire had gotten.
"That's so unfair," Sophia said, frowning.
Claire just smiled. “It's alright, really. I'm not broke. Plus, my grandma lives in the countryside, but she's not just some old lady with nothing. I also have other relatives in Apex, and I'm staying with them right now."
Still, when Claire mentioned staying with relatives, both Sophia and Darcey looked even more concerned.
"Isn't it uncomfortable, though? What if your relatives get tired of having you around?" Sophia asked, her voice full of genuine worry.
Darcey gave Sophia a look. Sometimes this girl was just too honest. But Darcey also figured Claire probably wasn't all that comfortable with her relatives, or she wouldn't have asked about moving into the dorms.
"That won't happen," Claire said. She knew Edison wouldn't dare treat her badly, not with Pandora as his boss. Of course, she couldn't explain all that.
"Seriously, you don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine.”
Darcey thought for a moment but didn't have any better suggestions. At least living with relatives meant Claire was safe. If she had to live alone, someone as pretty as Claire might draw the wrong kind of attention. The more she thought about it, the more she realized her earlier idea just wouldn't work.
"Okay then. If you ever need anything, just come find me. That's what I'm here for. Now, go get some lunch."
Claire had insisted she was fine, but Darcey still suspected she didn't have much money. She knew how some students spent money like water but Claire new did. Her clothes and the way she carried herself always looked nice, but Darcey guessed she didn't have much spending money at all.
"Thank you, Ms. Darcey!" the girls said together, giving a quick bow before taking off for the cafeteria.
The school cafeteria was actually pretty good, and there were three floors. Claire and her friends usually went to the second or third floors, almost never the first.
Claire wasn't about to start pinching pennies just because she was having a rough time. Sophia took her straight up to the third floor without a second thought.
Eating on the third floor usually meant spending at least a hundred or two hundred yuan per meal, but Sophia was always generous with her friends.
Meanwhile, Molly was feeling a bit of pressure as she took Cindy to lunch on the third floor. Her monthly allowance was only five thousand yuan, and she'd had to beg her family for even that, insisting that making friends at school meant treating people to meals sometimes. Her family understood, so they gave her the money, but she still had to budget carefully. She'd put three thousand on her meal card, which came out to about a hundred a day, and now this meal was costing over two hundred. She kept telling Cindy to eat more, but honestly, every extra dish made her heart ache.
Sophia didn't have those worries. Her family ran supermarkets and did well for themselves. She was an only child, so her parents gave her ten thousand a month for expenses.
"Claire, seriously, order whatever you want. Don't hold back, okay?"
"I heard the pineapple sweet and sour pork here is new and really good. Want to try it?" Sophia suggested.
“Sure,” Claire said, glancing at the picture. It did look tempting.
Ordering on the third floor was easy with the tablets at every table. NO lines no waiting-just tap to order. and the food would show up at your table in no time. The service was top-notch, too.