My Darling I am no More

chapter 20 Friends, Food, and Fake Smiles

In the next class, the professor first takes everyone's introductions and points out Eliza, Clara, and Arthur as students with good grades. He wishes them to keep it up and tells others that if they don't understand anything, they can ask these three students. Eliza and Clara narrow their eyes and laugh because they both know that without some boys around, no one will ask them anything – everyone will go to Arthur.

Last night, Eliza talked to her family. Everyone seems to miss her so much, just like she's missing them. Her mother tells her she made a new recipe, so Eliza must watch her YouTube channel and learn the recipe to make it for herself. After that, the day's classes end. Eliza and Clara start packing up their things. Mostly students, especially girls, walk towards Arthur for asking questions, but Arthur rejects them, saying he's busy right now. During that time, Eliza and Clara also come out of class. They keep talking, and Arthur somehow reaches them. He doesn't pass them by but keeps walking behind them. Eliza and Clara are lost in their own world.

Arthur believes that Eliza might be acting cool by not giving him any attention, maybe privately she talks about him. Actually, Arthur doesn't understand why he's acting like this. He wasn't like this before; he was a smart, sharp, and patient person. People don't normally make him curious. However, Eliza and Clara don't talk about him at all because they already talked about this as a joke in their classes when Eliza changed her seat with the girl who wanted to sit with Arthur. Eliza doesn't talk to him at all. When Clara asked her if she was attracted to Arthur, Eliza also asked her (as a joke) why Clara isn't attracted to him. So Clara replied that she's already engaged and loves her partner very much. So Eliza said she also loves her future husband, whom she has no idea who is going to be. They talked about this topic as a joke.

Arthur is feeling irritated because of his new feeling and curiosity, so after a while, he passes them by. When he looks back, both Eliza and Clara are not looking at him; they just changed their way to go towards the canteen. They promised Daisy and Emily they would meet there for lunch. Eliza and Clara really had no idea that Arthur followed them for a while. They were so lost in their conversation that they couldn't focus on other things. It's the story of every girl: when they get lost in their stories, they might ignore their relatives. Actually, Eliza is asking Clara about her fiancé, and she learns that her fiancé was her childhood best friend. Her fiancé's family is in the export and import business. They confessed to each other in the last days of high school, and after that, when their families came to know, they had no problem and fixed their engagement because their families were friends.

Talking about these things, Eliza and Clara reached the canteen. Daisy and Emily were already there, and they had already ordered for everyone. While they were waiting for their orders and talking, Eliza watched her mother's YouTube channel and showed them the videos. They all loved the dishes and said the dishes seemed tasty. Eliza promised that whenever they wanted, she would take them to taste her mother's cooking.

When they finished their lunch and were getting ready to get up, Maria came near them. Eliza and Clara both know her, but Daisy doesn't, and Emily has some idea about Maria because both come from rich family backgrounds. They saw each other in family gatherings. Daisy, as a tomboyish person, doesn't like the parties much, so maybe that's why she doesn't recognize Maria. Maria came towards them with a smile and started talking to them. Eliza knows about Maria's true face, so she ignores her totally, just showing a fake smile when called by name. Clara had to talk to Maria about the lecture. However, Maria's total focus is on Eliza, who is ignoring her. Maria doesn't understand why Eliza doesn't like her. It was the first day, and they might not have even exchanged greetings in class. So, what could the reason be? Emily also ignores Maria and her friends. Emily is a person hard to impress, but why did she easily become friendly with her roommates, Eliza, Clara, and Daisy? It's simple because Emily has sharp eyes; she knows that none of her roommates are bad people. But about Maria, Emily knows from experience that she acts like a good person but, in reality, she is not. Maria always tries to use people and make them act on her behalf so her name always stays clean. And Daisy has nothing to do with Maria, so she keeps playing games, and Eliza keeps watching her mother's channel and also has her earphones in her earsso even if Maria wants to start a conversation, she can't. Maria is feeling left out, so after thanking Clara, she leaves.

After Maria leaves, Emily strongly warns Clara not to have any connections with Maria and tells her about Maria's nature. Clara says she already knew her and was just helping her because the professor said to help classmates when they ask. Everyone looks at Eliza, clearly feeling that Maria wanted to talk to her but she ignored her. So, her friends ask her why. Eliza simply answers that she doesn't like her, that's all. They all laugh, and when they come out of the canteen,Emily and Daisy have other work to do. Eliza and Clara both go to the library.

On the way, Eliza asks Clara if she wants to find a part-time job within the university. No matter how much Eliza's family gives her money, she doesn't like to ask them because of her past life experiences. Eliza was used to earning money on her own. She doesn't reject her family's things, but also never asks for anything personally. In her past life, she was always financially independent.

When they went inside the library, they read for a while. When they were coming out, they saw a part-time job offer at the front desk of the library. They asked about it and learned that they needed a student to work there part-time, and the income was good too. Eliza and Clara looked at each other; it seemed like a wish come true because this was a perfect job for Eliza. Eliza told them she'd like to apply. So, the librarian gave her a form to fill out.

After knowing that Eliza was a law studentand still wanted the part-time job, and when the librarian learned that Eliza came there with a full scholarship, it really impressed her. The librarian believed that Eliza was a good student and hardworking, so she said they'd love to offer her the job. They needed someone who could handle the responsibility of the books, noting down information about borrowing and returning books, and the arrival of new books. This was sensitive work, and a student with a good mind could handle it, and Eliza was perfect for it.

Another reason was, as previouslymentioned, that this university is in the capital city. So, most of the students are from rich families. And also, not many people applied for this part-time librarian position yet. So, Eliza got this golden opportunity.