I was a broke university student. I should have been going to university on a scholarship because I came from a low-income family, but a last-minute £100-a-year pay rise for my mum pushed my family over the threshold (门槛) for what defined "low-income" and I was suddenly no longer qualified for £15,000 a year in scholarship money. This news came after I'd been accepted by the university and signed the lease (租约) for my accommodation.
Despite my family not being labelled low-income anymore, I still wouldn't receive any financial support from my family as all the income went toward taking care of my disabled brother and paying their own bills. It would be tight, but because I had savings from my part-time job, I decided to go to university anyway. After paying my rent, I had £
10.20 a week for everything else including food, toiletries, and school supplies.
As I was in a new city, I really wanted to make friends, which was difficult when most of the social activities were expensive. Therefore, I jumped at the chance to do a relatively cheap coffee shop trip with my roommates who were pleasant to me.
I had £20 with me to get a cheap cup of coffee and my food shopping for a few weeks. So I headed for the coffee shop. While paying, I pulled out the note and a handful of change and realized I could pay without breaking the note, so I put it back in my pocket. It wasn't until I arrived at the supermarket that I realized the note was gone. What should I do? I was desperate it was the equivalent (相等物) of two weeks of money. My roommates helped me look for the note. However, it was in vain. Finally, I went to school empty-handed.
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