Chapter 11

AFTER their class, Kace and her staff proceeded to the office again to think of an alternative plan. They were all feeling hopeless already.

But Brandon was doing everything just to lighten up their spirits. “Come on guys! Cheer up!” He clapped his hands. “We still have time to save the pub.”

They all turned to him with a glare. “Tomorrow’s going to be Friday which means if we don’t find students to join us, we’re dead!” Chester hollered at him.

“Hey! Why are you all sulking up? We’re still on Plan A. We still have Plan B, C, D….” Brandon continued to mention the letters until Kace stood up.

“Brandon’s right. We can still do something. We’re not trying too hard guys. We need to plan a better strategy.” Kace said to them.

“Yeah! Now that’s what I’m talking about. High-five, Chief!” Brandon raised his hand up but Kace shook her head. “Oh okay. Got it.”

“Then what do we do?” Kenneth asked.

“I think we should start by cleaning up here. We should let them see how cool is the place they’re missing if they won’t join us.” Kace smiled at Nix who was approving of her next move.

“YEAH!” Brandon and Chester high-fived. Then, the latter paused. “Wait. Where are we gonna look for money to spend on?”

“We can just… save from our allowance,” Max suggested.

“We can do that but even if we do save some, it still won’t be enough for renovation. We only have six members. And we’ll be needing paint, wood, etcetera…” Chester explained.

Max nodded. Then, Nix stood up from her seat. “I just had the most brilliant idea.” They all turned to her with anticipating looks. “We can just sell cookies and stuffs that my mom bakes on the park.”

“Oh wow! Finally you thought of something relevant.” Brandon applauded her. Nix just raised a brow at him.

“I think that’s a great idea Nix.” Kace nodded. “Who else is amenable with that?”

They all raised their hands up.

“Okay then. We’ll start tomorrow.”

***

LUKE was silently listening to his music as his brother was watching him from the rear-view mirror. They were already on their way home after their classes that day.

Lance was still worried about his brother because he knew he was still affected by the break-up. He missed the old Luke who used to be so cheery, warm and bright. Now, he was the exact opposite – gloomy, cold and dark. He wished he would see the old him again.

When Luke noticed that his brother was looking at him, he took his headphones off and asked, “Yes?”

Lance shook his head. “It’s nothing. Do you want to eat outside for dinner?”

He put back his headphones on his ears. “Anything is fine.” He leaned his head on the window when suddenly, he saw a familiar figure walking on the sidewalk. “W-Wait! Stop the car.”

His brother pulled the car to a stop. He turned to him in confusion. “What? Why?”

“Uh…” Luke was still looking out the window. He was unsure of himself whether to step out of the car and accompany Kace inside the pet shop or just go home.

Lance followed his line of vision and finally saw what his brother was fussing about. “Ah! I understand now. It’s that girl from yesterday. Are you going to follow her again?”

Luke glared at him. “No. Let’s just… go home.”

Lance shook his head. If he’s going to go home, he’d just isolate himself again and get more depressed. “No. Get out of the car, Luke. If it’s for your project or something, you should help her, right?”

“But…” He sighed. “All right. I’m going.” He stepped out of the car and slammed the car door.

Lance smirked. “I’ll go ahead now. Bye!”

***

WHEN the car was out of sight, Luke dragged his feet inside the pet shop where he saw Kace entering. He scanned the shop hoping to get a glimpse of her and soon enough, he saw her on the area of the hamsters.

“So cute!” He heard her say as she admired the pet infront of her.

Kace turned beside the cage of the hamster and saw a rabbit staring down at her. She bent down to look at it closer. “Aww! What a cute bunny!”

“That would be 150 dollars, miss. That rabbit is a rare breed. It came from another country,” one of the store assistants said.

“Ah… I… was just looking at it. I… don’t have money to buy it.” She stepped away from the cage and decided to just go out of the store since she didn’t really have enough money to buy.

Luke just watched her as she walked out of the shop. Just then, one of the assistants saw him. “Sir, did you want to buy something?”

“Uh… no… I mean, I was just looking…” He bowed before her and decided to follow Kace outside.

When he was already out, he saw her infront of the ice cream parlor from across the street. He was about to march his way over her but then, he saw a guy walking up to Kace. He stopped walking and decided to just forget about her and go back inside the pet shop.

***

THE ice cream parlor was one of Kace’s most favourite places apart from the convenience store and the bookstore. So when she caught sight of it, she decided to buy one just to cool off a bit. She was about to open the door of the parlor when suddenly, someone grabbed the handle first.

“Aha! I knew you’d be here.” Chandler greeted her with another wicked smirk. “Mind if I join you?”

“Ugh!” She pushed the door open and ignored his remark.

“Hey! Larson, wait up!” He followed her inside as she proceeded to the counter and ordered an ice cream. “I’d have that one too, miss.” He said to the girl on the cashier.

“What are you doing here, Parker?” Kace finally asked.

He smirked. “Why? Can’t I eat ice cream now?”

“Yes. But there are a lot of shops here. Can’t you just go somewhere else?”

“No. Because I was expecting to see you here. How’s your recruitment going?” He teased. “I heard you haven’t gotten anyone. That’s too bad.”

“If you came here just to piss me off, then I might as well be the one to walk out.” She was about to turn her back but Chandler stopped her.

“All right. I’ll stop now.” He raised his hands up.

***

THEY were now both sitting on one table not speaking with each other. Kace silently ate her cookies and cream as she stared out at the street across them where she came from.

She continued to fill her mouth when suddenly, she saw two unexpected persons walking side by side while holding hands on the pavement.

She almost choked causing Chandler to stand up. “Hey! Are you okay?” He offered her a bottle of water.

She nodded. “I… think you should go now.”

“What? Me?”

“Uh… I mean, I’ll go now then.” She stood up hoping to distract him. Even though Chandler has done nothing but piss her, she still didn’t want him to see what she saw.

“Wait, I’ll drive you home then,” he said to Kace while she just continued to march her way out of the store.

Chandler was a bit confused as to why Kace was acting that way. So he followed her until they reached his car parked outside. “What are you fussing about?”

Kace was still seeing the two walking on the sidewalk across them so he pulled Chandler in the manner in which he wouldn’t be able to see them.

He was now facing her as she tightened her grip on his robust arms. “Hey! What are you doing?” He asked her.

“I... uh… can you just stand still? I’m hiding from someone.” She pretended to hide herself infront of the tall guy.

“Who are you hiding from?” He was about to look behind him but Kace managed to stop him again.

She tiptoed and covered his eyes.

“Hey! Larson, what are you doing?” He fought hard trying to shake her hands away from his face until finally, he did.

Kace sighed.

“What is wrong with you?” Chandler fixed his coat as he noticed what Kace was looking at.

From where they were standing, Chandler could clearly see his girlfriend entering a restaurant nearby with her arms wrapped on another guy’s arms.

And the worst part was that… the guy was one of his close friends.

***