*beep beep, beep beep*

"This stupid alarm again!"

Uriel woke up with the left foot and a cranky attitude. It didn't matter how many times it happened, once again he got lost in his studies until late night, thus preventing him from getting his much needed sleep.

Uriel poked his hand out of the sheets and patted blindly, his eyes still closed, and found what he was looking for. A light tap on top of the vintage alarm clock should have been enough to stop it from ringing, but it fell right behind the night stand, forcing him to get up and reach for it.

*ouch*

Uriel yelped in pain as his little toe clashed against the feared night stand leg. The only silver lining of his already spoiled day was the invigorating effect that pain had on his still sleepy brain.

'This is not how an alarm clock is supposed to wake you up, but I can't really argue with its results.' He inwardly thought as he put it back on its place.

After rubbing his foot lightly, he rushed to get a quick shower before class, hoping to catch at least some of the warm water before it runs out. Just as expected though, being the last one to wake up due to his unhealthy studying habits made it impossible for him to get warm water and he ended up under the merciless rain of the cold shower, just like always.

Shivering in cold, the young student picked up whatever clean clothes he could find that were clean enough to avoid passing as a beggar in front of his classmates and put them on as quickly as he could, not wasting a minute in checking his appearance in the bathroom mirror.

After living with his uncle for so long, even his modest accommodation in the male dorm rooms was an upgrade. At least now he was free to do whatever he wanted, that is, as long as he had enough money, which he did not.

His scholarship was barely enough to cover for his living expenses and not much else, his situation wasn't unique, but that didn't make it any easier for him.

One step outside the male dormitory and he noticed the presence of his 'friends' right at the entrance. They were chit chatting and laughing as always and, without the need to even listen to them, Uriel was already able to guess the subject of their mockery, himself.

Not wanting to deal with them with the bitter mood caused by his morning bad luck streak, Uriel tried to keep his head down and walk past them unnoticed.

"Hey Uri, where are you going so fast?"

Mark Jacobs, the third son of the Jacobs company, stood in his way. They were clearly waiting for him to come out.

"I'm running late for class, so if you excuse me..."

Uriel replied with a smile as fake as a three credit bill.

"Don't be like that, bro, I've been waiting for you. You see, I need someone to bring me a coffee, but I too am running late for class. I'll give you a twenty so you can get yourself a coffee too."

Mark said hiding his true intentions behind an amiable smile, even faker than Uriel's.

"Sorry, I can't, my girlfriend should be on her way here."

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"Come on, man! I know you need the money, I'm just being a good friend."

Mark waved the bill right in front of Uriel with a smirk. Noticing how stubborn Mark's attitude was today, he gave up and extended his hand to grab the bill, but Mark let it fall on purpose.

"Woops! my bad."

The group burst into laughter as Uriel crouched to pick it up.

'This is just what I needed today, I wonder if this is what they call Murphy's law' He thought to himself on his way to the cafeteria.

Even though he ran as fast as he could, by the time he made it back to the dorm's entrance, his girlfriend was already waiting for him at the entrance.

Her visage was enough to sweep any man's feet, she was wearing a cute flowery daydress and classy high sandals, her designer bag that she used to carry around her notebook was simple enough to look like an ordinary handbag, but it was of high quality.

Everything about her screamed she was a beauty, from her brown wavy hair that waved even with the most gentle breeze to her full lips that always drew a dazzling smile.

Uriel sighed when he saw her and everything would have been perfect if not for one single detail.

She was talking and giggling along with Mark.

"You're finally back Urinal!"

Mark laughed.

"Don't be like that! why are you insulting my boyfriend?"

She said in a childish tone that oozed pity and shame in equal parts.

"Oh! I wouldn't dare do that Tina, we're friends, it's just joking among friends."

Mark came over and placed his heavy arm over Uriel's shoulder, being taller and stronger than Uriel, it actually took him a lot of effort not to spill the coffee he was carrying.

"I brought you your coffee, so..."

"Hey, where's the change? I told you you could grab a coffee for yourself, not that you could keep the change. It's not my fault you didn't get one."

Uriel's eyes widened in surprise, he knew how much Mark despised him but he had never attempted to humiliate him so blatantly. After hesitating for a few seconds, Uriel took the change from his pocket and handed it to Mark.

"Hey, I was just messing around, I know you're poor. You can keep the change."

Mark extended his hand yet Uriel feared he would intentionally drop it forcing him to pick the coins up from the floor.

"It's ok, I'll just go to class now."

"Don't be like that, come on man, just grab it."

To no one's surprise, when Uriel reached for the money Mark dropped it on the floor. Feeling embarrassed by his so called friend, Uriel turned to his girlfriend who now looked at him as if she was expecting for him to do something about it.

But the hard truth was that he was unable to do anything to keep them from bullying him. Be it social status, riches or even physical strength, Uriel was at the bottom of the group, if not at the bottom of the whole college.

It was only thanks to his outstanding grades and results in the admittance test that he got a scholarship and permission to live in the college dorms, he couldn't risk fighting back and getting expelled by either misconduct or political pressure.

He just couldn't make enemies of anyone.

"Let's go Tina."

Uriel said under his breath, swallowing saliva along with his wounded pride after picking up the money from the floor. He felt offended, but truth be told, if he wanted to participate in his first incursion he needed to get as much money as possible or he wouldn't be able to even afford the tickets. Tina followed him because they had a common class to attend, but when he extended his hand towards her she didn't take it.

"We need to talk."

She said as soon as they were alone and Uriel already knew where the conversation was heading to.

She was the only daughter of one of the most important figures in the city. Although her father wasn't part of any international conglomerate, he had businesses all over the city and his daughter meant everything to him. In other words, she was a spoiled rich girl.

Not only that, her looks were outstanding to the point everyone who ever saw Tina knew she had to be the top beauty in the freshman year. What most people didn't know, though, was that she didn't have a head for studying, she wasn't necessarily dumb, but she never put nearly as much effort into her studies as she did into her appearance.

But even taking that into consideration, she was still way out of his league and the only reason Uriel found within his mind for Tina to be with  someone like him was because he helped her in her studies.

Just as she was mustering the courage to break up with him, the best possible excuse came to mind as Uriel's old flip cellphone rang.

"I'm here trying to have a serious conversation with you, and you can't even pay attention to me for one full minute. I had it, we're done!"

She ran away, faking a cry without even giving Uriel enough time to turn off the damned phone.