"Blam!"
Luke flung the classroom door open, gasping for air after his frantic sprint to campus. His glasses were knocked askew, and every head in the room turned to look at him, including the professor's.
"Late?" asked the professor, who was in the middle of opening a textbook with one hand already reaching for the whiteboard to write.
"Yes, sir. Sorry," Luke answered breathlessly.
"Name?" the professor asked, turning back to the student roster on the desk.
"Lucas Davis," Luke replied.
"Alright. Why are you late?" the professor inquired.
"I overslept, sir. Honestly," Luke stammered.
"Fine... just get inside," the professor said dismissively.
"Thank you, sir," Luke replied with a sigh of relief.
Without wasting a second, Luke walked in under the collective gaze of the students already neatly settled in their seats. Suddenly, a hand shot up. Luke looked over to see Giselle waving at him, pointing to the empty chair next to her. Luke trotted over and took the seat beside her.
"Huff... thanks, Giselle," Luke whispered as the lecture resumed.
"Hehe... no problem. We've both been there now—yesterday it was me, today it's you," Giselle whispered cheerfully.
"Yeah... now we're even," Luke said, tugging at his clothes to air himself out after the run.
Suddenly, Giselle held out her handkerchief. Luke looked at her in surprise while straightening his glasses.
"That's okay, you don't have to," Luke said.
"You're dripping with sweat. Wipe it off; it's gross sitting there all damp like that," Giselle insisted.
"Alright then. I'll wash it before I give it back. Thanks," Luke replied, taking the handkerchief.
"Don't worry about it. You don't even have to wash it," Giselle said brightly.
"No way, I'm definitely washing it," Luke insisted.
Luke began wiping away his sweat, taking off his glasses to dry his face and forehead, while Giselle sat beside him, constantly glancing over with a mysterious little smile. After a moment, they both turned back toward the front to focus on the lecture. Seeing Giselle preoccupied, Luke pulled the paper from his pocket and reread the message once more.
"Who exactly is MS... Dad's name was Paul and Mom was Hannah... it's clearly not them since their initials would be PD and HD, not MS... if it were Aunt Sharon, it should be SD... not her either. Besides, Mom and Dad have passed away... and Aunt Sharon is in a coma at the hospital... honestly, I'm stumped," Luke muttered in his heart.
He kept thinking and thinking, trying to figure out who actually had the initials MS by running through everyone he knew, like his friends. Suddenly, "ding," another notification popped up on his smartphone. He pulled it out and opened it after stuffing the paper back into his pocket.
"Hello... Luke?" Amanda asked via text.
"Oh right, I still haven't replied," Luke muttered in his heart.
Finally, he typed out a message telling Amanda that he couldn't make it because he had to open the cafe, just as he had told Noel earlier.
"Who's Amanda?" Giselle asked.
Luke turned, startled to find that Giselle, sitting right next to him, was blatantly peeking at his smartphone screen, her long wavy blonde hair falling onto his arm.
"Oh... Amanda? She's my younger brother's girlfriend's sister," Luke said.
"Hmm, but she's asking you out for dinner tonight?" Giselle asked again, having clearly read the top portion of the chat that hadn't been scrolled away yet.
"Yeah, but I can't go because I have to open the cafe," Luke said, leaning slightly to the side as Giselle moved even closer.
"I see. In that case, how about you have dinner with me instead? There's something I want to ask you," Giselle said, staring at Luke while staying in the same close position.
"Hey... you two in the back! If you want to date or flirt, please don't do it in my classroom!"
The professor's shout suddenly rang out from the front, and every head turned to look toward the back where the two of them were sitting. Giselle immediately bolted upright, and Luke froze in place. Once he saw the two of them sitting properly again, the professor resumed his lecture. Then, Giselle scribbled something in her notebook and slid it in front of Luke.
"So? How about our dinner?" Giselle asked in the notebook.
Luke wrote at the bottom of the notebook, right beneath Giselle's handwriting, and slid it back in front of her.
"Didn't I tell you? I have to open the cafe, so I can't," Luke answered in the notebook.
Giselle wrote her reply and slid it back to Luke, who read it immediately.
"Fine, I get it. In that case, let's just have lunch at the cafeteria. There's something I really need to ask you—I'm serious," Giselle said.
Luke turned to look at Giselle, who was already watching him. Her beautiful face looked genuinely serious this time, without a hint of a smile. It was clear she had something important to discuss, and the purpose behind her lunch invitation was just as obvious. Luke then wrote a single word in the notebook: "Okay." He slid it back one last time and looked over at Giselle, who was already smiling at him again.
Then Giselle slid her smartphone in front of Luke to ask for his number since they had different classes after this before meeting up for lunch. Naturally, Luke gave his number to Giselle. After that, they both went back to paying attention to the lecture at the front. But Luke glanced at Giselle beside him and wondered.
"What does she actually want to talk about... she looks so serious. Did Lorna tell her something yesterday, or is it because we ran into each other at the hospital? But it's normal to run into each other there; it's a public hospital, anyone can come and go," Luke muttered in his heart.
***
Meanwhile, in a quiet park in the middle of campus, "ding," Amanda's smartphone chimed. She saw a notification pop up and opened it, her face suddenly brightening when she saw a message from Luke. But as she read it, her expression flattened back to its usual look.
"He can't make it... well, whatever," Amanda muttered, staring at her screen.
"Who's the text from, babe?" asked the man sitting next to Amanda, wearing a designer shirt and an expensive watch with his arm.
"Nobody, Trevor, don't worry about it," Amanda answered, putting her smartphone away.
"So, what about our plans? The presentation for that new business investment tonight—is it still on?" Trevor asked, turning to look at Amanda.
"Of course it's on, babe. Eight o'clock at that boutique hotel, right?" Amanda asked.
"Yeah, I'll pick you up at your place at seven... I'm going to introduce you as my partner, even though we only just got engaged today. Are you okay with that?" Trevor replied, pulling a ring box from his pocket and opening it, his face turning slightly red.
Hearing Trevor's words, Amanda whipped her head around to look at him. Her face was filled with questions as she studied Trevor's features, noticing how he seemed to be blushing slightly beside her.
"Are you proposing to me?" Amanda asked softly.
"I am. Will you marry me, Amanda?" Trevor asked, immediately dropping to one knee in front of Amanda.
"Of course I will. Now you're my partner and my fiancé, so don't be late picking me up," Amanda replied, cheerfully kissing Trevor's cheek as he knelt before her.
"Oh, and don't forget to bring that lingerie I bought you. I want to see you in it, since we're staying over afterward to celebrate our engagement," Trevor whispered into Amanda's ear, sliding the ring onto her finger.
"Hehe... of course I'll wear it, don't you worry," Amanda replied happily, admiring her new ring.
Then, the two of them shared a passionate kiss in the quiet park. But Amanda's eyes drifted toward her smartphone; she saw the screen still displaying her chat history with Luke and deleted it. Just then, "ding," a message arrived from Vanessa, who seemed to be fuming at her. The text was so long that Amanda simply rolled her eyes, then reached up to cup Trevor's cheek and returned his deep, intimate kiss.