Class Villainess

"Em, there is an initial here."

"Huh? Initial?" I frowned when he said that. I never checked the vases, as I just stored and wiped them every few days to keep them clean because Logan made them intricately and seemed to treasure those vases. I felt bad if I didn't take care of those vases. 

"Yeah, there is an initial at the bottom of the vase," Noah reported. He used his phone flashlight to check the initial and then showed a surprised face, "Uhmm…."

"What? What did you see?" I asked curiously. 

"The initial is… LLE?" Noah said. 

I was confused, and my frown got deeper, "LLE? What does that mean?"

"I'm not sure, but people usually put that kind of initial for their names or someone they loved," Noah explained, which got me even more confused. 

"I don't think he has any love—I mean, I don't even think someone like him can fall in love, huh…." I still imagined how disgusted Logan was when he touched Leah, which was obviously an attractive girl on her own. 

"What's his name?" 

"Uh… Logan," I replied. I didn't want to give Noah the full name because I knew everything about Logan was confidential. 

"Logan? So… LLE…" Noah was thinking for a second and then said the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard, "Maybe it's an acronym for Logan Loves Emmy?"

…

…

"EW, WHAT THE FUCK?!" I reacted wildly as I heard that. That was the most impossible and probably the cringiest thing I heard this year. 

"Logan is not that type of man. He is… uh… he is probably the most loveless person on the planet. You'll understand what I meant!" I denied it immediately. No, just imagining LLE as Logan Loves Emmy… that guy would be too braindead, cringe, and idiot to do that, right?

Noah giggled, looking at me with a mischievous grin on his face, "You might think so, but who knows the inside of his heart? You know Emmy, you cannot measure the depth of someone's heart."

…

Well, what he said was correct. Nobody knew what was inside someone else's heart. Even I had many depths inside my heart. 

"Hehe, so who knows whether this club president of yours—uhh, Logan, might actually like you," Noah suggested. 

I started imagining it and shivered, "No, that can't do."

I just saw him as an imposing figure that would be beneficial for me in the long run.

But… imagining a man like him, competent, cunning, rich, and strong… well, that wouldn't be bad, I guess.

"Em, your face is red."

"Huh? Must be because of the heater," I said. I didn't know why that imagination of Logan made me a bit weird. 

Noah smiled at me meaningfully and finally dropped the matter, much to my relief. 

"Okay, so we're going to Mona's family cafe on the weekend?" Noah asked excitedly. "You know, this makes me feel like a detective! Dang, so cool!"

"Haha, we're not there to be a detective. But we do need to know what happened to Elise right now since it's impossible to contact her."

"Sure! Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Huh? You have a car or what?" 

"I do!" 

…

Now I wondered if I should take his offer. 

But then again, I was afraid that he'd get known around my neighbor, especially when someone like Chrissy lived not far from me.

If she saw this, she'd start spreading some crazy rumors that might put me in the spotlight.

So I refused his offer, "It's fine. Let's just meet downtown. I'll use the bus instead."

**

We left the club room after the corridor got emptier. 

I cooked for dinner and went straight to my room. I had one person I wanted to call tonight.

Thus I searched for his contact and dialed. 

__Phone Call__

"H—Hello, Em…" Mason's sweet and gentle voice was like a melody to my ears. He sounded shy for whatever reason. 

"Mason, good evening," I greeted him first. At this point, I didn't really have any nervousness about chatting or calling him. He was actually more nervous than I do. 

"I'm calling you for uh… um… about your date offer this weekend."

"Oh! Will you go on a date with me then?!" Mason's excited voice made me smile, and I replied. 

"I will. But promise me not to go to an expensive place," I warned him. "I won't accept you spending too much money on me."

"Eh… but I want to…" 

"No, no, I don't want you to feel like I'm leeching. I might be poor for now, but that doesn't mean that I want to take advantage."

"You should use that money for yourself first, Mason," I said.

There was a long silence on Mason's side, and then I could hear a light giggle from him.

"Huh? What's wrong?"

"No, it's just—you're so understanding and caring, Em. I can't help to feel happy…" Mason replied.

I didn't understand what that meant. I just didn't want to feel burdened because he kept spending money for me. I wasn't worth that much. At least, it'd be a total waste to take me on some expensive date. I had accepted that since the beginning.

I preferred somewhere simple and nice because I wanted something affordable enough for me to buy for myself. 

Might have to ask Mom for a small allowance, though…

"I'll think of a better place for us. Thank you for accepting the date, hehe," Mason said with a light giggle. Somehow, whenever I saw Mason, I just saw this cute white bunny that I wanted to hug and cuddle.

Why? Well… I was still attracted to Mason. I wouldn't lie…

"So, what time we can go on a date? Can we start from 8?"

"Wha—what would you do at 8 during winter?" I was surprised. 

"Ah, I just want to spend more time with you…."

"Ahh, let's just start at lunch, okay? Let's meet downtown at noon, so we can have lunch together," I said.

"Okay, sure, Em…."

__Phone call ends__

**

I woke up early morning. Today was the weekend, the day I'd go downtown with Noah to investigate about this girl named Mona that'd give me the lead to Elise. 

I did all this to take down those three stooges, Thomas, Jorge, and Jackson.

I also had a date with Mason in the afternoon. 

"Mom, can I borrow some money? I have a… uhh… a date today…." I said.

Mom, who was watching a show, turned her head at me and looked from head to toe. She grinned and winked, "Oh-ho, Miss Emmelyn Jones seems to have a frequent date these days. You should take that boyfriend of yours here and introduce him to me."

"Haha—No, it's not a romantic date. I don't have a boyfriend right now."

"Huh? Then why did you come if he's not even your boyfriend?"

"Uh… because he asked me? I just don't have the heart to refuse…."

"That means you have at least a bit of interest in him," Mom deduced. She took some money out of her pocket and gave it to me. 

"Go and have fun. Don't worry about Grandma. I'll take care of her. I have a day off today," Mom said.

"Thanks, Mom."

I checked the money that she gave me, and it was 30 dollars.

Wow… this was a lot! Damn, I totally would save this for later. 

I went by bus and read the text from Noah because he was already waiting. I checked Google Maps to direct me to his location.

"Noah! Oh…" I was pleasantly surprised by his outfit when I met him. He was wearing a blue sweater that looked… thin.

He still looked good, though, but in this winter… that looked so uncomfortable.

"Uh… you sure you're okay wearing that?" I asked. 

"You're here finally. Let's come inside, Em. I'm dying out of cold right now."

"Then why are you wearing it?"

"Because it's rare for me to go to the downtown, and I want to look good. It might not be suitable for winter, but I still look dang good though~" Noah giggled happily as we entered the cafe.

I looked around the interior and got this… warm, professional aura around. It wasn't surprising when I saw a few people still working in front of their laptops here. 

Honestly, it was more of a coffee shop rather than a cafe. 

We sat near the window, waiting for the waiter. 

I whispered to Noah, "Where is Mona?"

"It's the one handling the register right now. She'd come to us soon, don't worry."

I turned my head to observe Mona. She was quite tall, with brown hair and a serious gaze. That gaze you often saw from an adult, so I guess she had worked here for so long that she just acquired that kind of look. 

…

Now I'm jealous.

I wanted to work part-time, but I wasn't allowed by Mom. She said that I should enjoy life more. 

Mona finally finished handling the register and came in our direction.

She put down the menu but was surprised when seeing Noah, "Whoa, why are you here, Noah?"