Hugo dragged his feet back to his dorm room, his face locked in a grim frown like soone who'd just watched their entire life savings get flushed down the toilet.
He wasn't even thinking about where he was going; his mind was completely consud by the horrifying numbers rattling around in his head.
"$50,000," he thought bitterly. "Fifty thousand dollars. How do you even ss up this bad in one week?!" He groaned, running a hand through his hair.
"No, wait—it's not even a full week! Just a few days ago, I was normal. And now? I'm a guy with a barely-fixed Benz, a bank account that looks like a joke, and enemies who might still be plotting to run over. Fantastic, Hugo. Just fantastic."
He shoved his hands into his pockets and glared at the sidewalk like it had personally offended him.
"Okay, so let's do the math again," he thought, trying to calm himself down. "I started with fifty grand. Then I bought the Benz for twenty-eight thousand. Okay, that's fine. It's a Benz—it's supposed to be expensive, right? But then, boom, gangs, a chase, and now repairs. Repairs! For three thousand five hundred dollars!"
Hugo groaned out loud, startling a group of students walking past him. He ignored their weird looks. "What does that leave with? Eighteen and a half grand? That's it? That's all I have left to my na?!"
He clenched his fists as a fresh wave of anger hit him. "That stupid gang! Those idiots cost my money and my peace of mind. I hope they all trip on banana peels and fall into potholes!"
But then his thoughts took a darker turn. He slowed down, glancing over his shoulder as if soone might be following him. 'Wait a second,' he thought, his brow furrowing.
'What if this isn't over? They found once—they can probably find again. What if they're watching right now? What if they're waiting for to let my guard down?'
Paranoia started creeping in, and his mind jumped to ridiculous solutions. 'Maybe I should just pack up and move to another continent. Or better yet, Africa! Nigeria could work.'
'Nobody would expect to hide out in Lagos. I could eat jollof rice, hang out at the beach, maybe even learn how to bargain at those crazy markets…'
His face twisted as he realized sothing. 'Wait, I don't even know how to bargain. I'd probably end up paying triple for sothing like a basket of oranges and embarrassing myself.'
He shook his head, trying to push the thoughts away. "No, running isn't the answer. I've got to stay here and figure this out. I'm not so wimp who runs away from problems… am I?" He sighed again, feeling like the universe was playing so cruel joke on him.
By the ti he reached the dorm, his face looked even grimr than before. He opened the door, fully expecting to collapse onto his bed and sulk for the rest of the evening.
But the mont he stepped inside, his ears were assaulted by loud music blasting from a phone speaker.
Collins, his roommate, was sitting in the middle of the room, bobbing his head to the beat and grinning like he'd just won the lottery.
He looked up as Hugo entered and imdiately burst into a wide smile.
"Yo, Hugo!" Collins called out, waving. "Man, what's with the face? You look like soone just told you your dog ran away."
Hugo barely glanced at him as he closed the door and threw his bag onto the couch. "I'm fine," he muttered, his voice flat.
"Fine?" Collins raised an eyebrow, leaning forward in his chair. "Bro, you do not look fine. You look like soone stole your wallet and then made you watch them buy ice cream with your money."
Hugo sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I said I'm fine, okay? Can you drop it?"
Collins didn't buy it for a second. He stood up, crossing his arms and staring at Hugo like he was a detective interrogating a suspect.
"Wait a minute… did you get dumped? No, no, you're not dating anyone. Did you fail an exam? Nah, you don't even study enough to care about exams."
He gasped dramatically. "Oh, wait! Did you run into your childhood crush? The one with the creepy laugh?!"
"Collins," Hugo growled, glaring at him. "If you don't stop guessing, I swear I'm going to throw your stupid phone out the window."
Collins raised his hands in surrender, grinning like he'd just won a ga. "Alright, alright, fine. Keep your secrets, Mr. Mysterious. But seriously, you look rough. Are you sure you're good?"
Hugo groaned and flopped onto the couch, throwing an arm over his face. "I said I'm fine, okay? Just drop it."
Collins shrugged and plopped back into his chair, still bobbing his head to the music. But then Hugo sat up, suddenly suspicious.
"Wait," Hugo said, narrowing his eyes. "Why are you so happy? You're sitting there grinning like you just won the lottery. What's going on with you?"
Collins' grin widened, and he leaned back, looking like he was about to deliver the punchline to the best joke in the world.
"Oh, man, you're not ready for this. Rember last week when I told you I went to et my mom's new boyfriend?"
Hugo frowned, trying to recall. "Yeah… you said he had creepy eyes or sothing, and you didn't like him."
"Exactly!" Collins said, jumping up from his chair. "But get this—he found out my birthday is next week, and he decided to give a gift in advance!"
Hugo raised an eyebrow. "A gift? What kind of gift?"
Collins' grin turned mischievous, and he gestured toward the door. "Oh, you'll see. Co on, follow ."
Hugo groaned but got up, following his roommate out of the room. As they walked, his curiosity started to grow.
'What kind of gift could have Collins acting this smug? A new pair of sneakers? A gift card? No, knowing him, it's probably sothing ridiculous like a karaoke machine.'
But as they stepped into the hallway, Collins turned to Hugo, his eyes gleaming with excitent. "Prepare to be amazed, my friend. You're about to witness greatness."
Hugo rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath. "This better not be another one of his dumb pranks."
_____
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