Regaining What Was Stolen

Synopsis

I wasn't here to catch them cheating. I was here to collect what they owed me. It was Friday at 7 PM, and I was queuing in front of the cheapest food station in the canteen, just about to tap my card for the most basic plate of pasta. Then my phone buzzed; it was a payment notification. A charge from Blue Ridge Hotel: deluxe king suite, 230 dollars. Last four digits of the payment card: 6207. This was the very card Mom had loaded my monthly living expenses onto just the night before. The words "deluxe king suite" stung, but the line beneath it cut deeper still: [complimentary breakfast for two.] I scrimped just to afford a simple pasta for dinner, yet those two had already booked a couples' breakfast in advance.