Infinite Cashback: My Wealth Rebate System

They were halfway to the door, bags slung over their shoulders, when a voice cut through the shuffle of students filing out.

"Jason!"

He turned. Vivian was weaving through the crowd toward them, waving slightly to make sure he’d actually seen her.

Ben’s head swiveled fast enough that Jason heard something in his neck pop. "Oh. Oh, this is happening."

"What’s happening."

"That," Ben said, already grinning, "is a girl walking specifically toward you with specific intent. I know that walk. I’ve studied that walk."

"You’ve studied nothing."

"I have a doctorate in girl-walks-toward-a-guy energy." Marcus nodded solemnly beside him, backing Ben up with total sincerity. "He’s right. That’s textbook."

"You two are insane. Actually insane. I regret ever meeting either of you."

"Noted for the record," Marcus said, already backing away, tugging Ben with him by the sleeve. "We’re gonna go. Give you two some privacy. Very selfless of us, really."

"There’s nothing to give privacy to."

"Sure there isn’t." Ben waggled his eyebrows once, thoroughly unhelpful, before both of them disappeared into the crowd of exiting students, leaving Jason standing there alone just as Vivian reached him.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." She fell into step beside him as the last stragglers cleared the hallway, her usual easy energy fully intact. "So I heard about Saturday. After I left, I mean. I had no idea any of that happened until yesterday."

"You heard the whole thing?"

"Enough of it." Her expression softened slightly, genuine concern threading through the usual teasing. "I feel bad, honestly. I was standing right there talking to you and then just wandered off to find my friends, no idea you were about to get ambushed the second I walked away."

"You couldn’t have known."

"Still. I’m sorry that happened." She said it plainly, no performance in it, and Jason found himself oddly touched by the sincerity underneath her usual chattiness.

"It’s fine. I’m over it."

"Good." She studied him for a second like she was checking whether that was actually true, then apparently satisfied, let it go entirely, her tone bouncing back to its normal register. "Okay. Different topic. How’s everything else going? Life. Classes. The usual."

"Fine, mostly." He hesitated for exactly one beat before deciding honesty was easier than pretending. "Except I’m apparently failing this midterm."

Vivian stopped walking entirely, turning to look at him with open delight. "You said that with so much certainty. Like you’ve already seen the grade. Like it’s already happened and you’re just narrating history."

"It has already happened. I just haven’t taken the exam yet to confirm it."

"That’s genuinely the saddest confidence I’ve ever heard from someone." She was fully grinning now, clearly enjoying his despair far more than the situation warranted. "You’re just going to walk into that room and fail on principle?"

"On principle and also preparation, or lack thereof."

"Okay, well, lucky for you," she said, already turning the conversation somewhere else, "I actually have a solution to this exact problem."

"Do you."

"I do. I’m in a study group. Just started it, actually, with two other girls from class. We’re specifically prepping for this exam." She said it like she was doing him an enormous favor, which, Jason had to admit, she kind of was. "You should join. Misery loves company, and also actual structured studying, which you clearly need."

Study group. With Vivian.

He turned the offer over for a second, no real hesitation behind it beyond the general instinct to weigh things before agreeing to them. "Just girls?"

"Just girls, currently. You’d be the token guy. Very exciting position, lots of responsibility." She grinned. "You in?"

"Sure. Why not."

"Great." She pulled out her phone immediately, holding it out toward him. "Give me your number. I’ll add you to the group chat and you can suffer through anchoring bias flashcards with the rest of us."

He took her phone, typed his number in, and handed it back, feeling his own phone buzz a few seconds later with the contact save confirming itself. He added her back, the exchange easy and unremarkable, the kind of small logistical moment that barely registered as anything beyond practical.

"When do you guys usually meet," he asked.

"Depends on the day. But actually," she said, brightening slightly, already glancing toward the exit, "they’re meeting right now. Like, this exact moment. I was heading there when I saw you."

"Right now?"

"Right now. Perfect timing, honestly. You can just come meet everyone, get introduced, dive straight in instead of walking into a group of strangers cold next time."

"I’ve got stuff to do today, actually."

"You literally just told me you’re failing a class."

"That doesn’t mean I have infinite time today specifically."

"It kind of does, though. What could you possibly have going on that’s more important than not failing." She tilted her head, clearly not buying whatever excuse he was about to construct.

"I’ve got things."

"Vague things."

"Important vague things."

"Uh huh." She was already reaching for his sleeve, tugging lightly, testing whether he’d actually resist. "Come on. Ten minutes. Just to meet everyone and see the setup. If you hate it, you never have to come back."

"I didn’t say I’d come today."

"You didn’t say you wouldn’t either." She tugged harder this time, genuinely pulling him a step forward, and Jason found himself moving despite every intention of standing his ground, the same way he’d found himself washing dishes days earlier under a similar kind of insistence, except this one came with considerably more physical commitment behind it.

"This is kidnapping."

"This is proactive academic intervention." She didn’t let go of his sleeve, walking backward slightly now to face him while still pulling him along, entirely unbothered by the logistics of walking that way through a crowded hallway. "You’ll thank me later. Probably during finals week, when you’re not failing anymore."

"I could still fail even with a study group."

"Sure, but at least you’ll fail with friends. Much healthier."

He let out a short, disbelieving laugh, finally giving up any pretense of resistance, falling into step beside her instead of being dragged, though she kept her grip loosely on his sleeve anyway, apparently not fully trusting him not to bolt the second she let go.

"Fine," he said. "Ten minutes."

"Ten minutes," she agreed, entirely unconvincing, already grinning like she knew exactly how unlikely that number actually was. "Come on. They’re gonna love you. Or tolerate you. One of the two."

"You’re very assuring."

"I try." She finally released his sleeve as they reached the stairwell, falling into a normal walking pace beside him instead, her energy still bright and unbothered, and Jason found himself, somewhat against his own better judgment, genuinely curious about who exactly he was about to meet.

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