A THRIFT SYSTEM

chapter two

It all felt like a dream. A dream I was yet to wake up from.

I didn't sleep that night. My gaze was fixed on the miraculous phone I found inside my pocket. The night seems to draw endlessly with my heart beating steadily.

How could I? Every time I closed my eyes, I saw her. Her laugh, the smug look on his face, and the sound of my name being dragged through the mud.

Pointus Gray-the joke. The fool. The poor loser.

But now I had a million dollars.

And seventy-two hours to spend it.

Or lose it all.

I sat in the corner of my dorm room, staring at the glowing countdown on the phone screen.

59:23:10

Every second ticked louder than my thoughts. It didn't help that the rules were crystal clear. I wonder who made the system and the rules but what was more important was how I was going to spend a million dollars within the specific time given.

Don't reveal the source.

If I did, the system might vanish-or worse, punish me.

And I wasn't ready to lose this chance.

The first thing I did was check if the money was real. I transferred a small amount to my old bank account. It worked. Clean, fast, untraceable. The moment it landed, it looked like it had always been mine. No questions asked.

The system was real.

I wasn't hallucinating. This was happening.

And the world was about to change.

*****************************************************************

By noon, I had already bought myself a new set of clothes-designer ones. Not too flashy, but expensive enough to make me look like someone who mattered.

I walked past the usual food stalls and went into the posh café near campus where the rich kids hung out. The barista, who once rolled his eyes at me, smiled and offered me the

"executive booth."

That's when the whispers started.

"Is that Pointus?"

" He looks different. Is that really him?

"No way-look at that watch..."

"Where did he get that kind of money?"

I smiled silently, sipping my overpriced coffee.

Let them wonder.

Let the rumors spread.

I hadn't even started. At least not yet.

She has to see me and that was when I was going to rub it in.

By evening, I was in the city center. I booked a suite in a five-star hotel, ordered room service for the first time in my life, and sat on a velvet couch watching the city lights flicker below me. The phone buzzed with new notifications.

[ System Alert: $81,450 Spent.]

Time Remaining: 54:37:02

Still a long way to go. But I was warming up.

I went online and purchased stocks, expensive tech, and artwork I didn't even understand. I bought a luxury bike. A new laptop. Gadgets I didn't need but made me look untouchable.

Every swipe, every click was a middle finger to the people who looked down on me.

Especially her.

And right on cue, her voice echoed in the back of my mind. "You were convenient, Pointus."

How long had she been faking it?

The mere thought of how she had ridiculed me made my stomach churned with anger that for once, the thought of making her regret what she did was all I could think about.

I couldn't stop thinking about it. The way she looked so comfortable with him-like I never existed. Like our late -night phone calls, our dumb fights, our stolen kisses in empty lecture halls meant nothing.

Maybe they never did.

Maybe I was just a project. A stepping stone.

A charity case. My fingers curled into fists.

And then my phone buzzed again. This time, it wasn't the system.

It was a message. From my class group chat.

Someone had posted a video.

I tapped it.

There she was-Layla-laughing again. Surrounded by her friends.

"...I mean, you should've seen his face," she said, sipping from a drink. "

He looked like a kicked puppy.

Honestly, I did him a favor."

The others laughed.

"Didn't you date him for like, two years?”

She rolled her eyes. "Only because I felt sorry for him. Come on, he was sweet, but broke. I need someone who can give me the life I deserve."

Then he appeared beside her-Jeremiah, the golden boy of campus.

Rich. Handsome. Arrogant.

He wrapped his arm around her waist like she was a trophy.

"He's probably crying somewhere," Jeremiah sneered. "Let the trash stay in the bin."

That was the part that made me snap.

Trash?

That's what I was to them?

A few people in the comments seemed uncomfortable, but most laughed. And no one defended me.

No one ever did.

I shut the video off and stared at the wall. My reflection in the window stared back-dressed in riches, but still broken inside.

Not for long.

***

***

The next day, I returned to campus. Dressed in a custom jacket. Gold chain. Shoes that gleamed under the sun. I walked past her friend group without a word. Her friend Lena did a double take.

"Was that... Pointus?"

"I thought he dropped out?"

"Look at his clothes-where'd he get that kind of money?"

"They are just showoffs. Do you think, he can't really afford that? Take a look at the chains and even the designer shoes he has on. Do you think he can afford that in just a single day? Or is he now stealing just to impress Layla?" Another student said with laughter

Layla didn't speak at first. She turned slowly, her brows furrowing.

When our eyes met, something in her flickered.

Recognition. Confusion.

Fear?

Then, just like that, she scoffed and turned away.

Fake.

She had no idea what was coming.

And neither did I-because as much as I wanted revenge, my mind kept drifting. Back to the beginning. Back to the smiles. The moments that once felt real.

But were they?

Was I blind, or just stupid?

I didn't know.

All I knew was this-if I wanted to destroy them, I needed clarity. Focus. Power.

And to bury the version of me who begged for love.