He Said It Was A Test, I Said It Was Over Chapter 01
After spending hours under the blazing sun selling prepaid SIM cards at a wireless carrier’s campus booth, I decided to treat my best
friend and boyfriend, both of whom I thought were just as broke as I was. to dinner.
“A new burger joint just opened off campus. It’s supposed to be good
and affordable. I made a little extra today, so dinner’s on me.”
On my way there, however, I spotted my boyfriend inside an upscale steakhouse, cutting my best friend’s steak for her.
My best friend, Tamsin Pike, leaned over and took the bite with acoy smile.
“I’ve been eating at the Kingswell dining hall with Ren all week. Just
thinking about it makes me sick. How much longer do we have to keep this act going?”
“She’s a dirt–poor small–town girl. If she knew I was rich, how would
I know what she was really after? My birthday party next month will be the final test. If she passes, I’ll tell her everything.”
“She’s my best friend, and I’ve been covering for you this whole time. I found a bracelet I want. Consider it my fee.”
My boyfriend, Rhys Whitlock, pulled out his phone without a second thought.
At the same moment, my phone vibrated with two new messages in our group chat.
[Ren, I’m still handing out flyers. I can’t make it.]
[Same here. The restaurant’s slammed, and I can’t get away.]
I stared at the screen and let out a quiet, bitter laugh.
So I was the only one who had ever needed those part–time jobs.
I opened my email. The acceptance email for my fully funded study–abroad program at Westmere Institute of Technology was still open.
I tapped Accept.
Rhys, I was done taking your tests.
You and Tamsin could have your birthday party without me.
I crouched by the campus entrance for a long time, still struggling to process what I’d seen.
“Ren, why are you crouching out here?”
Rhys helped me to my feet and gently wiped the sweat from my forehead.
Tamsin looked at me with concern.
“What happened? Was the burger place awful? Say the word, and
‘we’ll leave it a one–star review.”
I shook my head and explained that I felt faint because I hadn’t
eaten.
The second I finished, Tamsin gave Rhys a playful swat.
“This is your fault. The restaurant was so busy that you couldn’t even take Ren to get something to eat.”
Rhys caught her hand and gently lowered it.
“Look who’s talking. You were too busy to make sure she ate too.”
“It’s still your fault!”
They kept bickering, completely forgetting that I was standing beside them, cold sweat running down my back.
They had always teased each other like this, and I had always stepped in immediately to smooth things over.
I’d spent so much time trying to help them get along that I’d never realized I was the one being shut out. Worse, I was the one they had been testing all along.
This time, I didn’t try to stop them. I simply turned to leave.
Rhys caught my arm.
“Forget Tamsin, Ren. I’m the one who actually cares about you. Look what I brought you.”
Rhys held out a sleek takeout box.
Inside the oversized box was half a steak. The logo printed across the lid matched the name of the restaurant where I’d just seen them.
Rhys had brought me food like this before. He always claimed the kitchen staff had saved it for him because they knew how hard he worked.
Every time, I’d treasured it so much that I could barely bring myself to take a bite. With tears in my eyes, I would tell him how much it hurt me to see him working so hard.
Now that I thought about it, every one of those extra meals had probably been whatever Rhys and Tamsin couldn’t finish.
When I didn’t respond, Rhys pressed his lips together.
“I had to wash a whole extra rack of dishes to get you this steak.
Don’t you feel even a little sorry for me?”
Faced with his wounded expression, I forced a smile and pushed t box back.
“No, thanks. I’m not hungry.”
After realizing I’d spent so long eating their leftovers, hunger was the last thing I felt. I was nauseated.
“Maybe Tamsin wants it. You two must be tired after working all morning too.”
I looked at Tamsin. She stiffened, and a flicker of disgust crossed face when she glanced at the box.
She quickly waved it away, and the jeweled bracelet on her wrist flashed in the sunlight.
I stared at it before speaking.
“Tamsin, that must’ve cost a fortune.”
From the look of it alone, she couldn’t have afforded that bracele
even if she’d handed out flyers from freshman year until graduation.
Tamsin touched the bracelet, hesitating before she answered.
“It wasn’t that much…”
She glanced at Rhys, then quickly added.
“My boyfriend bought it for me. He didn’t spend much.”
Tamsin beamed while Rhys’s expression tightened.
“I keep forgetting to tell you two, but I have a boyfriend now.”
The image of Rhys paying for her bracelet without hesitation flashed through my mind, and my smile froze.
Rhys gave me a comforting hug.
“Once I start making real money. I’ll buy you one too.”
I nodded and said nothing else.
On the way back to our residence hall, Tamsin kept showing me the designer handbags and jewelry she had ordered, some of them costing several thousand dollars.
Only then did I realize that nothing in her shopping cart cost less than twenty dollars, not even a hair tie.
I’d simply never looked closely before. Even if I had, I wouldn’t have recognized the brands.
As she talked, Tamsin occasionally turned to scold Rhys playfully.
“You should take notes. Buy our Ren something nice for once.”
It was true. In the three years Rhys and I had been together, the most expensive gift he’d given me was a simple cord bracelet he
‘ claimed he’d had blessed especially for me.
He said the thought behind a gift mattered more than its price.
I’d worn it like it was priceless for three years. Now, the thought of how much I’d treasured it felt ridiculous.
After we returned to the residence hall, Tamsin stepped into the hallway to take a call, keeping her voice low.
“Why did you make it so obvious that you’re my boyfriend? What i
Ren figures it out later?”
“You don’t get it. I was helping you test her. We need to see whether she’d dump you the second a richer man showed interest. Rhys Whitlock, don’t you dare snap at me when I’m doing all this for you!”
The man on the other end immediately softened his voice and started placating her. I heard him murmur, “Okay, okay, you win,” but I didn’t stay to listen.
The moment I opened the door, my roommate, Lenora Finch,
stared at me in surprise.
“Maren, didn’t you turn in your application? Why aren’t you on this year’s scholarship list?”