Chapter 2. The Call

The following day, Helen was in her room that she shared with her colleagues, studying her books ahead of the pharmacy exam they had the following week.

It was past 2 p.m., and yet she had not had her bath nor eaten her breakfast since morning. Due to her plus-sized figure, Helen was trying to lose weight.

She busied herself studying for her project test and practical coming up the following week.

Tasha Thompson returned from having her lunch and looked stunned to see Helen cuddled up on the bed, her books in her hands, and it was Saturday.

"Damn it, Helen! How could you not leave this room for a whole day just because we have an examination and practical next week? Come on?" Tasha said as she strolled up to the bed to meet Helen. Her hands reached for the book that Helen had been studying, and she snatched it and shut it.

"Tasha, give me back my book. I do not want to fail this exam," Helen said as she frowned at her best friend's behavior.

"You are a beauty with brains, Helen. Obviously, you wouldn't fail even if you didn't study your books for a week. So get out of the bed and go and have your bath and breakfast. This is already 2 p.m. I will only return your book to you after that," Tasha replied bluntly as she refused to return Helen's book to her.

Helen wore a long white nightdress. She grimaced and got out of the bed.

"Tasha, I am trying to lose weight, and that's why I haven't had my breakfast. The weight loss plan is a joke on me," Helen said as she couldn't believe that despite how much time she spent trying to lose weight, she was still plus-sized.

Tasha moved closer to the bed to meet Helen. She sat down on Helen's bed as she wore a red top and black skirt. She smiled and said, "Maybe you need a boyfriend to lose weight. Think about it. Sex is the only exercise to make you burn out all these calories that you are carrying."

"Tasha!…" Helen's face turned livid. Her eyes widened in shock.

"I don't need any boyfriend, and don't tell that crap again," Helen said as she got out of the bed, set to go and have her bath.

"Think about it, Helen. You will thank me later," Tasha said, her lips curling up in a smile.

"Damn you!" Helen cursed as she ran out of the room and went to the girls' bathroom to have her bath. It was Saturday afternoon, and they didn't have a class on Saturday.

However, after Helen left the room, Tasha's phone rang, and it was an incoming call from Samuel.

"Hello, Sam," Tasha said with a grin, as Samuel had promised her that if she helped him convince Helen to be his girlfriend, he was going to pay her 1 million for it.

Tasha's eyes had popped out. Though she liked Helen, she couldn't refuse such a huge offer. Besides, she wasn't from an influential family like Samuel.

"How's the deal going? Have you succeeded in convincing your friend?" Samuel asked, his voice calm, but Tasha rolled her eyes in jealousy.

"It's not going to be easy to convince Helen," Tasha said as she was the only one in the room.

"You know that the exam is next week, so you have to exercise patience until after we are done with the practical exams and the main exams too," Tasha said, her voice soft, and Samuel sighed.

"Mmm. I will await your result. If you don't help me out, then forget about the money." The call came to an end, and Tasha bit her lower lip hard.

*Why can't Samuel date me instead of Helen? What did he see in her? Is it because she is a virgin?* Tasha pondered as she gritted her teeth.

"Damn that chubby nerd!" she cursed out.

*****

Meanwhile, Helen had finished her bath and returned to her room to dress up. She got a phone call from her mother informing her that her father had fallen sick.

"What?" Helen shuddered.

With the practical the upcoming week, Helen couldn't leave for her family home to see her father.

"Mom, how is Dad? Is he recuperating better?" Helen asked, her voice tinged with sadness.

"He is not getting better. The doctor advised that we should prepare for the worst," her mother said, and Helen wiped her tears.

Helen wasn't able to focus on anything. She couldn't read, and she wanted to leave for her home immediately.

If anything should happen to her father, Helen knew that her four older brothers would want to fight for who would take over her father's small business, and it wasn't booming anymore like when her father was younger.

With his age declining and his illness getting worse, her father's small pharmaceutical company was set for bankruptcy.

Sitting in the room alone as the rest of her colleagues had gone out, Helen thought about her final year. She had only a year left for her to graduate as a pharmacist in the renowned university. If she couldn't pay up the 500,000, which was her tuition and accommodation f*e at the hostel, then how would she graduate?

As Helen's eyes were filled with tears, Tasha came back to the room and saw Helen crying.

"What's wrong, Helen? You do not look cheerful. What happened?" Tasha asked when she saw Helen's eyes filled with tears.

Picking up her white handkerchief, Helen wiped her tears off and said, "It's nothing. I will be fine."

"Don't tell me that. Talk to me," Tasha said as she sat beside Helen again on her bunk bed. But Helen wiped off her tears.

"It's nothing for you to worry about. I will be fine," Helen replied. She didn't want to tell Tasha about her family background. Helen was not from a rich family, even as she was very brilliant. She hid her family status from her friends as she didn't want them to mock her or laugh at her.

"It's fine. If you do not want to tell me," Tasha said, and she didn't press for Helen to tell her what the problem was. But she could see that Helen was not alright.

As that week passed by, the practical week were over.

Helen was not able to focus as she got a phone call from her mother that her father hadn't improved. In short, he had suffered a stroke after losing huge amount in a scam.

The scammer had posed as Kingston Pharmaceutical and scammed the Roberts Pharmaceutical in their state, claiming they would supply her father with huge new products. This led her father to trust the scammer, but the man had run away, and all the money was gone.

Helen couldn't focus on her exam and the lectures.

Professor Theodore Ruben noticed Helen's melancholy state, so he invited her to his office after the exam was over.

"Helen, what's wrong with you? I noticed that you haven't been active or looking happy since this exam week. Is anything the matter at home?" Professor Ruben asked as he sat on his office chair.

Helen lowered her head, not wanting to discuss her family. It was not something she would like to discuss, but she knew that she was going to repeat her final year if anything should happen to her father.

Dressed in a blue dress and black shoes, Helen lowered her head and avoided meeting Professor Ruben's eyes as she replied, "It's nothing, sir. I am fine."

"Mmm. It's okay if you do not trust me to tell me your problem. But if it's about money, I can help you out. You are one of the most brilliant students in this Avalon University, and I do not want you to lose focus on your exam. Moreover, you got credit instead of the excellent A that you used to get."

Helen couldn't say anything. Her lips trembled, but she smiled tightly and said, "I will do better next time."

"Hmm. It's fine. You can leave," Professor Ruben dismissed Helen. He was a 32-year-old man, and he was still single, but he knew that Helen wouldn't take him seriously even as he liked her a lot.

Professor Ruben kept his feelings to himself and decided to wait for Helen to graduate. He had joined the university four years ago, when Helen was a new student.