Chapter 2

As soon as I sent the message, J.K shot back right away.

J.K: [Babe, what's up with you today? You're acting so weird.]

I ignored him and logged out of the account.

Early the next morning, I was jolted awake by my phone buzzing.

Jenna's backup phone was blowing up, ringing nonstop.

I fumbled for it and saw that every single message was from J.K.

J.K: [Babe, morning. Breakfast at the site today is bread and eggs. I can eat as much as I want.]

He sent a photo.

The photo was ugly in a way that felt almost sincere. The lighting was dim, the plate was chipped, stuffed with burned eggs, and next to it sat a huge loaf of bread that looked tough as a brick.

Any trace of sleep was gone.

I wondered if J.K was here to do charity, or if he just treated me like his personal life blog.

Before I could figure out how to reply to this blast of "real life," Jenna poked her head down from the top bunk.

She was all dolled up, glowing with excitement. "Martha, M.B. just sent me money again. He told me to buy a new dress for our dinner next week."

She flashed her phone screen at me, showing off a transfer of four hundred.

"Wow, impressive," I said, giving her a lazy clap.

"And you?" Jenna sneered, glancing at the backup phone in my hand. "Did that cheapskate send you the construction site breakfast menu again?"

"Congrats, nailed it," I replied.

I showed her the breakfast picture J.K had sent.

Jenna burst out laughing, so hard that she was nearly in tears.

She said, "Seriously? People still eat stuff like that? Martha, you're a saint. How do you even put up with a guy like him?"

I shot her a blank look. "He's the one clinging to me, not me chasing after him."

"Same difference," Jenna giggled, shaking with laughter. "Anyway, I gotta go pick out a dress.

"Oh, and don't forget to tell that cheapskate to stop adding me to his main profile. It's driving me nuts."

With that, she twisted her waist and walked out of the room.

I was alone in the dorm room.

Staring at that photo of the bread and burned eggs on my phone, I got lost in thought.

I doubted a normal person would really be this honest about being poor when dating online.

Either he was so naive that it was almost dumb.

Or he was a top-tier player, running some new persona.

And this got me interested.

I decided to play along and see how he would handle this.

I searched online and dug up an even uglier picture, a plate of pasta with nothing on top.

I typed: [Not much better here.]

As soon as I sent it, he replied instantly.

J.K: [Babe, you haven't eaten? Are you out of cash? I just got paid 20 bucks. I'll split it with you.]

Right after, a ten-dollar money transfer popped up.

I was totally speechless.

I just stared at that money transfer, not touching it for a long time.

This was a move I'd never seen before.

I wondered if he was doing some reverse pickup, flaunting his broke status to make me look even poorer, then trying to buy me off with half of his "fortune," all twenty bucks.

Suddenly, I felt this was way more entertaining than watching Jenna flirt with M.B.

On the other side of the room, Jenna was busy sweet-talking M.B.

She gushed, "Honey, you're amazing. I love you the most.

"Do you think this dress looks cute? Should I try it on for you?"

Meanwhile, my side of the conversation looked like this.

J.K: [Babe, why aren't you picking up the cash? Too little for you? Want me to throw in another two bucks?]

I replied: [It's fine.]

J.K: [Are you upset? Please don't be. It's on me. I shouldn't have just sent you half.]

He sent a crying emoji.

I replied: [I think you should save your money and buy yourself a nicer sausage.]

J.K: [Oh, babe, you care about me, don't you? You're so sweet. I'm adding a sausage to dinner tonight, just for you.]

For the first time, I laughed out loud at the screen.

Unbelievably, I felt this guy was cute.

For the next few days, chatting with J.K was my daily source of joy.

He'd update me on his "construction site routine" like clockwork, never missing a beat.

J.K: [Babe, I hauled 800 bricks today. My hands are full of blisters, but just thinking about you keeps me going.]

He'd always throw in a photo of his hands, all red and marked up.

J.K: [Babe, it's raining today, so the site's closed. I didn't make any money, and I felt bummed. Just stuck in the dorm watching TV.]

And he'd attach a photo of his old TV, with "Tom and Jerry" playing on it.

J.K: [Babe, I got paid. 100 dollars. That's a fortune. I'll buy you coffee.]

Then he'd send over a five-dollar money transfer.

And I was loving it, playing the part of a broke but optimistic girl right along with him.

He'd send me photos of his construction site lunch, and I'd hit him back with the cheapest dish from the cafeteria.

He'd show me his one-dollar socks, and I'd snap a picture of my two-dollar hair tie from the street vendor.

It was like we were locked in a game of "who can out-miser the other," and we were loving every minute of it.

Meanwhile, Jenna never missed a chance to mock me.

She smirked, "Martha, are you out of your mind? Why are you so happy chatting with that broke guy? Look at M.B. He just bought me another set of La Mer today."

She slammed a fancy skincare set down on the desk with a loud bang, making sure I couldn't miss it.

I didn't even bother to look up, just kept typing my reply to J.K at my own pace.

I messaged: [Found a bottle outside the dorm today and sold it for 50 cents. Happy.]

J.K: [Babe, you're awesome. So thrifty. With you around, our future's looking bright.]

Jenna leaned over to take a look, then burst out laughing so hard that it was like the roof was coming off.

"You two are nuts. Total nuts!" she yelled, storming off.

I watched her walk off and just grinned to myself.

She really had no clue.

This kind of real joy, the kind that had nothing to do with money or stuff, was something she'd never get to feel.

It was not that I really cared about all that "pure" stuff anyway.

I just thought messing around with J.K was way more fun than watching Jenna flex her cash.

But then, out of the blue, J.K sent me a message. [Babe, let's meet up.]