Don't Cry Over Phở

Chapter 22: Bonnie and Clyde

First off, sorry for all of the inconsistent posting of new chapters LOL I've been really busy the past few days, but I wanted to thank mljw309 sharmee_m weasley20 FallenVindicator
for always reading and supporting this story!! I truly appreciate all of ur kind comments and votes <33 It's u guys that help motivate me to continue writing hehe much love!

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"Hey, there's something I have to ask about this phở," the girl said.

Her voice echoed in my ears as I could feel my anxiety rise. Did she not like the phở?! Was something wrong with it?!

The girl gave me a sheepish smile before continuing in a somewhat shy voice, "I was wondering if there was some kind of stove I could heat this with? It's kind of cold."

What? I literally just checked the temperature 5 minutes ago, but I must have underestimated how fast phở could cool down. "Oh, uh I could go try to look for one," I said, panic seeping into my voice.

Oh no, if the phở was cold then this wouldn't be the best demonstration of the restaurant's food. It had to be the best it could possibly be and right now it clearly wasn't.

There were a group of students behind the girl who also seemed to agree with her as they nodded, each of them holding a bowl in their hands. I bit my lip anxiously. I didn't know what to do. The thought of bringing a portable stove totally slipped my mind. "Hey, is something wrong?" asked a voice. Luca. I didn't even notice him coming over in my state of panic.

Shooting Alex an apologetic look, I said, "Sorry Alex, give me a minute." He nodded, giving me a smile before retreating to a different table.

Grabbing Luca's wrist, I tugged him aside in a corner. He looked at me inquisitively. In a hushed voice, I said, "They're saying the phở is cold. I didn't bring a fucking stove!!"

I ran my fingers through my long hair in frustration, trying to think of a solution. Luca didn't say anything for a moment, but his face had a we're-definitely-fucked expression.

"How could you forget to bring a stove?!" he said in a hushed whisper.

"I didn't think it would cool down so fast!"

He sighed, staring at the ground for a moment, thinking. I anxiously glanced at the potluck table and while there were a good amount of people still grabbing food, I knew we didn't have a lot of time.

He suddenly placed his hands on my shoulders, looking straight into my eyes. Huh?! I felt my heart leap into my throat at his sudden contact and a blush threatened to creep across my cheeks when I stared into his dark brown eyes. Alarms went off in my head.

Before I had the chance to question him, he said, "I have an idea, but it might be crazy."

I sighed. At this rate with the limited time we had, I was desperate for any solution. "What is it?"

"How about we use the chemistry lab's Bunsen burner?"

I reeled back, looking at him incredulously. "What?"

"The Bunsen burner," he repeated, "We can just have it under the pot to heat it up. It's the closest thing to a stove."

I had no idea if using an actual open flame to heat a pot was safe, but I really had no other choice. I had to go with Luca's crazy idea. I ran a hand down my face, sighing. I can't believe I was going to agree to this.

"Okay, okay fine. Let's get one real quick."

We both frantically weaved through the crowd of people at the club and as we made it outside, Luca nodded his head in one direction. "Over here."

I followed after him with hurrying steps that echoed down the hallway. Luca headed straight to a door at the end of the hallway, peeking through the window. Seeing no one inside I assumed, he gestured to me as he opened the door and waited until I joined him inside.

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Smoke and chemicals. That's the first stuff I smelled as I entered. Oh and it was dusty too. I wrinkled my nose in slight discomfort. The room was pretty dark with only a small source of light from the half-opened blinds in the front window. I was pretty sure we were breaking rules by entering a closed classroom, but I was practically already the school delinquent. What's the harm in one more crime?

"I found it!" said Luca in a triumphant, hushed whisper.

I headed over to where he was standing. I felt myself grin looking at the small metal pipe-looking object in his hands. "Nice!" I exclaimed. We shared a smile for a moment and I felt my cheeks warm again, but I was glad the dim lighting concealed it.

Noticing a small tube attached to it, I groaned. "Wait, it needs to connect to a gas source." Where the hell were we supposed to connect that in the potluck room?!

"It's fine, just bring that small gasoline tank," Luca said, pointing at a small red tank that sat in the corner of the class.

I guffawed at him, "I- are you kidding?! We can't just steal a gasoline tank!"

He raised an eyebrow at me with a serious look on his face. "Allison, do you want to save the restaurant or not?"

I stared at him with a dubious look for a long moment. This boy was going to be the literal death of me. I was going to end up a criminal at the end of all of this and it would all be Luca's fault. I must say though, a straight-A perfect student was the least person I expected to break rules so easily.

"Fine! Let's just go," I grumbled, grabbing the red tank with both hands. It was an extraordinary sight if someone were to catch us. A tall Asian boy running with a metal pipe-looking object and a small Asian girl lugging a gasoline tank running after him. Well significantly slower than him though. Luckily it was a small tank because anything heavier I would have dropped and unintentionally burn down the whole school. Then I would really be charged for arson!!

Finally making it back into the potluck room, I set down the tank to catch my breath. There was no time to lose though. Luca quickly helped me connect the gasoline tank to the Bunsen burner.

Oh god please work!! I held my breath in anticipation as he flicked on the switch of the Bunsen burner. The metal tip emitted a blue flame immediately. My mouth formed a small "o" in awe and Luca shared the same look as he stared too, mesmerized.

"Hey, look a magic trick?!" a random student exclaimed from the crowd of people standing.

Ooh's erupted from the crowd as everyone at the potluck surrounded us in amazement at the flame. Luca and I shared a look for a moment and I knew he also worried about it working or not.

Placing the heavy pot of phở on a small metal stand, Luca slid the Bunsen burner under it as the crowd of students continued to watch in curiosity.

Luca adjusted the flame so that it would be bigger and after a few moments of silent waiting, I tentatively lifted the lid of the pot to look inside.

Did it work?