Frida knew Mashauva had made the suggestion out of good intention. They had been friends for many years, and she had never looked down on her because of her family background. She even took her home, dressed her up, allowed her to sleep in the same bed, and brought her to see the sunrise together. She also introduced her brother to her.
Frida knew that Mashauva meant well and no ill intention towards her.
Mashauva only said those because she wanted the best for her.
Even so, her pride was still hurt.
She worked so hard for it yet it was so insignificant to the fortunate ones. Life was indeed unfair.
"No." Frida turned down Mashauva's suggestion in a low voice and forced a smile. "I want to get the scholarship with my own efforts."
"But..."
"Mashauva, enough," Frida held her hand. "I know what you're thinking about. I know you meant well but I really don't need it."
Seeing her insistence, Mashauva had no choice but to give up. She didn't dare to insist that she go to the barbecue at night with her either.
When Hailey and Lena heard that Mashauva was going out for barbecue, they made a great effort to dress up and requested to go with her.
They were slightly disappointed when they only saw Freddy there. They pulled Mashauva aside and asked her in a whisper, "Why isn't Bruno here?"
"He has some things that he needs to take care of, that's why he couldn't make it," explained Mashauva. She did not want to tell them the actual reason, but she noticed their expressions had changed as disappointments came on their faces.
"Why didn't you tell us earlier?"
"Yes, why didn't you say that earlier?"
Mashauva was a little stunned. "What do you mean? Didn't you come out just to have barbecue?"
She felt strange at their reactions. They were there to have a barbecue. What did it have to do with Bruno?
Mashauva felt that she seemed to have understood something, but she was still confused and couldn't be entirely sure.
The two girls realized that they had somehow exposed their intentions, and quickly tried to rectify the situation. "It's not like that. We were expecting for Bruno to be here but we didn't see him so we were just feeling a bit surprised. Make sense?"
"Surprised?" Mashauva did not quite understand. "What does Beanie's absence have to do with your feelings?"
"Of course it does, and it's not just about Bruno. If it's only Bruno who's here today and Freddy couldn't make it, we would feel the same way. Do you get what we're saying?"
"Oh." Mashauva felt that she had only understood partially. She then whispered her question. "So are you saying that you want to see Beanie?"
Suddenly, Mashauva remembered what Freddy said to her in the afternoon. She said that there were many girls who liked Bruno. It seemed like the two of them belonged in that category.
Mashauva was relatively simple- minded. She asked them directly without attempting to polish her words.
"Do you guys like Beanie?"
Was Bruno really that popular that even her classmates admired him too?
Hailey and Lena did not expect such a sudden question coming from her, and she seemed to have suddenly figured it out. So they tried to explain again, "Why are you suddenly asking about this? Did someone tell you something?"
"Hmm, no."
Mashauva thought that it was better not to betray Freddy.
"We hang out with you because you're pure minded and adorable. We don't have any other intention. Don't misunderstand us."
As she finished her sentence, Lena's eyes turned cold in a flash. It must be Frida who had been talking nonsense again, she thought. She thought she had stopped talking behind their backs recently, but she was actually waiting with a plan.
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