He Picked My Roommate, I Picked a PhD Instead Chapter 11
“Guess the rich boy life isn’t so great. His parents heard about him bribing the school. Probably getting
grounded like crazy.”
Riley laughed beside me.
I
That night after closing, I was packing up the griddle when I saw my mom and brother standing under the
streetlight.
“Your brother’s wedding fund is still short sixty thousand. Keaton has money. Don’t be so ungrateful. Come
with me right now and make up with him.”
She grabbed my arm, wouldn’t let go.
I pulled free and dusted off my clothes. “I’m not getting back with Keaton. And I don’t have money for you.”
“The bride’s family is demanding eighteen thousand dollars. You don’t pay up, the Hayes name dies with you.”
My brother stepped forward to grab me. Just then Riley strolled up, sucking on a lollipop.
“Oh, look. Sloane’s family. Perfect timing. I need to talk to you. Sloane owes me half a million dollars. Was supposed to pay me back this week, but now she’s hiding. You’re her family. You wouldn’t let her skip out on
her debt, right?”
My mom froze. My brother’s hand stopped mid-reach. “Half a mil? What are you talking about?”
Riley pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her pocket and slapped it onto the cart.
“Right here in black and white. She borrowed it a while back to get this grilled cheese cart going. Now the cart’s making money and she’s pretending to forget.”
She leaned in, lowering her voice to a mean growl, and waved at the “crew” behind her.
“Let me be clear. Either she pays me today, or you pay for her. Don’t even think about skipping out.”
“Otherwise, I’ll bring some people to your town tomorrow and tear apart everything valuable in your house.”
My mom went pale. She pulled my brother back. “We don’t have any money. Her debt is her own. Nothing to
do with us.”
“Nothing to do with you?”
Riley smiled, crunching her lollipop. “She’s your daughter. If not you, who?”
She paused on purpose, eyes sweeping over my brother. “I hear your son’s getting married next year. You’ve
got money saved up, don’t you…”
My brother’s face twitched. He didn’t dare come closer. Just tugged my mom’s sleeve. “Mom, let’s go. Stop
talking to her.”
My mom tried to argue, but my brother dragged her away. They practically ran.
I looked behind Riley at her so-called crew.
Two high school boys in uniform, each holding a ten-dollar bill. They’d clearly come to buy grilled cheese and got frozen by Riley’s performance. They just stood there, confused.
I quickly pulled Riley aside and flipped two sandwiches from the griddle. “Sorry about that. We’re filming a skit. These are on me.”
The boys mumbled “oh,” took the sandwiches, and hurried off.
“You’re something else. Using two students as backup.”
I laughed and patted her arm. But inside I was relieved. My mom’s the type to get scared off like that.
Hopefully she wouldn’t bother me again.
The next week, I met with my advisor. We talked for almost two hours-paper topics, research directions. He
nodded a lot. At the end he said, “Your thinking is very clear. Wait for the decision.”
I was shaking when I walked out.
A few weeks later, I got the email: accepted into the PhD program. I stared at the screen three times, then
screamed and called Riley.
She dragged me straight to a hot pot place. We’d barely sat down when Keaton appeared at our table.
His eyes were red. He held out a little plushie-the one I used to love. His voice was soft, almost begging.
“Sloane, let me pay for this meal, okay?”
“Just… just as a memory.”
I shook my head. “No thanks. We’ll pay for ourselves.”
He started to say something else. Then two bodyguards came up behind him and pulled him away.
As they dragged him off, he looked back at me. Tears finally fell.
Keaton’s mother followed. She saw me and stopped. “Keaton is going overseas for business school. If you
still have feelings for him, when he comes back…”
“Mrs. Reed.”
I cut her off, voice calm. “Keaton and I are done. I won’t bother him again.”
She opened her mouth, seemed relieved, and didn’t say more. Followed the bodyguards out.
Riley piled meat into my bowl. “It’s about time. Good riddance.”
Months later, I dragged my suitcase to a new city.
My advisor was great. Brought me onto projects, helped me earn a stipend.
I settled in. One day I found a stray cat under my apartment building. Named her Waffles.
At night, after finishing my paper, I sat on the couch holding Waffles. The lights outside were warm.
My phone had a selfie from Riley. She’d opened a little accessory shop. I was a “shareholder.” Business was
good.
I stroked Waffles’s head and smiled out the window.
“This is nice…”
