Inside Vivienne's apartment, all four of us arrived and settled around the table on the floor. That was the first moment of tension. Who will be sitting near me?
I sat down first knowing this was going to happen. After a bit of staring at each other, the three girls sat down. Vivienne at my left, Celeste at my right and surprisingly, the first to sit down, Iris sat opposite to me. She had a mischievous smile on her face. She was clearly planning something.
But this was a good arrangement having two of the same grade to sit opposite to each other. It would be easier to discuss, considering Iris doesn't need the group study and it doesn't matter to me either way.
The study session was going smoothly. With only the occasional talks between Vivienne and Celeste, there was not much dialogue. It was a silent and productive environment. The only issue was the leg tugging at mine under the table. It was Iris's.
That woman started to try to get a reaction out of me not even twenty minutes into the session. I tried ignoring it for the first few minutes. But soon enough, it turned into a full-blown out leg war. Currently, it was at a stalemate with our legs interlocked and rocking under the table. It was an uncomfortably precarious situation. One little jerk from either of us and the table would rock. Iris was aiming for that. Each time, I barely controlled it and her face had a smirk as if saying, 'Not bad. Better luck next time.'
As I was trying to get out of this sticky situation, I felt someone tug on my left shoulder. Looking up, it was Vivienne. I gestured with my eyes if there was something she needed. She denied it with a small shake of her head, but her hand was still in my sleeve. She returned to her studying, still not removing the hand.
I also didn't mind it much. I returned to study. A few minutes later, I noticed a sharp attempt from Iris, unlike the earlier jerks. If I hadn't reacted earlier, I would in a lot of pain. Not that it didn't hurt still. I looked up only to see that Iris was staring at me and Vivienne's hand on my sleeve. I understood the reaction. But, on the corner of my eye, I saw another pair of eyes looking there. It was Celeste's.
I pulled my leg free, given Iris's distraction. Getting up, all the eyes turned towards me.
"Vivienne, can I borrow your kitchen for a moment?"
Dazed by my sudden question, she answered,
"Yes, but I don't have any ingredients except for tea."
"Ahh, it's alright. I brought all I needed along with me. Also, I will have to borrow a few of your utensils if you don't mind." I said, pointing at the bag in my hand. I had kept it inside her fridge earlier upon arrival.
Considering it was only evening, it was too early for a proper meal. In the bag, all I had was confectioneries and tea powders anyway. So, keeping two teapots in the stove, I patiently waited, arranging the pastries on plates. I specifically asked the girls not to come inside.
After preparing everything, I stepped out with a tray in my hand. The tray had three cups and saucers along with three different pastries and cutlery. Setting the pastries and cups for all three of them, I went back to get the two teapots and a sugar cube bowl. One of them was normal milk tea, while the other was green tea. I went in, a last time, to get my own cup of coffee. I caught myself yawning a little earlier. It was just a side effect of me studying.
As I sat down, I could feel all three of them staring at me. I spoke,
"Please, go ahead. I made them for you all only. That pot has normal tea and that has green tea."
I smiled a little at Celeste as I mentioned about the green tea. Being an idol, she had mentioned about only drinking bitter green tea as a beverage once in the rooftop.
The first person to pick up her cup and drink was Celeste.
"It is really good, Cole." I smiled at her compliment. I turned to the other two and insisted on going ahead. And so they did.
Finally the initial awkwardness faded and the conversations began to flow normally. We talked all about academics and each others' experiences in the academy, before going back to studying.
It was peaceful with the only thing to note was both Vivienne and Celeste held my sleeves, while Iris kept her foot over my lap. Regardless, it was a helpful session. I covered a good amount of the theoretical subjects.
I was confident that if I kept this pace I would score well in the written exams. Now, the issue was about the practicals.
I grabbed Vivienne and Celeste's attention, "Would any of you two be able to help me with my practicals? Embarrassingly, I am very bad in practical applications."
Both of them instantly nodded.
"What about me? I could help you with it too, right? Is it because you are ashamed about asking your junior, Cole?" Iris chimed in. You mention senior, then proceed to call me by name, pick a lane.
"It isn't about junior-senior. It is simply because they have crossed the same exams last year. It would be better to ask someone who has experienced it, right?"
After discussing the details, I would meet each of them on alternating days over the coming week. And together, we will decide the course of action after assessing my performance. It was a tight deadline with only three weeks left. But they still agreed to it. I was ever more grateful to them.
Iris was looking at me and pouting. Me having to train with the other girls must mean that I will not be able to make time for her out of the part-time job.
As the decision was finalized and I was about to excuse myself to return home, Iris gave a smirk. I was perplexed a bit.
Soon, she opened her mouth,
"Then Cole, will you not be able to spend some alone time with me for the next few weeks, like you always do? I feel very sad, you know."