Chapter Text
If Ilya Rozanov had a dime every time someone in his life had called him a control freak, he’d be well off enough to quit school and retire on the spot. Sure, he had some problems, but didn’t everybody? Everything around him was always changing. Even when things had finally come to a standstill, he never felt like he was actually in control of anything.
He actually loved university, which surprised him when he started attending. Originally he had attended the school out of familial pressure from his father and brother, partially resenting his presence at the institution. But, he grew to love it and love learning and soon after he set foot on Canadian soil, he realized that university was probably going to be more of a home to him than the “family” he had left. University quickly became his new escape from the turbulent phone calls and the constant arguments over financial issues with his brother in regards to their father’s health. He sent what little he could, but there was little to send in the first place.
Giving up university and returning to Russia would have made things even worse. Ilya had been lucky enough to receive a scholarship and he didn’t want to give that up. Unfortunately the scholarship only covered tuition and somehow living in the dorms was 10 times more expensive than renting an apartment, which wasn’t cheap either. As his father’s health declined throughout the years, the demand for money grew and grew, despite the fact that his family knew he was barely getting by as is.Then there were the promises to his mother in the back of his mind.
Irina Rozanova had always had a desire for learning. She spoke to Ilya about her love for knowledge and how she wished to one day return to school later in her life. She had always encouraged him to never give up and that if he wished to attend a university somewhere some day, he’d study as hard as he could and learn as much as possible. Pressure from family and a desire to impress contributed to him being in school, yes, but the real reason Ilya found himself there was because it was a sort of promise to her. That was what truly made the thought of giving up and leaving unbearable.
He had come so far and would not dare give up on what his mother had unofficially asked of him.
At least not until he had no other choice.
Fast forwarding to his junior year, Ilya found himself in worse and worse positions surrounding money. He had managed to pull through the first two years of his education with a shitty bar job down the street and various other random things that made money. Ilya had a talent for handiwork and was able to earn a good amount fixing lights or cars or whatever else he could get his hands on for people. Neither job was amazing, but the combined total earned paid enough considering the fact that he was only allowed to officially “work” a certain amount of hours. That was until he walked into work soon after the year started and was met with his manager who had a sad expression on his face.
“Look kid, you’re not working today,” The manager looked uncomfortable seeing Ilya’s confused expression, “I’m…laying you off. Effective immediately.”
“Lay off?” Ilya had heard of the term before, but was confused about its meaning.
“Fired, but not fired. Basically you’re just not working here anymore, but it’s not because of you or anything, it's because we can’t afford to keep paying you.”
“You’re firing me?” There was more disbelief in Ilya’s voice than anger.
“No no, not necessarily. I’m laying you off. I mean technically you can look at it that way, but firing can have consequences on your record. Laying you off doesn’t.”
“But I am being removed?”
The manager nodded, “‘Fraid so, kid. I’m sorry, but we just can’t afford to keep our part-timers. You’re a great worker overall and I’d be happy to be a reference to anywhere new you apply to.”
Ilya nodded and thanked the manager who gave him a sad smile back, “Thank you for time here.”
“Of course,” A small envelope with cash was stuffed into Ilya’s palm, “Here’s your last pay. Take care, Ilya.”
Ilya sat against the wall of his apartment complex. He took a cigarette from his pocket and lit it as he contemplated the events of the day.
“I thought you said you quit smoking,” Ilya jolted but quickly relaxed as he realized who the voice next to him was.
“Sveta, will you stop creeping up on me like that?”
The woman chuckled, but shook her head, “Nope, you’re stuck with me.”
“Wonderful.”
Svetlana eyed Ilya with concern, “What’s on your mind, seriously? You’re acting weird.”
“I got fired. Well, the manager said laid off, but I’m basically fired,” Ilya replied, taking a puff of the cigarette.
“No fucking way.”
“Yes fucking way. Boss- or, I guess old boss now, offered to be reference for new job. It was nice but…”
“But you needed that damn job,” Svetlana sighed, “I’m so fucking sorry Ilyusha, shit. Wait, remember my friend Marco? He owns the pasta joint around the corner and has been looking for employees. I can put in a good word for you?”
“Please?” Ilya hated sounding desperate but there was no other way to describe how he felt right now. And he needed a new job as soon as possible, so he couldn’t pass this up.
“Of course. I’ll run by after my afternoon classes tomorrow.”
“You are the best.”
“Damn right I am,” Svetlana laughed, brushing her hair back, “Oh, and Ilyusha?”
“Hm?”
“If…if this gets bad, you know I can help you right? You can stay with me until you get back on your feet.”
The temperature grew colder and eventually the sun had dipped below the horizon, so they parted ways (Svetlana lived in the complex next door). Ilya gave a sigh of relief as he entered his apartment, closing and locking the door and immediately climbing into the shower. Unfortunately the shower did not stop the rush of thoughts to his head as reality kicked in about what had happened that day.
What was he going to do? Thankfully he had just paid rent, so he had another month before he had to worry about that. But he only had a couple hundred dollars in his account plus the mediocre pay from his now former bar job after he had to drain his savings to help his father. There were so many expenses and now he had to choose between more of them. Then there was the added factor of what could he choose?
Rent wasn’t a problem for now, sure, but it would be eventually and so would Alexei once the month was up and he was back to demanding money again. He didn’t even know if he was going to be able to afford to eat every day of the week at this point. He wanted to take Svetlana somewhere nice for her birthday, but that was definitely out the window now. He thought about her offer of staying with her, but he just couldn’t bear the thought of it. Their friendship was something he cherished and treasured close to his heart, making it harder for him to ask for her help since she was also struggling to pay for her own stuff.
Ilya stepped foot out of the shower and got ready for bed, climbing under the covers as he thought more and more about his next steps. In a moment of, for lack of better wording, pure desperation, he pulls out his phone and starts typing into google.
How to get rich quick as a broke college student.
He happened to see a forum on reddit where people shared their solutions for quickly earning money. There was one particular reply that caught his eye.
spacegirl_00: Mentioned to a friend of mine how bad shit was this month for me while we were drunk one night on facetime and she suggested one of those sugar baby apps. I was skeptical at first and didn’t want to go through with it but I needed the money and I needed it badly.
spacegirl_00: There’s tons of guys and girls on those apps willing to pay for anything, even just for you to talk to them. Seems shady and trust me, it can be, but it honestly saved me from being homeless so can’t say it wasn’t worth it lol
Ilya paused, looking up at the ceiling. A sugar baby app? Ilya shook his head. No, there was no way he was doing that. Those apps could get weird anyway, but he needed this money and…he created a profile faster than he could think.
He filled out his name, age, and interests, deciding on the username “Roz”, a shortened version of his last name. After he put a few photos in, he quickly slammed his phone down out of embarrassment and tried to sleep.
He hoped this would work.