Luka steps out through the transparent glass door and stops right in front of it after the door closes, "I know you're there," He calls out, looking toward a row of vending machines.
Duke sighs, "Huh, how long did you know that I was here?" Then comes out from between them and walks up to him. "I was aware you were watching me in the cafe, but where you hid was just a random guess," Luka responds, pulling his headphones out of his bag. "So, who was that?!" Duke asked sternly
"I don't think you need to know that," He puts his headphones around his neck.
"That's the answer you're going for. I don't know about you, but she seemed pretty happy talking to you."
"Well, that's a given. I just helped her out with some guys trying to harass her," he says, scrolling his music playlist on his phone.
He breathed a sigh of relief, "For a second there, I thought you were attracted to her or something."
"Only someone not in their right state of mind would be attracted to someone and not tell her to change those clothes before coming out on a date. She was obviously roughed up from the whole incident, even though she tried to wash up before following me."
Duke becomes a bit flushed from embarrassment, "Now that I think about it, you're right. What was I thinking?" he rhetorically questions.
Luka puts on his headphones and begins leaving. "Uhm, Luka, Brianna's been looking for you. Luka?, uhm Luka!!" He calls out, but Luka isn't listening, and he leaves him standing there. "Ugh, what am I gonna tell Brianna now?" He scoffs and then leaves to go look for them.
"Luka, eh, that bastard, I'm gonna make sure I get him back for this." Jason declares, standing at a corner near the cafe, covering his swollen, nose-bleeding face with a handkerchief already stained with blood.
The Next Day...
"Luka!" Brianna screams, sprinting towards Luka in front of the gates of the school.
"Where were you yesterday? You just straight up ditched us out of the blue," she says, tapping him on the shoulder. "You really should know how to talk to someone without touching the person. I personally find it rude. "Luka replies as calmly as ever. She smirks, "Does this mean I made your heart race?" and starts walking beside him, and they meet Duke and Brittney in front of the School Art Gallery.
Brittney pounces on Brianna, "There you guys are, I thought you were coming late for sure this time." She looks at Luka, "Hi Luka, I'm actually surprised you showed up together." He doesn't flinch, keeping his face in its usual blank position. "We just happened to meet at the gate and came here," he sighs.
"So Luka,…" Duke goes closer to him and whispers, "I didn't tell them about yesterday. I told them that someone had seen you leaving the school grounds." "I didn't really care if you told them or not, but since you didn't, what do you want me to do?" Luka responds, also whispering. Duke smiles and rejoices internally since Luka is cooperating with him, "Brianna can get a bit scary at times, so I don't really know what's gonna happen if I tell her I saw you with a girl yesterday. So please…" Brianna cuts him off and asks while looking at them with a smirking glare, "If I may, what are you to be so hush-hush about?"
Duke stands stiff and tries to walk inside the gallery, but Brianna holds him back. "Tell me, Duke, is it something we aren't supposed to know?" Duke turns to face her slowly, wishing for something to happen. A mild wind blows by, "I don't think it's your place to know what guys talk about. Besides, aren't we supposed to head to class?" The wind shaking his hair mildly as he speaks, Duke couldn't help but think, "What an angel." While Brianna thinks "OMG, that was so cringe." and Brianna was simply Dumbstruck. Luka hardly communicated with people his age and had only watched a few movies, so his conversational skills were lacking. "But aren't we supposed to be in class right now?" Duke remarks, "Oh yeah, let's go," as they step inside.
"These are work pieces done by your seniors and former students who preceded you, though most of them were done in their second years, there's also been some wonderful first year results…" he explains, "…so we, the professors of the faculty, came up with a project exclusively for first years." Gasps and whispers fill the room. "For the next month, even while taking classes, you'll be split into five groups and working on a joint visual presentation project that will be presented to an assembled audience. Details about it will be given to you after the class, let's move on…" and so he continues with the class advancing into the halls.
Luka stands behind the whole class, looking around to get a view of all the works, when Brianna confronts him. "You're a big fan of Artworks, I see. I really don't understand what you see in these works, but seeing you stare and admire them makes me feel happy," she says, smiling and looking around. Luka then faces her, "Oh yeah? I admire art because I see a reflection of people in them, what they felt while creating their work, the work they put into it, and…" he sighs, "…their emotions."
"Well, I admire that you appreciate the artwork of others," she remarks. Luka lights up a bit and responds, "Well, it's really easy to appreciate the work of others when you live in a world of black and white yourself." Then fades back in. Brianna looks at him with concern, "I've been wondering for a while now, Luka, can you tell me why you don't show concern for anything around you, even though you truly care?" "What do you mean?" Luka shrugs, trying to dodge the question. "The other day you…", "Everyone should do well to follow the group and be organized; those behind should come closer." The professor cuts her off. "We should go join the rest of the class." He says, then leaves Brianna standing there as she watches him leave with a look of concern on her face.