NOVEL NEXT Chapter 102: First Date
STATS
MIGHT: 29 (+5)
AGILITY: 26 (+5)
VITALITY: 41 (+5)
INTELLIGENCE: 86 (+15)
WISDOM: 82 (+15)
WILLPOWER: 26 (+5)
FREE STAT POINTS: 743
Slowly but surely, I was chipping away at those stat points. I wanted to get the free points back down to zero before I inevitably would need to cultivate again. But regardless, nothing could beat the satisfaction of adding points to my various stats and feeling my body and mind grow stronger.
In just five days, I had my next training session with Nic. That would be a good time to put some of my new strength to the test. I still needed to wait for an appropriate occasion to test out my new Skills, like my Echo Snare, but at least I had Saturday to look forward to.
The rush of pain that came with allocating so many stats at once faded away quicker this time than the last–it seemed my body and core could better handle the strain even more than the night before.
Perhaps I'll try to allocate 70 stats at once next time instead of just 50.
I opened my eyes and stretched my arms up over my head to shake out any tension that came from increasing my stats. I then begrudgingly rolled out of bed, my bare feet slamming against the cold floor.
My mountain of schoolwork still sat mockingly atop my dormitory's small desk. Papers and books spilled out of my bag like an avalanche of boring drudgery. I glanced at the digital clock with its glowing numbers above the desk.
Two hours before Sarah picks me up. I'd better get started.
***
I hadn't meant to fall asleep, but fall asleep I did, with my face planted firmly on the pile of aromatic chamomile I was supposed to study and write an essay about. I jerked awake at the sound of a loud rapping on my door.
"Ow," I grumbled, rubbing at the new kink terrorizing the back of my neck.
My sleek tablet, which I used for classes, remained dark and empty, still awaiting my fingers to type in a wordy essay about the white flowers.
I blinked rapidly as I tried to escape from my tired fog. The visitor knocked again, even louder this time.
"Coming!" I rasped through dry lips.
I trudged over to the door and yanked it open. Sarah stood before me, but she looked… different somehow. Was it the way she'd curled her hair into sleek locks and tucked them neatly atop her head? Maybe it was the odd glow on her face… There was something sparkly on her eyes and lips.
Sarah's bright eyes scanned me up and down, then her excited smile fell into a frown.
"Did you forget? About our date?"
She gestured to my wrinkled jumpsuit and pointed at my hair. I ran a quick hand through my short, dark curls. I couldn't see myself, but I was sure I looked disheveled after my accidental nap.
Still in a little bit of a weary haze, I checked the clock. 6:01. I'd only got a third of my schoolwork done before I'd fallen asleep while simultaneously almost sleeping through Sarah's 6:00 date.
I rubbed a hand over my face, then ran hurried fingers through my messy hair to try and fix it.
"No, no, I didn't forget," I said. "I just fell asleep while studying. I'll throw my boots on, and then we can go."
Sarah folded her arms tightly over her chest and pushed her bottom lip out into a pout. I didn't know why she was so upset about this. I was still planning to spend some time with her. Why did it matter that I had fallen asleep right before and wasn't completely ready to go?
I hurriedly slid my boots over my socks, fully aware of the hole Sarah was burning into my back with her stare. Before I could even finish lacing up my shoes, Sarah flew into the room, grabbed my arm, and dragged me out. I barely had a chance to shut the door behind us as we left the dormitory.
"I'm so excited," she said, all poutiness gone in a flash.
Sarah retracted her vice-like grip from my shoulder and maneuvered to where her hand rested in the crook of my arm.
"First, I wanted to show you around the city a little bit. You haven't been here for long, so I'm sure there's a lot you haven't seen. And then I'm taking you to dinner."
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I swallowed. Why did all of this feel… awkward? The way she nuzzled into my side as she guided me out of the academy, the never-ending giggling, and more of her muscle-spasm-eyelash-flutters that she so often fell into when she was around me felt uncomfortable.
We made it to the front entrance of the academy and were about to step foot outside when someone called out my name.
I whirled around and smiled to see Cinthara offering a friendly wave in my direction. Perhaps her hatred of me really was fading away. She stood about five feet away, having just turned a corner and into the school's main lobby. Her white-blond hair was loose and cascaded past her hips in mesmerizing waves of platinum, and the wide smile on her pink lips suited her delicate features very well.
"Who's that?" Sarah grumbled, tightening her hand around my bicep.
"A friend of mine."
A waved back to Cinthara, and she took it as an offer to come over and say hello. Sarah muttered something under her breath as Cinthara approached, but I couldn't make out a single word she said.
"Sarah, this is Cinthara," I said. "Cinthara, Sarah."
"Nice to meet you." Cinthara flashed white teeth in Sarah's direction.
"Uh-huh," Sarah said without so much as looking the other girl's way.
Cinthara stepped back and flashed me an amused look. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your night. I just thought I'd tell you, Rayden, that I finished what we talked about. We received a good offer."
I grinned. She was referring to selling our loot from our recent cavern quest.
"I'll meet you later tonight and tell you more about it. You… have some fun," Cinthara said.
She winked at me knowingly, but I felt at a loss to what Cinthara hinted I should know about.
After Cinthara walked out of earshot, Sarah sighed heavily through her nose and retracted her arm from mine.
"Two dates in one night, huh?"
I cocked an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Sarah planted fists on her hips, and I could've sworn I heard a growl escape her lips. "I didn't think you were that kind of guy."
"What kind of guy?"
By the gods, my head hurt. And it had nothing to do with Dex or my neural implant. This had everything to do with the fact that I didn't understand this girl.
Sarah's eyes narrowed, and she studied me for at least 10 eerily silent seconds.
I wrung my hands, uncomfortable, and finally said, "What did I do, Sarah? I don't know what's going on."
Slowly, her angry features softened, and her mouth drew into a small "o" shape as if she was just now understanding something. What she was understanding, I still had no idea.
"I keep forgetting you're from a different world," she whispered, tapping a more than friendly finger on my shoulder. "You're just so innocent."
I drew my brows together and frowned. That didn't seem like a compliment.
Sarah tucked her hand into my arm again and continued leading us out of the academy. "Come on, let's get our date started."
***
Sarah guided me through what she had called the "downtown" area of the city. It looked cleaner and much brighter than anywhere else in the place. She pointed out bakeries with various pastries and other goods I'd never seen before, like giant rolls of cinnamon covered in frosting and massive loaves painted in a mouth-watering glaze. The smell of these bakeries lingered and followed us everywhere as we walked.
I also saw many buildings that acted as taverns of some sort. People would come out with an obvious buzz as they wobbled precariously through the streets toward their next destinations.
The restaurant Sarah took me to, one of at least a dozen similar eating establishments, looked sleek and very well-put together, unlike anything we'd had in Edrona. The black tables and high chairs inside were impeccably clean, and a string of twinkling lights wound around the ceiling in a swirl, providing a pleasant ambience to the atmosphere.
After the server brought us our food, I had a difficult time paying attention to the words that spilled out of Sarah's mouth at record speed. I only had thoughts for the tender steak I was shoveling into my mouth, and the buttery rolls that felt like heavenly pillows as I bit into them.
"Are you ready to pay?" our server with bright blue hair and a giant nose ring said as she approached our table.
I had scraped my plate of meat, rice, and toasted vegetables completely clean. I leaned back into the cushioned chair and happily rested my hands on my full stomach.
"I'm ready!" I said with a pleased smile on my face.
"Great!" the server said with a clap of her hands. "Will you be paying separately or together?"
It seemed there was an obvious answer to that question–I've always paid for my own food–but Sarah had a different idea.
"I'm paying for both of us."
Sarah outstretched a hand toward our server's head to deposit credits, but I cleared my throat to stop her.
"Wait, what? I can pay for my own food," I protested. Sure, I needed to save some of my credits, but splurging on myself every once in a while wouldn't hurt.
"No, no." Sarah waved a dismissive hand at my words and laughed. "I was the one who invited you on a date tonight. I'd like to pay for the meal."
Was this a strange custom I didn't know about? Paying for someone else on a date? It felt strange, and I didn't like it. But before I could argue any further, Sarah hurriedly deposited the required credits for both of our dinners, then rose from her chair.
"That was delicious, thank you," Sarah said to the server as she took our dishes away.
"It's getting late," Sarah directed at me. "Can you walk me back to my dormitory?"
"Uh, sure," I replied, hesitantly standing. I was still confused about what had just happened.
I allowed Sarah to wrap her arm through mine again–she always had to be touching me in some way. I was beginning to wonder if she had romantic feelings for me. That type of thing had never happened to me back home. No one, save for Sarina and the select few adults, had even wanted to be my friend. There had been a time when I'd discovered I wanted something more with Sarina… romantically…, but I didn't think she'd ever felt the same way. At least, we'd never had a chance to talk about it.
Does Sarah like me? That would explain all of the touching, giggling, blushing…. Am I really that dense?
We arrived at Sarah's room, and I detached myself from her as quickly as I could, feeling even more awkward than before after my realization.
"Well, uh, thank you for dinner," I said while running a nervous hand through my hair.
Sarah's pink, sparkly lips grew into a smile, and she craned her neck upward to meet my eyes.
"Thank you for coming with me," she said with a flirtatious wink.
Sarah closed her eyes and leaned in closer to me. I could smell hints of rose petals emanating from her shiny hair.
My heart pounded, and I could feel dribbles of sweat falling through the collar of my jumpsuit. I took a step away from Sarah, and her eyes flew open.
"Aren't you going to kiss me goodnight?"
Blood rushed out of my face, and my eyes widened. "What?!"
Sarah closed the distance between us again, curling her fingers around mine. "It's customary to kiss your date after having a good time."
"It is?"
She nodded slowly, and I felt entranced by the way she pursed her lips. But…
I broke away from Sarah's embrace and laughed awkwardly. "Uh, maybe another time. Thanks again for dinner."
I broke off into a sprint, not looking back once at the girl. It was a relief to get away from the heart-pounding situation, but I had a feeling I hadn't handled that well.