I didn't bring up last night's topic the next day. I simply left for school. If my parents had something to say to me, they would have informed me by now.
The day was as usual with the only exception of me having lunch with Celeste. This time, she was the one who invited me to join her at the rooftop stairs.
After school, I passed time with Iris at my part-time job. Then, I went back to the school's training ground. It was around the time Celeste would come out after her choir practice.
"Good work." I greeted her with a smile.
She returned an imperceptible smile, something only I could notice.
She prompted, "Shall we start the assessment?"
Her assessment was simple. It was to check my mana capabilities directly - the production rate, the usage, restoration speed and such.
After subjecting myself to all her tests, my body was left fully covered in sweat. Lying down on the floor, I was gasping for my breath. I had spent and replenished my mana reserves to the last drop, at least thrice over these two hours. My body was aching, all my mana circuits were screaming in pain.
"Your mana proficiency is below average or just average."
Still breathing through my mouth, I answered, "You could have asked me if that's all you wanted to know. Why subject me to such cruelty?"
"Well, getting an idea for myself is important. That's what I have been taught from my childhood."
Slowly getting up, I said, "Yeah, yeah, but it doesn't say to kill me with pain, does it?"
Celeste had warmed up to me after all our conversations, especially after the FlowerVille date. But, one thing she was struggling with was that she still kept to herself, unless I asked about it.
"So, what do you have in your hands that you are hiding behind your back?"
I noticed she was fidgeting with something in her hands behind her. Letting out an exhale, she reached her hands towards me. In her hands was a bag of cookies.
"Did you bake them?"
She nodded shyly.
I was genuinely surprised. Even though she was in a break from all idol work due to the upcoming mid-terms, it didn't mean she had much free time. But, she still took out time to bake them for me.
"It is a token of gratitude for the tea and pastries of last time."
"You didn't really have to." I said, as I took the bag of cookies from her.
"Can I eat them now?"
She nodded. I went out of the training hall to wash my hands.
When I returned, I noticed her back turned and her hands covering her face.
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As Cole left the training hall, I was washed with all the embarrassment of the day. I was sure that I was currently grinning from one ear to the other. I was happy that I could spend this much time with him. After the FlowerVille date, my mind had been filled with him.
Hehe, he is just like how he was in our last life. Except now, he is too reserved around me.
I understood his reasoning, but it still frustrated me. But now after the date, he seems to be more relaxed towards me.
My face started to heat up from remembering, how close we were to each other during the assessment.
[Celeste never realized her own stiff, awkward attitude whenever she was with him. Bliss of the ignorant.]
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"The cookies are really good. You never mentioned you cooked."
"Well, I only know how to bake stuff like banana bread and such. But, I did use to cook plenty in our past life."
She replied, with a nostalgic look on her face.
"Is that so? Ah, now that I remember, you never really mention what kind of lives our past selves lived, did you?"
She thought a bit, "I don't think I want to say. It's a secret."
It was my turn to pout. I leaned a little closer to her, "Well, it isn't really fair to hide something from your husband, you know."
She quickly turned her head away from me, hiding her face. That was the most she has ever reacted to me. I got a bit apprehensive about my own actions and started worrying. I didn't think it would have such an extreme reaction.
"Umm, if it offended or made you uncomfortable, I am really sorry. I was just trying to jo-"
Before I could complete speaking, she turned to hug me. I was totally flabbergasted.
I had always believed her to be the cold and cool type, who didn't express themselves much. Only through small gestures could you even read her. But from the current look on her face, it seemed I had completely misjudged Celeste.
We hugged for quite some time. I even got a little uncomfortable.
"Umm, senior, it is getting a little late. We should really end our hug." I said, while still hugging her back.
As I was looking around to see if someone was there, I noticed a peculiar thing. The space around us had started cracking, if that made sense. Like there were cracks in the air around us. At first, it was small but then it began expanding too quickly before I could even react. I could only manage to tightly hug Celeste in order to keep her safe.
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I was no longer in the training hall, but alone in a room that looked like a throne room. I was seated on the throne, raised on a podium. The room was just like what you would expect from a medieval era aristocratic kingdom. The decorations and surroundings were too realistic for it to be an illusion. I was sure it must be a case of teleportation, at the least.
Soon, I heard the gigantic entrance doors opening and a figure could be seen walking towards me. It was a woman, clad in a beautiful red attire. Upon arriving closer, I realized it was Celeste herself.