Jake said happily: "Alright, let me try."
He pulled out his phone and dialed Summer's number.
Ethan watched him and thought — this guy genuinely had people-pleaser wired into his DNA. Couldn't help himself. But he was directing it at completely the wrong person. Summer didn't go for that type.
In his past life, Summer had become class president. Sophomore year she joined student government, dated the student body president for two years. Graduated, broke up immediately, walked straight into the career track she'd planned from the start.
No matter how much Jake tried to make her happy, it was never going to land. All of it wasted effort.
Jake wasn't going to get anywhere with her. Never was.
Right now Jake was already stubborn about it, calling several times before it finally connected.
"Hello? Summer! It's me, Jake!" His voice came out warm and a little too eager. "We're heading up to the second floor of the dining hall for a late-night snack. Ethan's treating! Celebrating everyone getting elected and all that. You should come! It'll be fun!"
Two seconds of silence on the other end.
Then Summer's voice came through — low, controlled, cold as ice: "Him? Invite me? Is he showing off? Or does he want to watch me show up and embarrass myself?"
Her voice jumped up suddenly, sharp: "Tell Ethan — I can take a loss. Class president went to him, fine, I'll own it. But if he thinks he can use this to rub it in my face? Not happening. Don't even try it."
Click.
Line dead.
Jake stood there holding his phone up, the excitement and hope on his face frozen in place, slowly draining into an awkward blank expression.
The night air felt a little colder.
Jake got shut down clean. His expression went quiet and a little grim.
Ethan patted him on the shoulder and kept his voice easy: "Hey. Don't make that face. If she doesn't want to come that's on her. We're eating, not starting drama. Let's go — food first, everything else later."
Jake had his exit. He pushed out a small smile and nodded, but his eyes were still drifting. He followed the group into the dining hall with something heavy sitting in his chest.
The second floor of the dining hall was bright and loud, full of the energy of late-night eating.
Sure enough, several neighboring sections were already there having dinner, including Ms. Carter and the class she advised. The whole floor was buzzing.
Jake spotted Ms. Carter immediately — sitting in the middle of the crowd, smile going full wattage. His eyes lit right back up. The earlier sting from Summer evaporated and got replaced by a completely different kind of appreciation. He muttered almost without realizing it: "Man... why isn't our advisor Ms. Carter... that face, that energy..."
If Mr. Hayes heard that he probably would have had something to say.
Ethan told Marcus and the others to grab a table while he went to the counter and ordered efficiently, moving through it fast.
After ordering he pulled out his phone and called Mr. Hayes: "Mr. Hayes, are you done for the night? We're on the second floor of the dining hall. Ms. Carter's class is here too. Come grab some food with us."
...
Good food and good company. Plates and cups scattered across the table.
Ethan and the crew had eaten well. Ms. Carter's table was winding down too.
She seemed to find the next table more interesting. She picked up her drink, smile bright, and drifted over naturally, sliding into the conversation between Ethan and Mr. Hayes like she'd always been part of it.
The moment she sat down she shot Ethan a look, teasing tone all the way: "Congratulations, Class President Ethan. Now that you've got real authority — bet you can do whatever you want with Business Admin Class Two?" She put extra weight on "whatever you want."
Ethan put down his chopsticks and waved it off with a smile: "Ms. Carter, that's a stretch. Class president is just running errands for everyone. No power, no authority. Whatever I want? You make me sound like some kind of campus tyrant. I really can't accept that."
As he spoke he reached into his pocket and pulled out cigarettes, handed one to Mr. Hayes first, then caught Kevin staring at him with puppy eyes.
"Ethan..." Kevin leaned in immediately.
Ethan smiled and flicked one out, tossed it over: "Go ahead."
"Thanks man!" Kevin caught it happily, tapped it once, lit up, and started producing clouds with deep satisfaction.
Ethan: "....."
Ms. Carter switched gears: "I've been eating so well these past few days. I feel like I've put on a whole size."
She touched her cheek and half-complained: "Honestly, bickering with you might actually burn calories. Maybe that's my weight loss plan."
Ethan played it up: "What? I have that effect? Ms. Carter, I'm genuinely touched by that review."
"Obviously!" Ms. Carter nodded with full seriousness. "Talking to you is entertaining. You always get me laughing. Haven't you heard? Laugh and you stay young. Laugh enough and the weight just falls off."
Ethan clapped once, grinning: "Beautifully said! Ms. Carter, you really have a way with words."
The two of them kept it light and easy, laughing every few minutes, and it immediately pulled the attention of students from Ms. Carter's class at the next table.
Whispers started going around:
"Wait — who's that talking to our advisor? They seem pretty comfortable with each other."
"You don't know him? That's Ethan. Perfect SAT score, top of the whole intake. I saw him on move-in day — completely different energy."
"Oh yeah! He skipped half of orientation somehow. And I heard he was the one going around handing out watermelons and cold drinks during training. Wild."
"He can actually keep up with Ms. Carter like that? She's on a different level."
Ethan was mid-conversation when Ms. Carter suddenly remembered something and said in a tone that was half-admiring, half-teasing: "By the way, Ethan, I heard your class president speech was something special. Every line landing perfectly, very impressive?"
Ethan: "...."
He was screaming internally. Ms. Carter, you can lie with a straight face and zero shame. You were eating with your own class next door the whole time. You didn't hear a single word of that speech. This is way too obvious. But the polite smile stayed on his face.
Mr. Hayes had drifted into a separate conversation with another faculty member about departmental stuff. Ms. Carter had effectively pulled Ethan aside for her own conversation.
The 208 crew — Marcus, Derek, Kevin — plus Ryan and Jake, had been completely reduced to background characters. Heads down in their food, sneaking glances at the two of them every few seconds, not one of them daring to jump in.
Then Ms. Carter seemed to get struck by something brilliant. Her eyes lit up. She looked at Ethan, and in a tone so warm it almost tipped over into something else entirely, she said clearly — three words:
"Little E~ You're something else!"
"Pfft——!"
"Cough cough cough!"
"What the—"
That nickname hit the entire table like a shockwave.
Marcus, who had been buried in his food, nearly choked. Derek broke into a coughing fit. Kevin's cigarette almost fell directly into his lap. Even Mr. Hayes and the other faculty member looked over with genuine surprise.
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