Self-Awareness.

"A trash picker? What do you mean by that? Tabitha's roommate, Bonnie, asked in a puzzled tone after hearing her words.

"Nothing... nothing at all. Today's plans are canceled. Let's go back to the dorm!" Tabitha, still fuming from Graham's earlier words, pouted as she replied.

"What? Plans canceled?" The girl on the other end exclaimed in surprise and continued, "Tabitha, are you kidding me? Wynter and I already reserved a booth and ordered drinks. If you don't come, who's going to pay the bill?"

"You already ordered drinks?" Tabitha asked, stunned.

"Yeah, didn't you tell us to? You said a rich guy, your admirer, would be coming. You told us to order whatever we wanted and that he'd cover the bill when he arrived," Bonnie said, her tone exasperated.

Tabitha had indeed said that to impress her roommates about how much Graham liked her. But she never expected Graham to get mad at her because of Brentley, ruining her plan to have him pay the bill.

"How much did you order?" Tabitha asked.

"Not much, just the minimum spend for the sofa area, which is $2,000. So, we ordered $2,000 worth of drinks," Bonnie replied slowly.

Tabitha was speechless. She had hoped that if her roommates hadn't ordered much, she could cover the bill herself. But she never expected them to spend $2,000. She only had about $100 to $150 on her, nowhere near enough to pay the bill.

"Tabitha, you're not messing with us, are you?" Bonnie asked when she noticed Tabitha's silence.

"Why would I mess with you? I'll bring someone over soon. Just wait," Tabitha replied, trying to sound confident.

Tabitha muttered something under her breath and then hung up the phone abruptly. After ending the call, she turned to look at Brentley and the others, her eyes filled with hesitation. But she eventually walked over to where Graham and the others were standing.

Her two roommates were still at the bar, and if she didn't bring Brentley over now, she wouldn't know how to face them later. So, despite her strong dislike for Brentley, she reluctantly agreed to take him to the bar.

"Tabitha, why are you back?" Graham asked, his face showing a hint of confusion when he saw her return.

"I've agreed to take Brentley to the bar. Let's go," Tabitha said, clearly unwilling.

Graham was taken aback for a moment but then smiled brightly. "Tabitha, I knew you were the most understanding!"

"I'm only doing this because he's your friend. Otherwise, I wouldn't want to go to the bar with someone like him," Tabitha said, giving Brentley a perusal and pouted.

Graham, thinking Tabitha had a change of heart, was overjoyed and turned to Brentley and Tyree. "Great! Tyree, Brentley, let's head to the bar!"

While Graham didn't understand Tabitha's sudden change of mind, Tyree and Brentley did. They knew it wasn't that simple. Tyree stepped forward and looked directly at Tabitha. "You didn't want Brentley to go, so he didn't. Now you want him to go, and we have to follow you? Who do you think you are?"

"Tyree, what do you mean by that?" Tabitha shouted, her big watery eyes glaring at him.

"We'll go to the bar, but I have one condition," Tyree said slowly.

"What condition?" Tabitha asked.

Tabitha frowned and asked, "Are you saying you'll only come if I treat you all? If I don't, you won't go?"

Tyree, seeing through Tabitha's sudden change of heart as a ploy to get someone else to foot the bill, decided to seize the opportunity to teach her a lesson. "Exactly. If you don't treat us, we're not going."

Tabitha's face froze in an awkward expression upon hearing Tyree's words.

"Tyree, don't you think you're being a bit too much? Tabitha's just a girl; where's she supposed to get the money to treat us? Besides, it's not right to make a girl pay when we go out," Graham interjected, feeling that Tabitha agreeing to bring Brentley along was already a big concession. Now Tyree was pushing it by demanding she pay.

"Why can't a girl treat us? Every time we go out, it's always us paying. Tabitha hasn't spent a dime. What's wrong with her paying this time?" Tyree retorted bluntly.

Due to Graham's influence, Tyree had often treated both of them to meals. Given Tyree's decent family background and Graham's ongoing pursuit of Tabitha, Tyree felt it was only fair to spend some money for his friend, but today's events had left Tyree feeling particularly aggrieved.

"Tyree, how can you be so petty?" Tabitha shouted, clearly displeased.

"I'm not being petty. If you want me to go back, you need to show some sincerity. You said some pretty harsh things to Brentley earlier. Now, I'm asking you to treat us. If you can't afford it, then apologize to Brentley for what you said, and we'll call it even," Tyree stated firmly, determined to settle the score with Tabitha.

"Tyree, you..." Tabitha looked at Tyree, her expression one of helplessness.

There was no way she could bring herself to apologize to someone like Brentley, but she also didn't have the money to treat everyone.

At this moment, Tabitha found herself at a loss for words due to Tyree's remarks.

"Today, I'm treating everyone to drinks. What Tabitha said earlier was probably not intentional. How about we just let it go?" Brentley suddenly interjected.

Hearing this, Tabitha quickly looked up at Brentley in disbelief. She never expected him to speak up for her at this moment.

In reality, Brentley simply didn't want to waste any more time. He wanted to finish drinking with Graham and the others quickly and then head home to check on Phoebe.

Tyree, hearing Brentley's words, felt awkward about continuing to make things difficult for Tabitha. He could only stride towards the bar.

Graham, however, was very grateful that Brentley didn't hold a grudge against Tabitha. If the argument had continued, Graham would have found himself in a very difficult position.

A few minutes later, the group arrived at the Sunset Bar near Sunshire City University.

The Bar was quite large for the area around Sunshire City University. It hadn't been open for long, so the interior was still very new, making it a popular spot for students to hang out.

But just as Brentley and the others were about to enter the bar, Tabitha suddenly stopped. Taking advantage of Tyree and Graham's distraction, she turned to Brentley and said, "Brentley, when you meet my friends later, don't tell them you're a trash collector. I don't want my friends to know I associate with someone like you. Got it?"

It seemed Tabitha had already forgotten that Brentley had just helped her out. Her tone was very rude. "Got it," Brentley replied indifferently, not in the mood to argue with her.

"And don't get any ideas about my friends. They would never be interested in someone as poor as you. You'd better know your place," Tabitha continued, looking at Brentley.

Brentley couldn't help but pause for a moment when he heard Tabitha's words. With a blank expression, he said, "Tabitha, if it weren't for Graham, I wouldn't have come to meet your friend at all. Besides, I already have a fiancee. I'm not interested in your friend, so your worries are unnecessary."

"You have a fiancee? Who are you kidding? Who would be interested in a broke loser like you?" Tabitha rolled her eyes at Brentley, her tone dripping with disdain.

Brentley ignored her and walked into the bar on his own.

Since Graham and Tyree had entered the bar first, they didn't hear the exchange between Brentley and Tabitha.