They Took My Ticket, I Destroyed Their Lives Chapter 04
“What kind of way could you possibly have?” Jayden’s voice was dripping with impatience. “You’re still acting tough at a time like this! I knew you were unreliable, couldn’t handle a simple task, and now you’re going to blame me, saying it’s all my fault…”
“Jayden, don’t talk to Kira like that.” Vivian gently tugged on Jayden’s sleeve, then turned to me: “Kira, if you’re really stuck, a friend of mine has an apartment off-campus. I could give you the keys…”
She tapped her phone a few times and turned the screen toward me. It was a rushed photo of a cramped, dingy room with mold on the walls, piles of unopened boxes and trash on the floor, and a shaky desk covered in leftover ramen cups.
This “friend” was clearly a man, and she was suggesting I go hole up in some guy’s flophouse? I looked at the photo of that dump where there wasn’t even room to stand.
“No thanks,” I refused again, my gaze sweeping over the two of them as I let a small smirk play on my lips. “My way home is a little faster than a train.”
Jayden clearly didn’t buy it, thinking I was just being a “pezzo di fango” trying to save face.
He waved his hand, acting like I wasn’t worth his breath: “Fine, fine, do whatever you want! Don’t come crying to me when you’re stuck! Vivian and I are heading out first thing tomorrow morning—just don’t forget about staking out those library spots!”
With that, he grabbed Vivian and turned his back on me.
The day of departure, the weather was actually perfect.
I was dragging my small suitcase out of the dorm when those two voices—the last ones I wanted to hear—came from behind me.
“Kira, you’re heading out even without a ticket?” Vivian caught up quickly, her eyes searching mine for any sign of desperation. “Did you find a place to crash?”
Jayden frowned at me, looking at me like an unruly child who was nothing but a headache: “You said you didn’t have a ticket. Where are you going with that bag? Don’t tell me you’re taking a long-haul bus…”
The disgust in his voice was thick enough to choke on.
“Those things are cramped and filthy, full of ‘poveracci.’ My roommate took one once; he came back smelling like a mix of cheap gasoline and sweat. It gave me a damn migraine.” He folded his arms and took a step back, as if I were already contaminated by a scent he found beneath him. “If you’re taking that garbage, don’t bother seeing me for a while. It’s embarrassing.”
“Jayden, don’t be so harsh… Kira clearly has no other choice.” Vivian turned to me with that “saintly” look of hers. “That little apartment I mentioned—it’s small and old, but it’s a roof over your head… I can give you the keys right now. It beats squeezing onto a bus.”
She made it sound like I was some homeless stray begging for a scrap of her pity.
I laughed. “I’m curious—why do you have the keys to some guy’s place anyway?”
Jayden heard this and thought I was just being difficult: “Look how kind Vivian is being, and you’re still ungrateful. Just take the keys and stay put. It’ll make it easier for you to go grab our spots at the library.”
Watching them play their little game, the last bit of respect I had for Jayden went cold. I curled my lip: “Don’t sweat it. I’ve got a ride.”
“A ride?” Jayden’s brow furrowed deeper; he wasn’t buying it. “To where? You don’t have anyone out here.”
“Home,” I answered flatly.
“Home?” Jayden acted like I’d just told a joke. “How are you getting home without a ticket? It’s a thousand miles. What, are you gonna fly?!”
He meant it as a sarcastic jab. I just nodded seriously: “Yeah. Taking the private bird.”