Goodtale
Sawyer Lund is my brother, and I've been his wingman since we were kids. Growing up, my absolute favorite thing to do was serving him—bringing him his drinks, getting his food, even lighting his cigarettes. I do it happily and never complain.
When Sawyer gets accepted into Javon University, I waste no time skipping grades and following him there.
On the first day of the semester, Sawyer walks into our dorm room with eight bodyguards. Our roommates greet him enthusiastically while I busy myself cleaning up his desk. Harvey Warren is the only roommate who mocks me pointedly for it.
"You're not Sawyer's roommate," he says. "You're clearly his lackey."
I just smile and stay silent.
One day, Sawyer carelessly tosses his newly purchased Patek Philippe to me and says, "The colorway suits your style better. You should wear it instead."
Harvey happens to walk past the door just as I accept the watch with a smile.
Over the weekend, with Sawyer away on a business trip abroad, Harvey and I are the only ones left in the dorm.
"Do you know what everyone in class calls you behind your back, Felix?" he says. "Sawyer's lapdog."
The next day, Ruby Sutton, the campus belle who happens to be my girlfriend, tells me to meet her out on the field. She furrows her brow deeply the moment she sees me.
"Do you have to be this pathetic, Felix? How could you throw away your dignity and become someone's lapdog just for a watch? Harvey's family isn't well-off, but even he lives with more dignity than you do."
She pauses, then delivers another crushing blow. "Harvey takes the top spot in our major yet again in this term's finals. What do you have to show for yourself? You spend all your time acting as a glorified goon while your grades sit at rock bottom. Do you not feel ashamed, Felix?"
Harvey tugs gently at her sleeve and lowers his head. "Please stop arguing with him, Ruby. You know how much I dislike this kind of thing."
Ruby's expression immediately softens.
I watch her rub his shoulder and smirk. Has nobody noticed that Sawyer and I have the same last name—Lund?