Chapter 30: The Pokémon Fiesta and Psychopath Magnets
Lukas didn't have to stay in the hospital for long. His wound healed remarkably fast, and Clara only had a minor scratch anyway. A few days later, the "Three Smurfs" were sitting on a weathered park bench, finally enjoying the absolute peace and quiet after the chaotic madness of the past week.
Clara leaned back, taking a deep breath of the fresh air. "Isn't it beautiful, just sitting here together like this?"
"Well, on one hand, I'm truly glad we're out of that hospital," Lukas chimed in, tossing his head dramatically. "Everything in that establishment is so bleak and colorless—no wonder people get sick there! And don't even get me started on those horrific hospital gowns. Don't get me wrong, the fact that they're open in the back is an absolute stroke of genius, always ready for action, you know? But the pattern! My God, so boring! And there was no spa area whatsoever. If my Kimi-bear hadn't brought me my face masks, I'd look like Freddy Krueger in Nightmare on Elm Street right now. But hey, room service wasn't bad."
Clara chuckled, shaking her head. "It is so typical of you to mistake a hospital stay for a luxury hotel vacation."
Lukas grinned back. "That, my dear, is called positive thinking."
Pascale snorted from the other side of the bench. "No, no, no. I'm pretty sure that's called a severe distortion of reality. Besides, you'd never be a Freddy, you'd be a Frederica, you reality-twister. Right, Clara? Hey, what was it again when we met at university? Didn't you study psychology?"
"No, I studied literature," Clara corrected him with a smile. "In two languages, actually."
"Oho, listen to her! Don't show off, you little nerd," Pascale teased.
"Exactly, sweetie," Lukas chimed in. "After all, we all graduated. My devilish sister studied design, and I did theater studies."
Pascale whipped his head around, staring at his twin. "What? Luki, no you didn't! I literally saw you walk into the political science lecture hall every single day!"
"What?!" Lukas blinked. You could practically hear the rusty gears grinding in his head as he thought about it. "Ah... so that's why the course was so brutally hard, and why everyone always looked at me like I was stupid when I asked when the part about Shakespeare was finally going to start! Well, whatever, doesn't matter. I was mostly drunk back then anyway."
"Speaking of drunk," Pascale grinned, pulling a shiny object from his designer tote bag. "Look here, girls! I got us a six-pack of Piccolo champagne! Let's toast—we're never going to be as young as we are today!"
They clinked their mini-bottles together.
"God, our university days were so wild," Pascale laughed, nearly spilling his drink. "Do you remember when we were driving down that country road in your ancient Ford Fiesta, Clara, and the car suddenly caught fire because you two were smoking inside?"
"Oh my God, yes!" Lukas wailed, clutching his chest. "I literally thought we were going to die that day!"
Clara raised her hands defensively, laughing so hard it slightly pulled at her stitches. "Come on, it was just a tiny accident! The ash blew back inside through the open window and landed in my side-door pocket. That's just where I used to keep my old tissues!"
"Right! Because your car was a moving trash can!" Pascale countered, tears of laughter in his eyes. "You rolled down the window and boom—a massive fireball!"
"Yes, okay, I remember, but I'm sure that could happen to anyone!" Clara argued, blushing.
"And the floorboard on the passenger side was always piled high with used coffee cups and empty bottles," Pascale shuddered. "I was always terrified for my designer shoes!"
"Oh, please be glad you got to sit in the front!" Lukas whined. "I always had to sit in the back, and your rear window was completely covered in those horrific, faded Pokémon window-color stickers. I still break out in hives every time I see Pikachu!"
"Hey, come on guys, don't hate on my old car, we had so much fun with it," Clara said, her eyes shining with nostalgia. "Do you remember when we were at the McDrive, and the line was so ridiculously long that you two practically forced me to cut in so we'd get served faster?"
"Yes!" Pascale roared. "You turned the car around and drove into the drive-thru backwards just to overtake everyone and be first in line!"
"God, yes, that was hilarious!"
They laughed until tears streamed down their faces, completely forgetting about the faint ache of their healing wounds.
Suddenly, Lukas went quiet, a look of profound revelation washing over his face. "Hey... Clara. I just realized something. Think about it. The stalker, your tyrannical ex-husband who is the literal King of Psychopaths, and now Min-ho, who hasn't been able to forget you for years... it all adds up."
Clara blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"
"Well," Lukas said, completely deadpan. "They are all absolute obsessives who can't let you go. So, either you are the absolute greatest lover in human history, or you just naturally attract psychos like a magnet."
Pascale burst out into a loud, booming laugh, clapping his hands. "See, Clara? You really should have studied psychology back then! Then maybe you would have seen this coming!"
Pascale and Lukas doubled over, holding their stomachs from laughing so hard. Pascale stood up and took a theatrical bow, while Lukas applauded wildly, shouting, "Bravo! Bravo!"
Clara just sat there, a massive, helpless grin on her face. "You two are seriously idiots."