Part 3She Insisted Her Aunt Live With Us

After classes officially started, Riley kept to herself, looking quite carefree.

Her aunt somehow got hold of an electric scooter and would ferry her to the academic buildings every day.

During Riley's classes, the aunt would wait in a nearby empty classroom, sometimes even rummaging through recycling bins for empty bottles.

When Riley’s class ended, she’d weave through the crowds out of the building, and upon reaching Riley, give her a fierce hug.

All the students present would eye the two of them.

But Riley seemed to enjoy it.

Enjoyed the feeling of being the center of so much attention.

Passersby would whisper:

"Are those two okay? They're treating going to and from class like it's the SATs, getting so worked up seeing each other."

"The SATs just filter out people who aren't as academically strong; they don't filter out total babies."

Riley heard them but didn't seem to care at all.

She said to Aunt Carol:

"Auntie, I don't have any more classes. Let me take you to the dining hall for lunch."

With that, she hopped on her aunt's scooter, and they sped off.

Chloe and I exchanged a look; something felt off.

I pulled out my phone to check the schedule. The next class was clearly Calc 101. How could she say she had no more classes?

But time waits for no one, and we couldn't dwell on it.

After class, Chloe and I sprinted to the dining hall.

Damn, it was more crowded than Black Friday.

After getting our food, we finally found a table, only to see Riley and her aunt sitting at the next one.

Her aunt was eating food bought with Riley's meal card, praising it as she ate:

"The food at this university is just delicious! Riley, you eat more too. Classes are so tiring."

Chloe muttered, "She's only been in class for a few days, how tired can she be!"

Not wanting to disturb our precious mealtime, we didn't greet them, just turned away to focus on our food.

But, as luck would have it, her sharp-eyed aunt spotted us.

"Why are you so late! Any later and there'd be no food left."

We just exchanged a few pleasantries with her and didn't continue the conversation.

Chloe stared at her half-empty bowl, fiddling with her chopsticks dejectedly:

"Lily, I didn't understand a single thing in that Calc class. If you don't help me, I'm definitely going to fail the final!"

In the noisy environment of the dining hall, my conversation with Chloe was barely a whisper.

But to someone who was listening intently, it was heard crystal clear.

"Aren't you all in the same class? Why are your schedules different?" Riley's aunt scooted closer to our table.

Hearing this, Riley's chopsticks clattered to the floor.

She then guiltily picked them up, her eyes darting towards us occasionally.

Chloe was startled by her sudden movement and hesitated whether to speak. I nudged her under the table and said to Riley's aunt:

"We're in the same class and the same dorm, so of course, our schedules are the same. The professor said this course is really important, and we absolutely can't skip it. That's why we're so late to the dining hall."

I said it casually.

Hearing this, Aunt Carol's expression immediately soured.

She snatched the chopsticks from Riley's hand and slammed them on the ground:

"Did you have a class just now? Why didn't you go? You pretended you wanted to show me the university dining hall just to skip class, didn't you!"

"Your parents heartlessly abandoned you, and I raised you to this age, and now you dare to pull something like this?"

After being yelled at in public, Riley's ears turned beet red, but she mumbled:

"It's just one skipped class, what's the big deal? I saw online that a college experience isn't complete without skipping a class."

Smack!

Another crisp sound.

Everyone present gasped.

A bright red handprint appeared on Riley's face.

"Still dare to talk back! It looks like I can't leave your side for a second from now on. Who knows what you'll do next."

Seeing the crowd вокруг, Riley wanted to cry but was too embarrassed to cry too loudly, so she just buried her face in the table and whimpered.

My roommate and I took the chance to leave the dining hall.

We're all college students; it's good enough if we can manage ourselves.

But when I returned to the dorm that evening, I found someone on my bed.