Later that Evening...
Luka's at the mansion, working on a large projector screen-sized electric digital canvas. Drawing up a portrait of a lady's face. When he hears his phone ring. He drops the pen and heads towards his phone.
"Hello?" he picks up his phone and takes a call from an unknown number.
"Hello. Is this Luka?" the voice of a man asks.
"Yes, this is Luka. May I ask who I'm speaking with?" Luka asks ignorantly.
"Hey, Luka. It's Duke. How've you been, man?" Duke asks in a warm, friendly tone. "I'm sorry, I wasn't able to call you earlier. Truth is, I forgot to do what you told me to before I left school yesterday."
He sighs and thinks, "Figures."
"Then where did you get my contact from?" he asks. "I got it from the group chat," Duke answers.
"Group chat?! What group chat?" Luka asks with a hint of confusion in his tone."I was sure you were gonna ask that question?. Brianna added you to our friends group on EchoChat," he answers with a bit of disappointment in his voice. "I did expect you to ask, but I'm still disappointed that she actually didn't tell you.
"EchoChat? But I don't have an EchoChat account.
"Knowing Brianna. She must've found a way to get you an account. Anyway, about our project. Since I didn't get their contacts, what are we gonna do now?" Duke shrugs, then asks.
"It's actually okay that you didn't get their contacts. Since I have an EchoChat account now, I'll create a group chat for all 45 students in our group." Luka says after quickly thinking up a solution.
"Oh, okay, I'll try to help the best I can.
"Alright then, bye." He hangs up.
A notification from EchoChat pops up immediately, notifying thirty-six unread messages.
He sighs, "I wonder what these are about." Then he taps the notification, and the app opens up, revealing all the messages that had been sent since he was added to the group chat. It was practically Brianna and Brittney exchanging texts and talking about random stuff that he had no interest in. But right when his finger reaches to close the app, another message pops up.
Brianna: Luka..., I know you can see this. If I'm right, respond now.
Luka sighs at the message, then types. How did you know?
Brianna: ☺ Let's just say that my friend's senses were tingling.
Luka: Friend senses?
Brianna: Yeah, I feel it when my friends are close by sometimes.
Brittney: Don't mind her, Luka. She tends to act a bit too childishly when she's online.
Luka: Well, that part I can see.
Brianna: What?! I do not.
Brittney: See?
Duke: Wow, you guys were busy having a blast here, and I wasn't invited?
Brittney: ...
Brianna: ...
Brittney: So, Luka, how was your day?
Duke: 😲 🤯 Did you just ignore me?
Luka: Hmmm... It was fine.
Brittney: Oh, that's good. I heard you passed by school today.
Duke: 😔 😢 Completely Ignored.
Luka: Yeah, I had some things I had to discuss with Professor Ludwig.
Brittney: Okay. I also heard you arrived at school with someone.
Brianna: Yeah, come to think of it. Duke!!!
Duke: What is it?, You finally call out to me after ignoring me.
Brianna: Who's Aria? 😕
Duke: *gulps* 😲 😰 Uhm..., I don't know what you're talking about, Brianna? I've never heard that name in my life.
Brittney: So you do know something. Purple hair, ring any bells?.
Duke: Why are you guys trying to gang up on me?, I'm innocent.
Brianna: 😡 You better speak up before I get mad.
Duke: Luka, help me out, man.
Luka: ...
Duke: I hate you guys. Alright, I'll talk.
Brittney: Go on.👂👂We're listening...
Duke: So, you remember the first day of school, right?, When we were looking for him after class that day. That's when I first saw Luka with her in a cafe close to the library.
Brianna: So you saw him and you didn't say a word about it.
Duke: It's not my fault. Luka told me to keep it a secret, right, Luka?
Luka: ...
Duke: Come on, man, don't leave me hanging.
Luka: ...I never said anything of that sort.
Duke: 🤯 🤯 I'm screwed with you guys.
Luka: But, he did actually tell me beforehand that he wasn't going to speak to you about it, and I agreed to play along with him.
Brianna: ...you...a... *breaths calmly*
Brittney: Well, that's something. You guys just practically bested her.
Brianna: Anyway, how did you two meet?. By how close you were, it'd be easy to assume you saved her life and she fell in love with her savior.
Duke: Well..., from what he told me, that's basically what happened.
Brittney: What?!, What happened?!
Luka: I helped her escape from some guys who were trying to harass her behind the studio. Some boys who wanted to take 'revenge'.
Brittney: Really?! Well, that's different. I would gladly fall in love with someone if he saved me from that.
Luka: You guys are overreacting. She's not in love with me. She's just feeling grateful that I saved her life, that's all there is to it.
Duke: ...
Brianna: ...
Brittney: ...
Duke: Are you just saying that, or do you really mean it?
Luka: I meant every word. What's so great about me that she'd fall in love with?
Brianna: ...
Brittney: We know humility is a virtue, Luka. But right now, it feels like you're trying to toy with our emotions.
Duke: Really. You're making me feel downright evil right now.
Brianna: Luka, about what we were talking about in the art gallery that day, do you want to talk about it?
Luka: ... Luka: I'm in no mood to talk about that.
Brianna: Oh..., Okay.
Duke: ...
Brittney: So anyway, I saw this hot guy this morning, and he's nothing compared to Luka, of course, but man was he handsome...
Brianna: Where did you see him?...
And so the online conversation continued. Luka feels lightened, like a little weight has been lifted from him, and he feels a strange calm from reading and replying to their messages online, which opened up a new realm of comfort for him.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the back allies...
"So you let a kid get the better of you, huh?" A deep voice trembles from a man sitting in the shadows with a gang of thugs around him. There, Jason is on his knees, facing the man.
"Interesting, Very Interesting."