In the end, Luke still asked Rei to leave. Luke didn't give a damn about his bullshit;
"... I think you're someone I should take care of, Luke."
Or, "Luke, listen a minute. Didn't you feel a big wind over there on the edge of the woods the other day? Do you know why?"
Or what he said about this, "Luke, aren't you worried if that guy comes back here? He looks suspicious , Luke." He said looking desperate because Luke had completely refused all reasons for Rei to be able to stay at Luke's house.
"No," answered Luke. "I'm not one bit worried. Ben has some rifles and arrows in the shed that I was taught to use. So you don't have to worry too much. I can take care of myself, Kit. Don't worry."
"But, Luke, you didn't—"
Oh please Kit I mean, right, Kit?"
Rei paused and looked down. Then turned around to walk away. But, not even that far, Rei turned her neck back to face Luke, staring with a serious look for a few moments. Luke was sure he wanted to say something, but he seemed to hold back.
"What is it?" he asked.
Instead of answering, Rei just shook his head with a smile then actually walked away.
***
Thankfully, the fever wasn't as bad as last night and was slowly recovering. Then for the next few days, it was just Amy and Andrew visiting Luke. Of course, sometimes Julia would come too, but never for more than thirty minutes just to take a group selfie to be sent to Ben as proof of her 'work'. Luke was fine, because at least he had agreed to buy Luke dinner for three days as guarantee to keep his mouth shut. Fried chicken or burritos, it doesn't matter.
"You're not going to tell Ben and my dad, are you, Lu?" asked Julia, choosing the selfie in which she looked the most beautiful.
"I'm not a snitch," Luke answered. Julia giggled briefly.
"Yep, it's been sent. They're coming home tomorrow?"
“E-hem.” Luke cleared his throat in approval.
" Great! Finally, I can be free. See ya, Luke and her friends. Tell Ben to send my payment on time tomorrow. Ha ha…"
Julia walked toward the door hopping as if she had springs on her legs, then disappeared as the door closed.
"I can't believe you still have to be looked after by babysitters ," said Amy, mockingly.
"I can't believe Ben and Ulfa did this to me either."
"I would rather not believe it if you let him get paid without working, Lu," continued Andrew. Luke just shrugged.
Andrew then said again, " Well , sorry I haven't seen the little one lately."
"Poppet? Who is 'little one'?” he asked. However, it seemed that Amy didn't like Andrew saying those two words, because she immediately complained loudly.
“Owh… come on, Babe ! Stop calling him little one. He's not a child!”
"You're jealous, huh?"
" No !"
Andrew smiled mischievously at Amy who snapped, as if he didn't hear Luke's previous question so Luke repeated it one more time.
, guys . I am asking you who 'the little one' is? ”
“Rei Suzurao.” Answer both simultaneously with different facial expressions. Amy looked frowning and her eyebrows rose, while Andrew chuckled and looked relaxed.
“Why do you guys call him little one.”
"Because he is small."
“Ow, yeah…” Amy glared at Andrew. Judges? Remember when we first saw it and your response was; 'He's so cute like my cousin, Babe ', 'Wow, Babe , his nose is tiny like my uncle's daughter', 'Oh my gosh, Babe , he's trembling with fear like a baby cat'. Not! He's not like a baby cat at all, you know?! But like a Koala!”
he laughed. Not at all trying to dampen Amy's anger that came for no reason. So, Luke whispered on Andrew's shoulder and asked;
"Why is Amy angry?"
“Jealous maybe,” muttered Andrew, still chuckling.
"I'm not jealous!" roared Amy, crushing a few cheetos in her hand into a powder. Contrary to his words, it was obvious that he was angry with jealousy.
Andrew finally calmed Amy with a few sentences and it was effective enough to relieve Amy's emotions. Even so, a scowl still lingered on Amy's face and she suddenly snapped.
"I think he's weird."
"Who? Suzurao?"
“ Of course, she is! We're not talking about him, said Amy in an irritated tone.
"Okay, okay," said Andrew.
"What do you mean by weird?" Luke interrupted.
Amy threw her hands in the air and sent a few cheetos sticks inside the wrapper, scattering. “Weird, yes… strange. He's too quiet to everyone and only wants to stick with you. He also didn't try to repay Patricia and just waited for you to come like a wonder woman —”
"Do you really dare to repay Patricia's treatment, Babe ?"
"If he showered me from the second floor in the morning before the bell rang and in front of a lot of people, I would have dared to punch him in the face once."
Amy said this hotly, but then she seemed to roll her eyes and continue her interrupted sentence. “Martha West, one of my friends, she is in the same Spanish class as Suzurao. Martha said that, in fact, after learning that Patricia was bothering Suzurao, several kids in class had tried to get along with her even though they thought it was a waste of time. And… it's a waste of time because—this is what Martha said—Rei spoke very little. Well, if I were Martha, I wouldn't bother to do that. I can't stand talking to living walls."
Amy paused and, glancing at Luke, spoke again.
“Yeah, but recently, someone I know—who is usually aloof and apathetic—has suddenly turned into a hero and is ready to help Miss Rei Suzurao any time. Even to the point of sacrificing himself to be punished. I bet that she is the next member of Power Ranger .”
“Thank you for the sarcasm, Miss Lee. I'm so~ appreciate it .”
" You're welcome, Miss Bright."
"But, as I recall, you called like Wonder Woman and not Power Ranger, young brat ."
"Yeah, whatever you like, baby Lookey ."
They were both making fun of each other and luckily Andrew interrupted before Luke and Amy turned their dialogue into a long, trashy argument. He said, “I thought you'd have no problem with Suzurao, Babe . So why are you only telling me now?"
"Oh, I don't really have a problem with him. Yeah, I mean not directly. I just don't like that girl's attitude. He's… erm, yeah, kind of problematic. He looks sad whenever Patricia bothers him, but he himself is too picky about making friends. You know, yesterday I was kind enough to invite Suzurao to our party at Zemba Lake and you know what Suzurao said?”
"What?"
Amy started imitating Rei's voice, “'Oh, sorry, Amy. I can't go'. Just like that. For no reason and he immediately left without even looking me in the eye! Eugh…”
" Well, but at least you managed to get her to my house with you the day before," Luke said, patting Amy on the shoulder.
“Technically, they met Suzurao on the way. They—Luke, Amy, and Valentina, ” Andrew said, explaining.
"No. It wasn't in the middle of the trip," Amy quickly protested and corrected Andrew's statement, " Well, they met each other at the school gate and this idiot..." Amy pointed at her boyfriend resentfully, "... use the program to open the window and ask where the That Suzurao. Then when he found out that Suzurao was also going to your house, Andrew offered him to go with him. You shouldn't mince words to ask her to ride in your car, Babe ."
Again, Andrew didn't bother with Amy's annoyance and just chuckled. Let Amy continue the conversation again.
"But, that's where I feel he's a strange person, Lu."
"You said that earlier."
"No. No. Different strange. He's like… I don't know , like he's obsessed with you, Lu.”
***