I lifted my head when I heard Blake's voice. He placed my notebook on the armrest and pulled an empty chair to sit beside me. I shot him a mischievous grin. "Do you want a kiss?"
He paused mid-bite into his cheesecake and stared at my face. With his looks, I could understand why so many people had a crush on him. He had that silky, thick hair, narrow nose, deep eyes, and gracefully arched brows.
"Can I?"
I laughed and tossed a crumpled paper at him. "Idiot!"
He smiled and shook his head. "You're all talk, huh?"
"If I kiss you, you might get addicted."
The smirk didn't leave his face. "You're not so sure. You might crave it because it's so irresistible."
I snorted, tucking the notebook he'd written in into my bag. I noticed our classmates looking our way, probably overhearing the exchange between me and Blake.
Some of my male classmates just smiled at me. Then Mike, another classmate, approached our spot.
"There's supposed to be a transferee tomorrow," he informed us, pulling a chair and sitting across from me.
"Is it a girl?"
I shot Blake a sharp look for his question. He mouthed, "What?" when he saw my glare.
"Since when did you become interested in girls?" I asked with a hint of sass.
"Just now. I'm getting tired of seeing your face."
Mike laughed before responding. "Yeah, it's a girl. It's good they're still accepting transfers this late. We've been in class for a month now."
"Hope she's smart," Blake muttered. "So we'll finally have someone to copy off of," he joked, slinging an arm around me. I quickly shrugged it off, especially as I felt my face start to flush.
I quickly shrugged off his arm, especially as I felt my cheeks start to flush. Goodness, he had no idea how much he affected me every time our skin touched!
"You're the only one I can copy from! I trust your answers more than anyone else's!" I said quickly, trying to recover from my embarrassment.
"That's true, Blake. You're the hope of our section," Mike added. "You don't even need to copy since we all trust you."
Blake just shrugged. "I don't know. It's nice for a girl to be studious. You know, someone who's pretty smart."
I fell silent, noticing how Mike nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I agree. That kind of thing does make someone more attractive."
I bit my lip. I knew they weren't directing it at me, but I couldn't help feeling like I fell so short of being their ideal. I wasn't academically smart. Most of the time, I had the lowest score in our class whenever there was an exam or a quiz.
"But everyone has their own personality and identity, so it's fine either way. Being smart is just a bonus," Blake said after a few minutes of silence.
I just listened to them until our Literature professor arrived. He handed us our assignments and asked someone to read a poem. Luckily, there wasn't a quiz, as I was in no state of mind to answer anything.
So, Blake liked smart girls? Maybe I really needed to start studying seriously. Should I start reading and reviewing our past lessons?
I sighed. But how would I do that when I couldn't handle engineering in the first place? Without his help, I wouldn't even pass.
"Why are you so quiet?" Blake asked as we boarded the tricycle after class.
"I'm just tired," I replied. Our Sub division Chapterwas less than fifteen minutes from the school, and since we were neighbors, Blake and I had practically grown up together.
He nodded at me before taking the three books resting on my lap. I looked at him, but he was focused on placing the books on his own lap. He straightened his back and turned to look at me, our eyes meeting. He gently placed his hand on the back of my head, guiding it to rest on his shoulder.
"You should rest," he said softly.
Even though I was nervous he might hear my heart beating so fast, I closed my eyes and soaked in the warmth of his arm around me. My nose caught his familiar, manly scent. Maybe that's why people mistook us for a couple—he was always sweet to me, and I couldn't bring myself to be snappy with him. But of course, we'd grown up together and knew each other inside and out, so this was just how we treated each other! Besides, I could never be cold to him!
"I know what you did earlier, Vivian," he murmured.
"Hmm?" I replied, not moving from my spot. I was afraid that if I adjusted my position, he might let go.
"Did those guys from the Business department disrespect you?" he asked quietly, his voice laced with a hint of anger.
"Blake, don't worry about them. They're not worth your time."
He didn't reply, even after we got out of the taxi. I suddenly wished the ride had been longer, just so I could lean against him for a little while more.
Our houses were right across from each other, so as he went inside, I headed into my own home. Blake's father, Uncle Franco, is a company director, while his mother, Aunt Jane, is a doctor. Despite their success, there's no trace of arrogance in their family; Aunt Jane even often donates to the orphanage.
Blake and his sibling both attend public school, but compared to others in our neighborhood, his family is fairly well-off.
"Mom!" I called out when I saw the light on but noticed she wasn't in the living room.
"I'm in the back, Vivian!" she answered.
I went to find her and saw a huge pile of laundry. It was already six in the evening.
I went to her and saw the large pile of laundry she was working through. It was already six in the evening, but she hadn't even finished scrubbing. Without a word, I changed into my house clothes and sat across from her to help with the washing.
"Don't bother helping! Do what you need to do; I'm almost done here. You just got home, and your shoes are still wet. You might catch a chill!" she scolded.
I wrinkled my nose at her. "Almost done? You're not even halfway through."
"Don't you have any assignments?" she asked.
I tied back my loose hair. "I do, Mom, but don't worry about it. I'll just copy from Blake tomorrow."
She laughed, and after that, there wasn't much she could do to stop me from helping her. It took us nearly three hours to finish the laundry. I couldn't complain about my aching back, knowing hers was probably hurting even more. She's close to being a senior citizen, yet she still works tirelessly for me.
"Don't you have any assignments?" she asked.
I tied back my loose hair. "I do, Mom, but don't worry about it. I'll just copy from Blake tomorrow."
She chuckled, and there wasn't much she could do as I started helping her. It took us nearly three hours to finish the laundry. I couldn't complain about my aching back, knowing hers was probably hurting even more. She's nearing senior age, yet she still works tirelessly for me.
"Oh dear, I haven't even started cooking," she sighed.
I laughed, pulling out my phone to check if Blake was online. He was, so I sent him a message.
Me: Can I get some food and rice? Hehe thanks mhuah
In less than a minute, I heard a knock on our door.
"We have food, Mom," I called out.
"For you, it's the food he brought. For me, it's the one who brought it," I added with a grin.