"Prove yourself soon."

I stared at the cryptic text for a while, the physics professor droning on in the background. It was from an unknown number, but if I thought about it, only one person could have come up with such a strange string of words.

"Did you catch what he said about the formula?" The redhead at my right whispered, her pen scribbling furiously against her notebook.

"Hm? No," I distractedly responded, clicking my phone off. "I try not to listen to his ramblings."

Elinka shot me a quick look of disapproval, although mirth was twinkling in her eyes. 

I propped my chin with a hand, covertly observing the protagonist. 

What should I tell Yohan?

It wasn't hard to "connect" with the heroine, seeing as how she continued to park her bike next to mine. My frantic tipsy avoidance of exchanging numbers that Tuesday night a month ago was all in vain, seeing as how I myself asked her for hers a week later. Her surprise and obvious happiness made me feel a little guilty - the whole friendship was just for a deal with another main character - but I didn't ruminate on that thought. 

My weekdays now were a bit different; if I shared a class with the girl, I made sure to sit right next to her. Unfortunately our schedules weren't that similar, and I had to force myself to attend physics just to maximize our time together. It was a hard class to bear, so I had to make a choice between the lesser of two evils. Today, I had finally mentally prepared myself for any drama that might happen during lunch. Today, I am finally visiting the cafeteria. 

Elinka was basically exactly like she was in the game - she didn't act against the limited amount of information I already knew about her, at least. Very nice, extremely hardworking, endlessly optimistic, and unconsciously cute: she was the perfect heroine. The problem was that love interest #2 probably knew all of this better than me at this point. 

So, as someone who didn't even play the game in my last life, what useful information could I give him?  

The professor's nonsensical shout interrupted my thoughts. "Easy! Easy topic! Just study it every day and it'll be easy."

***

"What did you think of today's lecture? It was better than you thought it would be, right?" Elinka asked with a small grin, stepping closer to me as students poured out around us.

Heroine, the best part of that class is the optional attendance.

"Well, maybe," I gave an awkward chuckle, changing the topic. "Anyways, did you chose a meal for me?"

"Meal? Oh! Of course! You don't have to force yourself to eat it if it turns out to be something you don't like!" The girl was quick to frown in concern.

"It should be fine. I'm not a picky eater."

The protagonist expressed her relief and speedily moved on to innocently talking about some other topic as we made our way to the first floor. It seemed like it was easy for her to latch onto whatever subject and just throw praises and positive observations about it. That's how she ended up being the one to choose my lunch for me today, saying it would be a good welcome for the me that has never visited the cafeteria yet (or something like that).

The large doors were wide open when we got there, students streaming through into the expansive hall. The color theme of sharp black, white, and brown was elegant, and the area had a clean, modern look to it, although the high ceilings with bright chandeliers implied that it had undergone a renovation. Round tables were placed between the rows of rectangular ones, all leading up to the buffet area at the far wall. A cashier table was placed at the end of the food bar, seamlessly accepting the line of people paying for their meals. 

Fancy.

"There they are!" 

"Who?" I followed the girl's happy gaze, my eyes landing on a silver mask and blonde hair. My face slackened.

I asked a stupid question.

Augustus seemed to see us at the same time we saw him, his perfect smile flashing as he lifted an arm and gave us a wave. His expression stayed the same when he saw me trailing after his one true love. 

No small wins today.

Yohan, who was at the golden boy's right, just flashed us a polite nod, surprisingly making no attempts to get the protagonist to sit next to him instead. Augustus gestured again when we got closer, obviously indicating for us (Elinka) to sit at his left. 

A sudden flash of black passed my vision, a familiar girl swiftly placing herself right next to the blonde as she set her briefcase down on the table. 

"Greetings, everyone." Her crinkled-nosed smile seemed to only be directed at one guy, though.

The golden boy's expression cracked. I sucked in my lips and looked away.

Don't laugh, don't laugh, don't laugh-

"Milana," love interest #1 spoke, his voice a degree too tight, "You're sitting here today?"

"Yes, we couldn't sit outside. The wind's unabashedly frigid, and we'd be delighted to join you."

Augustus tilted his head towards Yohan. I couldn't tell what the masked eccentric was thinking, but the two seemed to share a look, the blonde turning back towards the villainess. 

"Of course. Make yourselves comfortable." The man's blue eyes slid towards Elinka, giving her an apologetic glance and covertly gesturing towards a spot across the table. 

The protagonist, naturally, gave a sweet, accepting grin in return, backing away from the now-occupied seat beside her sweetheart. 

She moved towards the one directly across from Augustus - and just in time, too. A second clack introduced the arrival of one of the villainess's...friends, I assume, the girl now at Elinka's right. 

This tragic series of events meant, of course, that I was stuck with a rather cursed spot: the seat right across from Yohan. 

I was the last to sit down, shooting love interest #2 a polite smile and setting my briefcase by my side. A few seconds too long passed.

Why stare at me if you're not going to react?

Just when I thought he wouldn't respond, the hand propping up his head gave a tiny wave, his eyes then shifting to look at Elinka. 

Eccentric.

A/N: Penny 4 ur comments, m'lady's? *tips fedora*