Part 2I’ve Been Dying To Confess To You

Looking at my bank balance, which now perfectly covered my tuition with a few bucks to spare, I let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

But that peace only lasted about twelve hours. A text from my mom completely shattered my reality.

She transferred me forty bucks.

Attached was a message. Be careful with your spending this month. Your sister needs a new laptop for school, so money is a bit tight.

I stared at the forty dollars in total silence.

Last month she gave me four hundred. This month, it was slashed to ten percent. How was I supposed to survive a whole month on forty bucks?

The wicked ideas started bubbling up again.

I had already done it once. What was stopping me from doing it again?

Dying of embarrassment was temporary. Dying of starvation was permanent.

This time, I was going to be way more prepared.

I stayed up for three hours reading a thread called Ten Thousand Lines to Melt a Guy's Heart. I filled half a notebook with cheesy romantic lines and memorized them until I could recite them backward.

The next day after class, I clutched my textbook and sprinted toward the law building, terrified I'd miss him.

But the second I actually saw him, my brain turned to absolute mush.

I spotted him standing outside the building talking to his buddy. I quickly smoothed down my shirt, took a deep breath, and marched over.

I shoved a cheap, goofy capybara plush keychain right into his face and opened my mouth.

"Weston, you are the light of my bank account... wait, no! You are the light of my life!"

The moment the words left my mouth, my entire body went rigid.

It was over.

I completely fumbled the script.

The air went dead silent for two agonizing seconds.

He raised an eyebrow, his eyes swimming with pure mockery. "The light of your bank account?"

My face burned hot enough to fry an egg. I scrambled to fix it, my words tumbling out in a panicked rush. "No, no! I meant, you are like a light, illuminating my life... my life, not my bank account!"

The more I panicked, the worse it got. The romantic lines I had spent all night memorizing violently collided in my head.

"My love for you is like a freight train... completely off the rails! It's like... like the pizza at the dining hall, cheap but full of substance... wait, no!"

His friend totally lost it. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, laughing so hard he practically collapsed onto the pavement.

"I'm dying! Weston, where did you find this comedian?"

Even Weston's lips twitched upward into a genuine smile.

I wanted the concrete to open up and swallow me whole. I dropped my head, my voice shrinking down to a pathetic whisper. "Sorry... I just got a little nervous..."

This was humiliating.

Weston tapped the capybara keychain I was still holding up in the air. "Did your spiritual guru bless this one too? How much?"

"No, no guru this time. It's just a hundred and fifty..."

He took the goofy little capybara from my hand, turning it over in his fingers. He glanced from the plushie to my face. "This little thing kind of looks like you."

He pulled out his phone and tapped the screen a few times.

A second later, the beautiful notification chime rang out.

Two hundred dollars.

I looked up at him, my eyes wide and confused.

"The extra..." He raised an eyebrow, a teasing glint in his dark eyes. "...is the admission fee for that comedy routine."

I clutched my phone, staring at the fresh two hundred bucks in my account. Suddenly, the humiliation completely evaporated.

If embarrassing myself paid this well, I would happily do it every day of the week.

His friend threw an arm around Weston's shoulder and grinned at me. "Hey, freshman! We've got a basketball game tomorrow at three. Make sure you come cheer for our boy! Don't forget to bring him some water!"

I gave an awkward laugh, but after his friend practically demanded I show up, I finally nodded.