The Bill Battle
After the movie, Adrian pushed Elsa's wheelchair out of the cinema, and they walked ahead. Erik and Toni pulled Yuni, Monic, and Sinta back a little.
"What's up?" Sinta asked.
"Listen up, Adrian just paid for all the popcorn, drinks, and all other food. I just wanted to tell you that," Toni said.
"Oh, seriously?" Yuni asked.
"Yeah, seriously. Toni and I offered him money, but he said he didn't have cash, and then when we asked for the receipt, he said he'd already thrown it away," Erik replied.
"Whoa, that was pretty expensive, wasn't it? Let's pay him back," Monic suggested.
"No need, he said he'd cover it. But now it feels a bit awkward, doesn't it? How about we invite them to eat, and then we all chip in to pay for them?" Toni proposed.
"Hmm, yeah, that's a good idea," Sinta agreed.
"Alright, Yuni, you talk to them," Toni said.
"Roger that, leave it to me," Yuni replied.
Yuni immediately jogged to catch up with Adrian and Elsa, who were already ahead. The others followed close behind. Yuni tapped Adrian's shoulder.
"Hey, let's grab some food first!" Yuni suggested.
"Oh... eat first? You want to, Elsa?" Adrian asked, looking at Elsa.
"Um... whatever you want, I'll go along with it," Elsa replied.
"Okay then, where should we eat?" Adrian asked Yuni.
"Come with us!" Yuni invited.
After that, Yuni and the others walked ahead, with Adrian and Elsa following behind. Once they reached the ground floor, they entered a restaurant. After sitting down and ordering their food,
"So, how long have you two been living together?" Toni asked.
"That's just a rumor," Adrian answered.
"Yeah, it's just a rumor, don't even bring that up," Monic retorted.
"Don't ask weird questions, you're hopeless," Sinta added.
"Hey, I was just asking!" Toni protested.
Adrian and Elsa looked at Yuni, who was also looking at them, winking and giving a thumbs-up.
"Oh, so the rumor isn't true then?" Erik asked.
"No, it's not true," Yuni replied.
"Who started that rumor anyway? Was it you, Erik?" Monic asked.
"Don't accuse me! Yuni and I did go to her apartment, but I didn't start any rumors. Just ask Yuni, because when she was sick, I went to Yuni's house after school, you all know that," Erik said.
"Yeah, we're just kidding, why so serious, hehehe," Monic replied.
"It was probably Niko who spread it; he's in the same tower as them," Toni suggested.
"You're just accusing people again! Just because they're in the same tower doesn't mean they'd necessarily meet, you know," Sinta retorted.
"Yeah, that's true, haha," Toni replied.
"I'm also confused about who spread it. On the first day of school, I hadn't heard anything, but three days later, the rumors were rampant. It spread so fast even the teachers knew," Sinta said.
"Ah, that's probably because they hugged in front of the class, and then someone added some spice, and poof, a rumor," Erik commented.
"Yeah, you're right, that could be it, hehe," Yuni replied.
"Alright, enough, don't talk about it anymore. Look," Sinta said, pointing towards Adrian and Elsa, who were looking down, their faces red.
"Oh, yeah, sorry, sorry," Toni replied.
"It's okay," Adrian said.
"Because of that rumor, Mr. Firman even stopped us and questioned us," Elsa said.
"Whoa, what did he want?" Monic asked.
"Just clarification. We told him we don't live together, and that was it," Elsa replied.
"We're a new school, right? Any little rumor gets investigated," Sinta commented.
"Right. Because they're new, they're afraid parents will transfer their kids if there are bad rumors about the school," Monic said.
A waiter arrived, pushing a food cart with their orders. They began to eat.
"This is good. Do you want some?" Adrian asked Elsa.
"Sure, let's swap, you eat mine and I'll eat yours. Call the waiter over," Elsa replied.
Adrian turned and raised his hand. A waiter came, and Adrian ordered the same dishes for himself and Elsa again. Toni, Monic, Sinta, Erik, and Yuni's faces started to change; they knew the restaurant was quite expensive for high school students. After the food arrived again, they continued eating.
"Want to buy some to take home, Elsa? So we don't have to go out again tonight," Adrian asked.
"Hmm... okay, but let's try something different," Elsa replied casually.
Toni, Monic, Sinta, Erik, and Yuni's faces grew even paler. They tried to finish their food quickly and remained silent. Adrian called the waiter again, then pointed to several dishes on the menu. Erik immediately leaned closer to Yuni next to him.
"Hey, did you tell them we're paying for them?" Erik whispered.
"No, I thought it'd be a surprise," Yuni whispered back.
"Hmm, what now? I don't have enough money," Erik whispered.
"Same here, I don't have enough either," Yuni whispered.
"Hey, how much money do you two have?" Toni chimed in, whispering.
"Ugh, I don't have enough either," Monic added, joining the whispered conversation.
"Oh no, what do we do?" Sinta added, joining in.
Adrian and Elsa, sitting across from the others and seeing them huddled together whispering, looked at each other, confused.
"What's wrong with you guys?" Elsa asked.
"Oh, nothing, hahahaha," they all said, stopping their whispering and looking at Elsa.
Adrian looked at the small screen above everyone's heads, and it turned out they were all thinking the same thing:
[I don't have enough money, what now? I can't chip in to pay for them, even though Adrian already paid for us at the cinema.]
Adrian smiled, then he leaned his face close to Elsa's ear and whispered to her. Elsa immediately smiled, then whispered back to Adrian. After that,
"Hey, I'm going to the restroom (turning to Adrian). You can take me, right?" Elsa asked.
"Sure, good idea, I need to go to the restroom too," Adrian replied.
"Alright then," the others said.
Adrian and Elsa didn't go to the restroom. They walked to the cashier and looked at the bill. When Adrian opened his chest bag,
"Wait, this time it's my turn," Elsa said.
"But this is twice as much as before! At least let me pay half," Adrian argued.
"Hehe, did you forget yesterday? You put the money I gave you at the cafe into my smartphone, didn't you? Don't lie," Elsa countered.
"Oh... you found out," Adrian replied.
"Of course, hehe," Elsa said.
"Alright then, go ahead," Adrian replied.
Elsa took out her card and paid for everything. After that, they returned to their table and continued eating. When their takeout orders were brought by the waiter, Yuni and the others were confused because they also received packages from the waiter.
"Hey, we didn't order this, Ma'am," Monic said to the waiter.
"I ordered it. You guys take it home," Elsa replied.
"But we don't have enough money for that!" Toni blurted out.
"Don't worry about the money, it's already taken care of," Elsa replied.
"But you can't just do that!" Monic said.
"Alright, how much money do you all have?" Elsa asked.
Everyone pulled out two red bills, featuring the first president and his smiling vice president. Adrian took one bill and put it into his chest bag.
"It's done. Let's eat again," Adrian said.
"But why? The total is nowhere near what you took. It's not even enough to pay for what we had at the cinema?" Sinta asked.
"Enough already, don't overthink it. Just consider it a treat from Adrian and me, our celebration, hehe," Elsa answered.
"Besides, we told you not to worry, and you still wanted to pay for us. Don't be shy, just eat," Adrian added.
"Oh, you knew?" Erik asked.
"Your whispering was pretty loud earlier," Adrian replied.
"Oh, really, haha... sorry," Erik replied.
"Hehe, this is pretty nice," Monic said.
Finally, the atmosphere wasn't tense anymore, and they all ate until they were full. After finishing their meal and parting ways with Adrian and Elsa,
"Man, we even got takeout packages!" Toni exclaimed.
"Hehe, Adrian's loaded, huh?" Sinta replied.
"Yeah, we ate, all seven of us, plus the takeout orders. The total was huge, but they were so chill about it," Monic added.
"What, you didn't know? Once, I accidentally peeked at Elsa's bank book in her bag; the balance had so many digits," Yuni said.
"Hmm, but that's Elsa. Is Adrian just leeching off Elsa?" Sinta asked.
"No way. I saw him pay for us at the cinema. He took out his own card. I think he's just like Elsa," Erik replied.
"Alright, it's settled. They're already married, and their money has merged, so let's not make a big deal out of it anymore. Let's go home, and just consider it good fortune," Toni suggested.
"Hehe, sounds good!" Yuni, Monic, Sinta, and Erik replied in unison.
Then they all walked out of the mall together and went home, carrying their food packages.