Betrayed By Friends I Choose To Close The Inn To Them Chapter 02

Betrayed By Friends I Choose To Close The Inn To Them Chapter 02

The first time around, it had all started with that question.

“At my family’s hotel,” I said.

Chloe’s eyes lit up.

“That’s so nice. Bennett Inn is only 5 minutes from the Ohio University test center. You don’t even have to wake up early.”

“I’m so jealous. You don’t even have to pay.”

“Didn’t the school arrange that budget motel?”

“Just stay at the school motel.”

Chloe froze for a second.

She clearly hadn’t expected that answer.

“That motel is so far.”

Chloe frowned.

“It’ll cost us at least 1 extra hour of sleep in the morning just getting to the test center.”

“1 hour, Maya. This is the SAT. Do you really think losing 1 hour of sleep won’t affect us?”

She sounded so serious.

“Then go to bed earlier,” I said.

Chloe went quiet.

She looked at me, and there was something in her eyes I couldn’t quite name.

“But…”

She bit her lip.

“If there’s a better option, why pick the worse one? Bennett Inn is only 5 minutes from the test center. It would be so nice if everyone could stay there. Come on, Maya. We’re all in the same class.”

Help each other out.

I knew that line too well.

The first time around, that exact line had made me feel like I should help.

I was Chloe’s best friend.

My family owned a hotel.

Why wouldn’t I help?

So I helped.

And then what?

The bell rang.

I didn’t answer Chloe.

I stood up, took my textbook, and walked to the back of the classroom.

I found an empty seat in the last row and sat down.

Chloe looked back at me.

I lowered my head and opened my textbook.

Our English teacher, Mr. Harris, walked in and started going over SAT Writing and Language tips.

After that, I didn’t hear a word he said.

Those images kept replaying in my head.

Anger and hurt sat heavy in my chest all morning.

Every time I looked up and saw those familiar faces, I remembered how quiet they had been when Bennett Inn was dragged online.

50 people.

I looked at them one face at a time.

And I remembered every single one.

Not one of them had spoken up.

When the lunch bell rang, the classroom instantly got loud.

People packed their backpacks, made plans to go to the cafeteria, and talked about what to review that afternoon.

I packed slowly.

I wasn’t in a hurry to leave.

Sure enough, the complaining started.

“This sucks. The motel the school booked is on the other side of town. We’ll have to get up at 6 in the morning. That’s a whole hour of sleep gone.”

Tyler was the one talking. He sat in the 3rd row.

He slung his backpack over his shoulder, speaking loudly enough for the whole classroom to hear.

“Exactly. And people snore in motels. I already have trouble sleeping. If I don’t sleep well the night before the SAT, what’s even the point?”

Emma jumped in.

She was known for being a light sleeper. During the spring trip, she had complained all night about the air conditioner in the room next door.

“It’d be so much better if we could each have our own room. Quiet. No roommates. We could sleep whenever we wanted.”

Noah leaned back in his chair, legs stretched out.

“Seriously.”

Ava slapped her textbook onto her desk.

“The problem is most of the hotels near Ohio University are already booked. The ones that aren’t booked are too far. What if we hit traffic in the morning and get there late?”

“If only there were a hotel near the test center.”

“Right. Like, right next to campus.”

“The kind you could walk to in 5 minutes.”

The more they talked, the more their eyes slid toward me.

One pair after another.

I kept my head down and pretended to pack my backpack.

But I knew they were all looking at me.

I acted like I hadn’t heard them, zipped my bag, and walked out through the side aisle.