Lukas was almost done working at the café when his manager called out—
"You can leave early, Lukas."
"But…?" Lukas blinked in surprise, hesitating.
"Go on," Kayla smiled.
"Your girlfriend is waiting outside."
"Valerie?!" Lukas quickly glanced toward the window.
"And besides, there aren't many customers right now."
"Thank you, Ma'am Kayla."
"Go now."
Lukas didn't waste another second and rushed out of the café.
"Why are you here? You didn't message me," he said, slightly out of breath.
"Well… pretend this is a surprise," Valerie replied, making a funny, cute face.
Lukas laughed. "So, where should we eat?"
"Convenience store food is fine with me."
They walked together to a nearby convenience store, bought what they wanted, and found a seat.
"You really eat a lot," Valerie teased.
"Weh, I hab fast metaboli—" Lukas mumbled while stuffing his mouth with a burger.
"Don't talk while eating, jeez," Valerie said, smiling. She quietly took out her phone and snapped a picture, thinking he looked cute.
"Wha—"
"Oh, here. I brought chocolates," she added, pulling them out of her bag.
Lukas' eyes widened instantly.
"My friend gave them to me, but I don't really eat chocolates. I'm trying to lose weight… unlike someone who needs to gain some."
"My body is not underweight!" Lukas protested, pouting like a kid.
"Look at this!" he suddenly said, lifting his shirt slightly to show his waist.
"See? I have abs!"
Valerie burst out laughing. "Your waist is even better than mine—and those are not abs, idiot."
They both laughed together.
"Mm… this is sweet," Lukas said happily, clearly enjoying the chocolate.
Valerie watched him with a soft smile—she knew he loved sweet things, that's why she brought them.
"That's all yours, Luke."
"Really?" Lukas tried to act extra cute.
"Yeah."
"Okay~" he grinned.
"Stop acting cute," Valerie said, crossing her arms but smiling. "Someone might steal you from me."
Lukas didn't think much about his appearance, so he just shrugged it off.
Soon enough, both he and Valerie finished eating.
"Wanna sleep over at my place, Luke?" Valerie asked casually.
"I'll pass. I still have stuff to do at my apartment."
"Oh… okay. Bye."
The next day—
The bell rang for break time.
"Class Rep, the teacher's calling you to the office!"
"Coming," Lukas replied, already standing up.
He made his way to the office.
"Why did you call me, sir?"
"Well, first of all, you've been very dependable. Keep it up, Lukas…"
His teacher went on and on, praising him like he was about to receive a lifetime achievement award.
"Ah—and I almost forgot," the teacher added, handing him a stack of papers. "These are your classmates' exam scores. Please distribute them."
"Alright, sir."
Lukas left the office, carrying the papers.
As he walked back to his classroom, he passed by Valerie's room—
"BOOO!"
"AHH—!"
Lukas nearly jumped out of his soul as the papers flew dramatically into the air like slow-motion tragedy.
Valerie froze. "…Oops."
"I'm sorry! I just wanted to scare you—I didn't know you were holding that many papers!"
Lukas stared at the mess on the floor, still recovering from the heart attack.
"Wait, I'll come out and help—"
Suddenly—
"Don't worry, Valerie," Arthur appeared out of nowhere like a summoned spirit, "I'll help my boyfriend here."
Valerie didn't even look at him. She just rolled her eyes so hard it could've powered a generator.
"Anyway—here, babe," Valerie said, handing Lukas some of the papers she already picked up.
Arthur froze.
"…Babe?" he repeated slowly.
Valerie smirked. "Yeah. Problem?"
Arthur clutched his chest. "Wow. Betrayal. Right in front of me."
Lukas sighed. "Can we just pick these up before someone steps on my suffering?"
Valerie snorted.
Arthur crouched down dramatically. "Don't worry, baby. I'll help you rebuild your future—one paper at a time."
"…You're not helping," Lukas muttered.
"Oh, thanks," Lukas said.
"Here too, baby," Arthur added with a grin.
"Uh… thanks?" Lukas replied awkwardly.
"Give me a kiss—I helped you," Arthur said, trying to act cute as he struck a playful pose.
Valerie snorted. "That pose should be illegal."
The three of them burst into laughter.
"I'll be going now. The class might already be waiting for their scores."
"So… how's your score, baby? And yours too, Valerie?" Arthur asked, glancing between them.
"Yeah, don't talk to me. I barely passed," Valerie muttered. "Thirty-eight out of fifty."
"Barely?!" Arthur exclaimed, his voice rising in disbelief as he looked at Valerie, unsure if he was joking. "I got thirty-three!"
Valerie just shrugged. "Skill issue."
Arthur looked personally attacked.
"And you, Lukas?" Valerie asked.
Arthur turned to him as well, both of them now waiting.
"Uh… fifty out of fifty."
Silence.
"Uh… yeah. The exam was hard…" Lukas added, scratching the back of his head.
Valerie and Arthur exchanged tired smiles, not knowing how to react.
A few seconds later, the bell rang.
"Oh—I'll get going now…" Lukas said quickly, trying to escape.
"Wait for me, baby!" Arthur called, chasing after him.
As they neared Lukas's classroom, Arthur caught up and pouted.
"You big meanie… why didn't you let me join you? My room's just past yours."