Pure Poison

Chapter fourteen

Arc, Patrick, and James were all inside the dining hall sitting at a table eating their dinner in silence until one of them decided to speak up.

"So, I told my friend to investigate Neo. Yes, I know I should not have, but I felt like I needed to. I spoke to him this morning while he ate his muffin. He had to work nineteen days straight at his job so he can pay for the rest of his tuition. I kind of want to tell my dad to put more grant money in and give it to Neo." Patrick said before taking another bite of his cheeseburger. James looked at Patrick.

"Would that not raise suspicion? Unless he applied for it, he will know something is up. Also, why did you investigate him? Even If he gets the tuition money, he is still going to want to work to afford other stuff. I know your dad can see if he did apply for one and see if he can add the money and award him that money. Do you know how much he owes still?"

"Let me look." Patrick pulled out his phone and went through his and his Daniels messages. He sipped on his water and spoke; "He owes three thousand two hundred and eighty-seven dollars and three cents. That is for the semester. Next semester he owes over five thousand dollars. He is going to kill himself trying to pay this."

Arc stayed silent while he ate his food. He finally understood why Neo does not get home until after midnight and only gets three to five hours of sleep. He was mad that Patrick looked Neo up and mad that James is taking a like to Neo. He wanted Neo to be his and his alone. He messed up the first few interactions with him and knew it was going to take a moment for Neo to speak with Arc. He sighed loudly before setting his cup down.

"Do you know where he works? We could always pay a visit. Or we could buy the building and give him a raise? Or what if we just throw the money at him? Hm? God you two piss me off sometimes. He is going to know something is up because he already got a rejection letter for the grant he applied for. I know because he left his computer open once when he went to shower.... Plus, he just told you that he has to work for tuition."

"Someone is prissy, but yes, I do know where he works. He is a server at a restaurant down on fourth ave. Some fancy place. Ji' Pere' or some shit. I already called and able to get a VIP table in Neos section. He is one of the best servers there. I thought the name sounded familiar and I realized my father goes there when he has very important meetings. The owner said that Neo has over fifteen regulars and makes a fortune each night he works. Neo has also been given a raise to only be in the VIP section. He has to make good money."

James spoke up; "Wait is that the place where there are rooms in the hall and like it seems very... off? I went there once with my tribe and we were brought to a room and there were two guards at the door, with masks, and the server took care of us very very well, but if he makes a fortune then why hasn't he paid off his tuition?"

Patrick looked back through his phone messages and showed the others. "My friend was able to figure out Neo's monthly bills and where his money goes. He may or may not have hacked his bank account, but its fine."

James pondered before responding. "Why does twelve hundred dollars a week transfer into another account? That's most of his money except his car payment, car insurance, tuition payment, and well anything else. If he didn't have to transfer money then he could live like, well, like us."

"It almost seems like once his account hits the twelve hundred it automatically transfers. Was your friend able to figure out where that goes?"

"He did. It goes to someone named Max Hemming. I looked him up and it is Neos foster father."

"What if Neo is paying bills for them or like since they paid a good part of his tuition, he is paying them back?"

"Max Hemming has a net worth of over a five hundred million dollars. He doesn't need Neo to repay him back. Must be something else."