Please don't find me. Sarah prayed silently while hiding in the small uncomfortable toilet cubicle. She tried to breathe as slow as possible and tried to hide her presence. She could hear the voice of her foes outside. As long as the group were around, her peaceful life would be disrupted. 

Sarah frowned. All she wanted was a quiet life. She was too lazy to bother with mundane activities. 

"That trash has the guts to not show up and pay up her protection fees. The next time I meet her, I'll snap off her neck!" Sheila vented to her followers while they nodded obediently.

Sarah knew in an instant that Sheila was talking about her. She felt wronged. It wasn't her fault that she didn't appear because suddenly needed to go to the toilet. No one could fight the call of nature. She wished the evil cronies outside would go away faster. Her nose is feeling uncomfortable...

Achoo!

The sneeze shocked the girls outside. They thought there were nobody in the toilet. Sheila frowned and shouted angrily, "Show yourself! You shameless eavesdropper!"

Sarah cursed at herself for being unable to suppress a sneeze at the most critical moment. She knew that she was doomed the very moment she sneezed. She pushed the cubicle door open cautiously. The first person she saw was Sheila. Great. There's no way for me to escape.

Sheila was seething with anger when she saw Sarah going out from the cubicle. She was looking all over the campus for Sarah but she was in the toilet all this while. Granted, she did not personally look for Sarah but her followers did, and precious time was lost.

"You have the nerve to hide here, you cheap trash!" Sheila shouted to Sarah's face.

Sarah calmly wiped the saliva that flew to her face. "I'm not hiding, I just had a really bad stomach ache. Anyway, here's your money."

Sarah quickly handed RM 50 to Sheila. That amount of money could feed her for five days. She wouldn't have to eat instant noodles every couple of days if she have that extra money. In fact, right now she didn't even have enough money to eat cup instant noodles. That was too luxurious for her budget.

Even though she was angry, she chose to willingly pay the protection fees because the benefits outweigh the cost. For RM 50, she could live a peaceful life without worrying about the seniors whose hobby seemed to be ragging* the juniors. 

No more doing the laundry for the lazy seniors. No more running to the café to get their food. Most importantly, the crazy seniors wouldn't beat her up. Plus, paying would ensure her survival in her two-person dorm room. Life was peaceful, except during every third day of the month when she needed to pay the protection fees. 

Sheila's eyes gleamed at the sight of money. "Huh! You are lucky that you are my roommate, I'll do you a favour and not increase the protection fee even though you are late."

You took my money. Why are you pretending to be charitable? Roommates? Hmph, if I have the power, I wouldn't pay you a single cent and those psycho seniors will not bother me anymore! 

 Sarah rolled her eyes secretly. "You can just collect my fee at our room if you can't find me."

"Do you even have a brain? We need to calculate, record and distribute the cash among ourselves at the same time every month because we have a system and we actually have a life, unlike you." Sheila looked at Sarah with eyes full of disdain.

So even thugs are intelligent and systematic. They could be good accountants.

"Alright. Sorry." Sarah looked down timidly. Smart people knows when to be brave and when to back down.

"Get lost from my sight." Sheila payed her no attention and started to count all the money she had. Sheila's followers snickered at Sarah as she walked pass them.

Sarah quickly walked away, leaving them behind. They are not worthy of my time.

*****

A/N

*Ragging: practice similar to hazing in educational institutions which involves bullying.

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Eireen x