Since Freya had mentioned Wisdom to her friend Sophie, Sophie had been eager to meet him, bombarding Freya with all sorts of questions. Freya was amused by all this; they were friends, but they had never really done anything together outside of class.
Before this, Sophie was very reserved, only talking during lessons, and Freya felt like she shouldn't push that boundary. But perhaps Sophie felt the same way.
During a break from their lectures, instead of parting ways, they decided to walk to the café, as it wasn't too far from the college. On the way, they stopped by a shop to buy some snacks to keep their energy up for the rest of the day.
When they finally reached the café, the bell above the door rang as they entered. Wisdom, who was behind the till and nearly falling asleep, jolted up when he saw Freya.
"Oh, Freya, what are you doing here? Isn't it your day off? And I see you brought a friend," Wisdom said, smiling at Sophie.
"Well, I came to drop something off as a thank you," Freya smiled.
"Sophie here seems to be impressed by my writing, especially yours," she said, proud of herself.
Sophie, however, was eyeing Wisdom suspiciously, almost as if she was judging him. Freya noticed and wasn't sure what to do.
Wisdom felt the immense pressure from Sophie's gaze, which startled him a little until Sophie began to speak.
"So you're Wisdom, huh? And you help with writing?" Her eyes squinted.
Wisdom, unsure of what to say, just nodded and replied, "Yes."
Freya, watching this encounter, decided to intervene. "But I haven't been able to do much since then. I'm slowly going back to my bad writing habits," she said, mildly annoyed at herself.
"Hmm, I see the problem now," Wisdom mused. "I need to help you write on your own, rather than just give guidance. It will take some time. If you truly want to get better, I suggest making short stories first and getting used to the structure."
Freya brightened up. "Okay. Can you help me like last time when you start closing?"
"Sure," Wisdom said with a smile.
"Oh, I almost forgot. Take this," Freya handed him a small sweet, convincing him to eat it now.
Wisdom had no reason to decline and quickly threw it in his mouth, but he'd been set up. The sweet was incredibly sour, making his face scrunch up before he quickly spit it out.
"Hey!" Wisdom exclaimed, realizing what had happened.
Sophie and Freya burst into laughter. "Well, it seemed to have woken you up," Sophie said, still laughing.
Sophie seemed to warm up to Wisdom, sensing nothing creepy about him. After this moment, Freya and Sophie began to leave the store. Freya bumped into a girl who had a strange atmosphere about her; she looked like something was on her mind. Apologizing quickly, Freya went on her way, but the encounter stayed on her mind. Curious, she glanced back and saw Wisdom talking to the girl, which only piqued her interest more.
"Well, he passes the test, but I'm going to keep my eye on him," Sophie said, now feeling more relaxed.
Freya laughed. "What test?" she asked, confused.
Sophie chose to ignore her and pushed her to start heading back to their lecture, which was soon starting.
When they arrived at Memphis College, Sophie and Freya ended up walking by a poster. It announced a writing competition with prizes and a chance to get your book published.
Instead of the typical 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places, it had titles like:
"Fan's Most Favorite Book"
"Most Potential Book"
"Favorite Character Book"
And of course, "Competition Winner"
Write a short story of any genre of your choice. Applications end this Friday. Sign up at…
"This Friday," Freya realized, meaning tonight was the last day to sign up.
Sophie saw the look on Freya's face and was intrigued. She didn't know much about Freya's writing, but she could tell by the look on her face that she was interested.
"Why don't you do it?" Sophie suggested with a smile.
"What? No! It's too last minute," Freya said, thinking of any excuse to get out of it.
Sophie decided not to force her, as it was Freya's decision, and quickly pushed the idea to the side. However, the idea started to take root in Freya's mind.
Later that evening, Freya returned to the café a little later than usual. She saw Wisdom with his mom, who looked severely ill.
"I told you to take it easy, Mom," Wisdom scolded gently.
Upon closer inspection, Freya saw bakery items on the floor, filling the air with a delicious smell.
"Mom, have you been working again?" Wisdom asked.
Wisdom seemed very worried but wasn't able to get an answer from her, especially when she noticed Freya in the distance. His mother greeted her warmly.
"Oh, hey, dear! How are you doing? Did you come from Memphis College?"
Freya nodded with a smile. But Wisdom's mom was confused about why he was working so hard.
Thinking quickly, Freya handed Wisdom some random notes, pretending they were from his missed classes. "These are what you missed today," she said, implying he had skipped a lesson for work.
Wisdom's mother looked annoyed but didn't question further, and Wisdom reluctantly thanked Freya, playing along with the act.
Unexpectedly, Wisdom's mom grabbed Freya's hand. "Dear, would you like to come over to our house? I baked the best pastries," she said with a smile. "And Wisdom doesn't bring over any guests for his mother. I was wondering if he even had any friends," she added, looking at him in disappointment.
Freya, unable to say no, ended up walking with Wisdom and his mother to their house.
"So, Freya dear, how has my son been? I hope he hasn't been rude," Wisdom's mom asked.
Before Freya could reply, Wisdom attempted to answer but was quickly stopped by his mother. "I wasn't asking you."
This caused Freya to laugh before replying, "No, don't worry, he's been helping me," she said with a smile.
"Good," Wisdom's mom replied. "He's very impulsive, but he is smart and kind."
"Indeed," Freya agreed.
Wisdom was unsure how to feel as they talked about him right in front of him but acted as if he wasn't there.
Wisdom and his mother bickered about her overworking herself, but eventually, she insisted Wisdom walk Freya back.
Freya protested, saying it was fine, but Wisdom's mother wouldn't allow it.
Freya saw another side of Wisdom, feeling a small comfort. Despite their differences, they seemed similar in how they were hiding something from their families.
After a brief silence, Freya decided to bring up the book contest. "Um, I meant to tell you, but there's a book contest, and I'm not sure if I should do it."
Freya was still unsure if she should participate. She wasn't really a writer to begin with and had only recently been receiving help.
"I think you should do it," Wisdom replied. "And it's not like you don't have an idea. I'll be here to help along the way," he smiled.
They talked a little more about other things, including her friend Sophie and how Wisdom thought she didn't like him, which made Freya laugh. They also discussed the sour sweet incident, which still annoyed Wisdom.
Before they knew it, they had reached the bus stop. Still talking about random stuff, their fun ended when the bus abruptly appeared, cutting their conversation short.
As Freya got on the bus, she realized she had forgotten to ask about the girl she had seen earlier, which made her mad for some reason. She decided to ignore it for now and ask next time.
The following night, Freya went on her laptop and submitted her application for the book contest, feeling a mix of nerves and excitement.