OVERLOOKED ㅤkotlc

009. An Author's Dumb Plot

Waiting in the hallway for the school physician with a girl you just met yesterday is—surprise, surprise—really awkward. Especially if said girl and prankster boy have some kind of past that causes her to be five-point-three times more nervous.

"It won't be that bad," I try. "He's nice, mostly."

Rosaleen looks at me, a faint smile on her lips. "What do you mean, mostly?"

"If he likes you, he might prank you, which doesn't exactly fit under the word nice—so if he's mean, that is a very good thing and you should pat yourself on the back."

Rosaleen giggles at that, and a little of her tension eases. Seeing her laugh makes me smile; it's a wonderful feeling to take away a bit of someone's worry.

"Unless you're Dame Alina or his dad," I realize, which only makes her laugh again. "Actually, he's either mean to people he likes or people he hates. But you can usually tell, so we're good."

"It's funny hearing it that way," she says, looking amused. "It's true, but also, you make it ridiculously complicated, Dexter."

I grin. "Glad to be of service, Rosaleen."

The door opens, and Elwin's there, looking at us through cyan spectacles. "I finished giving him the elixirs and stuff, so you two can come in if you want."

The laughter dissipates from Rosaleen just like that, replaced with the same concern and nervousness from before. "Hey," I say, "he'll be mean to you. Don't worry."

Elwin looks confused, but Rosaleen bites back a laugh.

We both walk in, and Elwin closes the door behind us. Keefe's on a cot, and he has a tunic on (unlike last time), but clean bandages still peek at the sleeves.

Rosaleen stops, lingering a few feet from the cots. Her and Keefe stare at each other, and now I get what she meant when she said it'd be awkward, because this is very awkward.

"Um, hi, Keefe," she says finally, and she's quieter than she is with me.

"Hi," I say, stopping myself from staring.

"Hi, Dex," he says, and he gives me this look like, Wait, you know her? What's going on? Did I miss something—?, before saying, "Hey, Rosaleen. It's been a while."

She laughs, but it's a nervous kind. "Yeah. Last time we saw each other, I was... thirteen. And you were fourteen. We tried preparing umber leaves, and—"

"—oversalted them," Keefe finishes, with a smirk. "It was so fun seeing the look on my parents' face. Since, y'know, you helped, so they couldn't exactly diss me."

Rosaleen laughs again, but it still doesn't sound very carefree. "Yeah," she mumbles, but it's clear that she doesn't think that experience was as great as he thinks.

Keefe clears his throat, then turns to me. "So, um, Dexy..." He trails off, but What the heck is going on? is all over his face.

"Me and Rosaleen met yesterday," I explain. "And, um, Mr—I mean—Magnate Leto put me as her guide. She already knows the campus, so we came to visit instead."

"Ohh." He nods. "Okay—that makes more sense. I thought you two were like—" He pauses. "Actually, that theory would have not made much sense. At all."

"You thought we were like...?"

Keefe smirks. "One day, I'll tell you, Dexy, but for now, my lips are zipped." Keefe mimes zipping his lips up and throwing away the key, and I roll my eyes through a smile.