His voice cracked just slightly on the word 'tests.' He was proud of that detail. He'd never been to an academy, but he could guess college was a higher level of academic institution, and he knew enough about fancy academic systems from Iyana and Clyde to fake it. A broken heart and finals week? Classic combination.
So what if he didn't have paper money?
That didn't mean someone else couldn't cover the bill. It's not like he wanted to do this. But hunger had a funny way of humbling even the proudest men. He could be loyal to Iyana and still scam a girl for a meal to survive.
"Aww…" the girl cooed sympathetically, her brows knitting together. She reached across the table, her hand gently coming to rest over his. "That's awful. I'm so sorry. I'm here to listen if you want to vent."
The contact made his skin crawl ever so slightly, but he didn't flinch. His expression remained carefully soft, melancholic, and just vulnerable enough.
