CHAPTER 2

The next day, Helen sat on her bunk bed, studying her books ahead of the pharmacy practical they had the following week.

It was 2 p.m., yet she hadn’t bathed or eaten 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 returned from having her lunch and looked stunned to see Helen curled up on the bed, her books in her hands. It was Saturday.

“Damn it, Helen!” Tasha exclaimed, striding into the room. “How could you not leave this room for a whole day just because we have examinations and practicals next week? Come on!” She strolled up to the bunk bed to meet Helen.

Her hands reached for the book Helen had been studying, and she snatched it and shut it.

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

“You are beauty with brains, Helen,” Tasha retorted. “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. It’s already 2 p.m. I will only return your book to you after that.” 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,” Helen explained, defeated. “The weight-loss plan is a joke on me.” 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 bunk bed to meet Helen. She sat down on Helen’s bed, wearing 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 fat calories that you are carrying.”

“Tasha!” Helen’s eyes widened in shock. “I don’t need any boyfriend, and don’t tell me that crap again.” She rose from the bed and set off to have her bath.

“Think about it, Helen,” Tasha said, her lips curled in a smile. “You will thank me later.”

“Damn you!” Helen cursed as she ran out of the room. She went to the girls’ bathroom to have her bath. It was Saturday afternoon, the Sun shone brightly, and they didn’t have any classes on weekends.

After Helen left the room, Tasha’s phone rang. 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 would pay her one million.

Tasha liked Helen, but she couldn’t refuse such a huge offer. Besides, she wasn’t from an influential family like Samuel.

“How’s the deal going?” Samuel asked, his voice calm. “Have you succeeded in convincing your friend?”

Tasha rolled her eyes. “It’s not going to be easy to convince Helen,” she explained 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,” she added, her voice soft.

Samuel sighed. “Hmm. 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 girl!” she cursed.

---

Meanwhile, Helen finished her bath and returned to her room to dress up. Her phone rang, and she saw her mother calling .

“Hello, Helen. Your father had fallen sick,” her mother said.

“What?” Helen gasped, shuddering.

With the practical examination coming up the following week, Helen couldn’t leave for her family home to see her father.

“Mom, how is Dad? Is he recuperating?” she asked, her voice tinged with sadness.

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

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

If anything should happen to her father, Helen knew that her four older brothers would want to fight over who would take over their father’s small business.

It wasn’t booming anymore, like when her father was younger. With his age advancing and his illness getting worse, her father’s small pharmaceutical company was set for bankruptcy.

Sitting alone in the dorm room as the rest of her colleagues had gone out, Helen thought about her final year. She had only a year left to graduate as a pharmacist from the renowned Avalon university.

If she couldn’t pay the five hundred thousand tuition and accommodation f*e for the hostel, then how would she graduate?

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

“What’s wrong, Helen?” Tasha asked, rushing over. “You do not look cheerful. What happened?” She saw Helen’s eyes filled with tears.

Picking up her white handkerchief, Helen wiped her tears and said, “It’s nothing. I will be fine.”

“Don’t tell me that,” Tasha retorted. “Talk to me.” She sat beside Helen again on her 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 though she was very brilliant. She hid her average family status from her friends because 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 Helen to tell her what the problem was. But she could see that Helen was not alright.

~~~~

As the week passed by, the practical day arrived.

Helen was not able to focus on her practical after getting a phone call from her mother that her father hadn’t improved. In fact, he had suffered a stroke after losing a huge amount of money in a scam.

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

Helen couldn’t focus on her practical exams, and her lecturer, Professor Theodore Ruben, noticed her melancholy state. So, he invited her to his office after the exam was over.

“Helen, what’s wrong with you?” Professor Ruben asked. “I noticed that you haven’t been active or looking happy since this exam week. Is anything the matter at home?” He sat on his office chair, staring at her.

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

Dressed in a long 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.”

“Hmm,” Professor Ruben hummed. “It’s okay if you do not trust me enough 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 university, and I do not want you to lose focus on your exams. Moreover, you got a 'credit' instead of the 'excellent A' that you usually get.”

Helen couldn’t say anything. Her lips trembled, but she smiled tightly and responded, “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 though he liked her a lot. He kept his feelings to himself and decided to wait for her to graduate.

Professor Ruben had joined Avalon University four years ago when Helen was a new student. He hoped to gained her attention.