From Zero To Trillions

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHT

Austin was thinking about trying that shiny card that Xavier gave him. Could it really give him money? Just as that thought popped into his head, his phone went "BRRRING!" He pulled it out and said "Hello?" A loud voice came from the phone.

"Austin! Where have you been, man? Why aren't you back in school? You know we have class now, right?" It was Vince, one of Austin's very few friends at school, and he sounded like he was in a big hurry.

"Fuckkk! Oh no! I totally forgot!" Austin blurted out. Then he said, "I had something important to do, but I'm coming right now!"

"You better run like a cheetah!" Vince said in a low voice and then hung up.

Austin quickly waved down a taxi. "Nest university, please!" he said, and off they went. Luckily, the school wasn't too far from that big building, the LEDGER GROUP, so he got there just in time. He walked into class, hoping he wasn't too late. But then he saw everyone looking at him in a funny way when he got to class. And guess what? Sabrina and Kelvin were sitting together! She was even sitting on his lap intimately, giggling and talking all close.

Seeing this made Austin feel... weird. When he and Sabrina were together, she never sat on his lap like that. It was clear the whole class knew she had dumped him. Ouch!

"Austin, are you okay, buddy?" Vince asked quietly.

"Yep! Never been better!" Austin said, but his voice didn't sound very happy.

"Uh, yeah... I heard about you and Sabrina and..." Vince started to say, but then Silas, another friend of theirs, stopped him.

"Vince, maybe he doesn't want to talk about it," Silas said gently. Vince and Silas had been Austin's buddies since the first day of school.

"Hey guys... I'm really fine, really!" Austin said, trying to smile. Then he went to the back of the class and sat down.

Vince and Silas thought Austin was just in a bad mood, so they didn't push him. But really, Austin wasn't even sad about Sabrina. He just needed some quiet time to think about all the crazy things that had happened lately.

It felt like a movie! Just yesterday, he was dumped and felt like a fool because he had no money and was labeled a broke poor boy. But today? Today he had... like, a gazillion dollars!

The feeling was so strange. 'Hmm, I wonder what Sabrina would say if she knew I was super rich now?' he thought. Then he looked over at Sabrina and Kelvin, who were now kissing! Yikes!

After a few more hours of boring class stuff, it was finally over!

"Hey everyone! Let's all go out for dinner tonight!" A girl stood up and said. Everyone cheered and clapped.

Austin couldn't help but stare at the girl. She had on a short crop shirt and a tight skirt that showed off all her... well, every perfect curves and figure! Her legs were long and straight, and her flowery sandals made her look really pretty.

"Yeah, that's a great idea! We can all eat together," someone else said.

"The class leader has spoken! We must do it!" another person joked. Everyone started talking excitedly.

Vince rushed over to Austin and put his arm around his neck playfully. "Austin, you gotta come with us today! It's been ages since you came to any class party. It'll be fun, I promise!"

"Vince, why are you inviting that broke dude? He probably can't even afford a breadstick!" A girl named Georgia shouted at Vince in a snooty voice.

Austin looked at Georgia. She was Sabrina's best friend, and her family had lots of money. She was pretty, but she always looked down on Austin. She made fun of him, bullied him, and even embarrassed him a lot. Austin just tried to ignore her because he knew her boyfriend was a bit thug.

Sabrina had dumped Austin for Kelvin mostly because of Georgia's mean words.

"Yeah, how can a poor guy like Austin join us?" Sabrina's other friend, Ariana, chimed in.

"Georgia, Ariana, why would you say something like that?" Vince said, looking really annoyed.

"Well, it's true, isn't it? He can't even buy the cheapest thing in the whole world! Have you ever seen him at a class party?" Georgia snapped back.

"If Austin can't pay, I'll pay for him. Do you really have to be so mean and make him feel bad? It's none of your business anyway," Silas said, looking angry.

"Oh, so now we're paying for people's dinner? Silas, if you're so rich, why don't you pay for mine too?" Kelvin said without any expression, after hearing Silas's words.

Silas looked at Kelvin, and his face showed he was worried. Even though Silas's family had some money, they weren't rich like Kelvin's family. He didn't want to make Kelvin angry because he knew Kelvin could be mean. So, Silas just shut his mouth.

"I will pay for Austin. We are all in the same class. Is this really necessary?" Sarah, the class leader, looked like she was about to explode. She couldn't believe how mean everyone was being.

Kelvin stopped when he heard Sarah. He looked a little unsure for a second, but then he didn't say anything else.

"Sarah, you don't have to pay. I will pay for myself," Austin said calmly.

The whole class was super surprised. Their mouths dropped open!

They never thought Austin, who always said no to parties because he had no money, would suddenly agree to come. And now he was saying he would pay for himself! What was going on?

Kelvin looked at Austin, paused for a bit, and then smirked. "Well, well, look who suddenly has money for a party! Austin, we've known each other for ages, and you've never come to anything. How about this? Not only do you pay for your own food, but you treat everyone in the class to dinner today!"

"Ugh, Kelvin... I think that's too much. I don't think he can even afford to buy us all a lollipop, he might end up washing dishes!" A guy joked, and everyone laughed loudly.

"Alright," Austin said, his voice steady. "Since you want me to treat everyone to dinner today... I guess I'll have to do that.”

The guy who had just made the joke froze. His eyes went wide. Everyone in the class was completely shocked. Nobody expected Austin to actually agree to Kelvin's crazy request.

They all wondered if he really could treat them all to a meal. Was he bluffing? What was going on?