The days went by without a hitch, and though the first few months were filled with technical information that couldn’t be described as fun—Elias found it enjoyable. He was surrounded by friends, and most importantly, he was with Jewel. Discovering the different tools also gave him a sense of satisfaction, as well as freedom that hadn’t existed outside; he could see why his father had told him, “Life without CNI is frustrating. You’re liberated from something you didn’t know existed, and once the chains are gone, it’s hard to go back to them.”

While his parents had been a bad example for the past few years, he had begun to observe them in a new light. Parenthood was a tremendous burden that was willingly taken. He could see what they had had to have given up to raise him, so attempting to be more mature himself, he had somewhat reconciled with them—with the help of Jewel. She was oddly knowledgeable about pregnancy as he'd soon discovered.

He was born in an incubator, and she was of natural birth. The terms had puzzled him, but Crystal the helpbot had kindly explained it to him.

“Incubating a baby not only eliminates the risk of death for both mother and child, but also corrects genetic mutations, enhances neural activity, and removes stress factors associated with pregnancy. It is the most ideal way in which a child can be born without problems.”

Why do people choose to endure it, then? he had asked. Like Jewel’s parents.

“I suppose it has to do with personal beliefs. The reason varies from person to person.”

Why did Jewel’s parents do it then?

“I’m afraid I don’t know the answer to that.”

He didn’t know why his parents were going with the natural birth route all of the sudden, but as the new experience had put a burden on the couple, Elias was more than glad to help. His mother’s stomach had swelled noticeably by the fourth month, bringing along with it a side of her Elias had never seen. The know-all do-all had become patient and dependent on his father—whose shift had been the most noticeable. His laid-back attitude had vanished, leaving behind a servant ready to jump at a single word.

They had been like this once. Elias experienced a strange nostalgia observing his parents, a blurry memory that surfaced from the age of three. Or was it four? It didn’t matter. But their care was not directed to him this time.

Yet, he couldn’t say anything. They looked so nervous, so different from the unbending individuals he had seen most of his life. They were gentler, weaker; they were cautious and mild. No longer were their shouts filling the house, but rather calls of help and concern echoed throughout. Worst of all, Elias grew used to the new mood. The change had been gradual, and sharing his CNI experience with his father had brought them closer. They couldn’t enter the Otherworlds together yet, but the time would come.

His protests he locked in his heart, putting forth a visage of kindness and obedience for them. They didn’t ask for much. He simply organized the dishes after they were washed—small things like that.

Maybe Jewel had helped him grow as a person. Her smiles dispelled his gloom, and her laughs revived his strength. It was likely because of her that he could enter his home without fear.

She gave him confidence.

He could no longer imagine a world without her.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

“Elias! Hurry up, you can do it!” Jewel shouted from across the platform.

“Oh fecula, I’m going to fall,” Elias muttered under his breath.

“Come on, man. Jewel did it so well. Don’t be lame.”

“I know, Noza,” he grumbled to his taunting friend.

“You have at least two more—”

“Okay, okay! I’m going.”

Taking in a deep breath, Elias burst into a sprint while ignoring the screams coming from the falling victims who had failed the jump. He had fallen more than once before, and it hadn’t been pleasant. Avoiding looking down at the darkness that gaped below him in the form of a giant hole, he tensed his legs at the edge of the platform and focused all of his strength into his legs—all within a second. Then with a great cry, he leapt off, soaring through the air.

“Oof!” he yelped as his stomach smashed against the edge of the opposite platform. The impact of the seven-meter jump would have left his insides ruptured if it had been done in reality. Still wincing, he managed to crawl forward just in time for Jewel to grab his hands and pull him up.

“Finally. I made it!” he cheered, clutching his stomach. Last time it had been his head. The pain was subsiding, and while he could lower the pain sensitivity, it had made him feel like a corpse. So he hadn’t.

The pain returned when Jewel clamped his body in a bear hug, almost lifting him up from the ground in joy.

“I knew you could do it,” she laughed, digging her face into his chest. “It’s only your third try too. That’s impressive.”

“You did it in two,” he managed to cough out, patting her back. Jewel was a different creature inside this world, where physical bounds were essentially nonexistent if the requirements were met. Her small stature hadn't changed, but it hadn’t discouraged her from going past her limits.

“It’s because I’m not afraid. What did I tell you about closing your eyes?” she scolded, giving him a playful slap.

“I managed to keep them open this time,” he protested.

“You barely made it. Oh well, a success is a success.”

She shrugged as a heart-wrenching scream broke out, though the sound quickly faded away in the background.

“Did I sound like that?” Elias murmured with shock, watching as Noza broke into a sprint. He winced as his friend’s hand rammed against the platform corner, instantly slipping down accompanied by a cry of despair.

“Not really. Both times you fell like a rock. I thought you passed out the second time.”

“Oh.” He was glad he hadn't embarrassed himself. “I don’t know if I can do it again. I might have acrophobia.”

“Come on. We’ll need to do this a lot in the future.”

“Depends on—you know, it doesn’t matter. What you’ll do, I’ll just copy. Fine?”

“Fine. So, the eight-meter jump next?”

Elias threw her an agonized stare.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. We’ll practice some more here,” she said assuringly. “See you on the other side. Or you can wait until I return.”

Before Elias could put forth his opinion, she catapulted to the other side, landing with a roll and prancing up on her legs like a cat. After pushing her hair to the side, she looked at Elias and waved at him.

He couldn’t just sit back and watch. Like they said, it would be easier after the first success. He had gotten the feel of it, and he was sure he could gather enough energy in his legs for his fourth jump to make it across perfectly.

Taking in a deep breath, he pushed his feet lightly off of the ground, making a few hops to ready himself. After seeing that no one else was attempting to jump across, he began to jog. The jog transformed into a sprint, and with a lungful of air, Elias felt his toes leave the ground, feeling the horribly liberating sensation of his body plunging into freefall.

Eyes open, eyes open, eyes open! The propulsion had felt perfect, and this time, he was clear-headed enough to remember what Jewel had taught. As the opposite side grew closer, he tensed his legs for the impact. A mind cloud of terror threatened to drag him into the abyss, but he kept his destination in sight.

Relief overcame him when his legs traveled beyond the edge and onto the platform. The next second, however, Elias yelped as his feet failed to contain his momentum, sending him sprawling across the ground. His vision blurred, and sharp pain filled his right arm, left feet, and skull before he had time to think.

“Argh, that hurts!” Elias moaned after his body had come to a halt. He couldn’t see it, but Jewel was howling with laughter. He decided to stay on the ground a little longer. Taking the opportunity, he reviewed his body condition.

“Arm—broken. Two toes are cracked, and I have a swelling head.”

Or he would have if the leap had been done in reality. His current body suffered no such casualties.

“Help me up, will you?” Elias demanded from the still-laughing Jewel. While he wasn’t harmed, the ordeal still exhausted him—at least, mentally. It wasn’t a fun experience falling into the abyss while the wind screamed around him.

He waited until Jewel wiped her tears off and clasped his outreached hand. She then pulled him up, proceeding to pat away at his clothes.

“There’s no dust here,” Elias told her.

“This just feels right,” she replied.

“Well...thanks, I guess.”

“Do you know how ridiculous you looked? Your limbs were all over the place, and don’t get me started on that horrible landing.”

Jewel shook her head with her hands on her hips. “At least your eyes were open. But you forgot to roll!”

“Gah, I know. There was too much stress,” Elias sighed, twisting his ankles. The pain had already subsided. “This time for sure. I’ll show you a perfect landing.”

“That, and we’re moving on to the eight-meter jump.”

“What? Wait, we didn’t talk about—”

Elias failed to finish his sentence as Jewel had already left the area. He couldn’t help but smile as her gracious figure fluttered across the chasm like a fairy, smoothly completing her flight like a bird landing on its nest.

Out of climbing, cycling, swimming, diving, and all the other activities they had done, jumping over a pit was by far the scariest. And yet, he couldn’t possibly stay put while the girl he admired swept through the courses.

Stretching his body (though it was more of a mental exercise), he blew out and chuckled. But before he attempted his next jump, he had to make fun of his friend.

He turned to Noza, who had reappeared after his great fall at the center of the platform.

“Oh, no,” he swallowed, taking a step back after seeing Elias’s face. “No you don’t.”

“Man, jumping is so easy,” Elias sneered, closing the gap between them. “I even jumped back here! That makes three successes. How many do you have?”

“Shut up. I’ll show you right now.”

It was sad to see his friend dive into the depths once more, but it was a great reminder to him that he wasn’t the one falling behind. Jewel was too amazing for his pace, but what choice did he have other than to stick by her? She was understanding and probably found enjoyment in his weaknesses too. Not to mention he knew some of hers. She was terrible at aiming, which he was excellent at.

Elias noticed Jewel waving to him from the other side. Shaking his head, he prepared himself for another nervous start.

The day went by quickly like any other.

Before he knew it, he was saying goodbye to his classmates while sending them off on their trains. While everyone would have loved to spend the night at Education, they weren't real adults yet. Their parents were still their guardians, and their houses their homes.

It was more fun to stay in school because of the Otherworlds (even if the world options were still limited) and they would have to wait until the summer to freely access the system on their own. Elias’s parents had their linkers at home, but he hadn’t been able to use them, as he had found out.

But in the summer, when they had completed their basic education on the system, they’d be free to do whatever they wanted. They could finally interact with the millions of people out there and do all sorts of things they hadn’t been able to. For example, killing mobs with weapons. While shooting currently existed, it was done on objects.

Not to mention that Terral could finally search for the cybergirl who would love him and sing him to sleep on her lap. Monroy probably had the same idea; he had seen the two together often this year. Noza was set on building a spaceship, and Billo wanted to start a band. He didn’t really care about Ackum (the noisy tall guy had already begun flirting with somebody older and was bragging about it to everyone). As for Stonneran, he was close with everyone.

Elias still felt uncomfortable around him, though he couldn’t quite put a finger on it. The guy’s smiles, laughter, and somewhat overbearing demeanor rubbed him the wrong way. Not to mention his ongoing approaches to Jewel.

He decided that when summer came, he’d invite Jewel into a world where Stonneran didn’t exist. It sounded good to him when he thought about it. Ever since school had begun, their private time had been limited.

When Elias returned home from school, his parents were away, probably for an examination. The baby was to be delivered in just a couple of months, and his parents were doing everything they could to make it a success.

He sighed. Not that he had cared about his parents’ indifference to him, but them having their attention on someone else didn’t feel right. He was surprised he could feel this way since he was an ‘adult’ now. But they could have at least left him a message.

It wasn’t a problem, he decided. He had his friends. He had Jewel. Independence was necessary for everyone, after all. The time was coming for him to move away from the people who had raised him.

He’d approach his dad in the summer in the Otherworlds. He had promised him.

Looking back, Jewel’s parents had been very kind. The house had been wonderful, and the candied nuts he had eaten were tasty. The drinks had made him happy, though his parents hadn’t let him obtain any when he had asked. Despite Jewel’s complaints, he found her life alluring, and it was probably why she held such elegance in her character.

And him? His life was school and friends.

He sluggishly made his way to his room and fell on the bed. Home had never felt so boring before. Meaning to do something that would fill his gloom, he browsed through some videos.

That was when he received a message from someone. Curiously, it was a group chat.

‘Enjoy,’ read the message. ‘This is how adults play.’

Below the message was a video titled 'Sensual Steps from One to Ten.’

The sender was listed as anonymous, and a quick glance told him that all of the students from his class were in the chat. Immediately, a flurry of messages began to flood the chatroom, most of them consisting of question marks and words of confusion.

No one was able to answer anyone, but the chat soon came to a halt, as if everyone had begun to watch the video. Elias had been watching something himself, so deciding that the sudden video wasn’t that important, went back to finish the episode.

When he opened his eyes, it was dark all around. Yawning, he turned on the lights and weakly crawled out of the bed. His stomach growled with anticipation, and after fumbling for his phone, he checked the time. Four hours had passed since he had waltzed into dreamland, and his parents hadn’t woken him up for dinner.

But he couldn’t ignore his stomach. After stretching as widely as he could, he dragged himself lazily across the hall, down the stairs, and into the dining room, switching on the lights as he went. Needless to say, his parents weren’t present in the house, and again, they had failed to leave him a message.

Dinner would be eaten alone as usual.

It only took a few moments until he had a fat sandwich ready oozing with meat and steamed vegetables. After taking a large bite and washing down the contents with some sweetened tea, he checked his phone for some other distractions. Then he remembered the chat and its weird message, and went inside to take a look.

For some reason, the video at the top had been removed. And unluckily for him, most of the chatroom’s contents had also been redacted. The only messages he could read were,

‘Oh. So we shouldn’t talk about this.’

‘That’s what it said.’

And,

‘That was probably illegal. What a video.’

‘I feel sick.’

‘You could do that?!?! I didn’t know that was...that. Wow.’

And others similar in context. He was puzzled at everyone’s discomfiture, but since he himself hadn’t seen the video, he had no idea how to react. Failing to contain his curiosity, he sent a message to the group, but everyone’s responses were the same.

They just couldn’t talk about it.

He called Terral. But his friend sounded jittery, and his words flew around too much to make sense of them. In the end, Terral promised that he would explain everything the next day and ended the call.

As a last resort, he called Jewel.

“Jewel, what’s going on? What’s with the chat?” he asked.

“There’s...you’re really asking me that?” came the reply. “Just how…”

“It’s the video, right?” He sensed something off about her voice, “I wasn’t able to see it. I kind of fell asleep, and when I came back, it was gone. Everyone’s acting so weird.”

Silence. He thought he could hear her breaths over the speakers.

“Are you okay?”

“...I’m fine. You didn’t see it?”

“No.”

“We weren’t supposed to. That’s what the administration said. They scanned our devices…”

“What administration?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know, Elias…”

Silence again. He awaited her reply, a subtle chill running down his spine. Something was wrong.

“...see you tomorrow.”

There was a click, and the line cut off. By this point, he knew something terrible had happened, and he didn’t know what. Terral would tell him tomorrow, but there were many hours left until he could uncover the mystery that had roused everyone.

Vaguely remembering the title, he searched online to dig for a hint on the matter. But nothing strikingly odd came up. Nothing shocking had ever come up in the searches, except maybe some girls wearing swimsuits—and even those were seen as unseemly. Sure, there were people who liked that kind of stuff, but no one openly talked about it.

Maybe it was something like that.

Like dishabille.

He shivered at the thought. It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t interested, but he didn’t feel like he was ready for it. They weren’t like that. They were students, and students were dignified. They were the future of the world.

The thumping of his heart squeezed his innards, and he felt dizzy with heat. He bit his lip.

For some reason, he recalled his parents’ arguments. The frequent quarrels that happened in the mornings, the rising voices and shouting still lingered on him. For what? He had always wondered, what did they fight for?

He had never understood, and they had never explained, even when he had asked them. Many times he had tried, but they had made him go to his room. Every time, then fleeing had become a habit.

After finishing his sandwich, he put away the dish and went to his room. After taking his clothes off, he fetched a towel and headed to the bathroom, where he closed the door behind him. He noticed his body in the mirror after he had hung the towel. It was lean, and the outlines of muscle were visible under the skin. His face was smooth, and his hair was dark and polished, even without treatment. But to him, it was average, since no one could look ugly, and no one could be unfit.

Maybe it had been a video of someone dying.

Even as the countless water droplets fell against his face, his mind was still on the contents of the video, speculating what it had shown. Maybe someone had been ripped apart. Was that how adults played? After all, he had dreamed of slaying monsters. Had it been torture?

He got out of the shower and dried himself, choosing out some pajamas to sleep in. He’d sleep early and get to school before everyone else, access the linker, and wait.

I should ask Crystal. She might know something.

The helpbot knew a lot of things. She was his personal assistant, and over the months, he had come to trust her completely. Everyone had. Helpbots had been their first present from

Workman in the Otherworlds, so that no human would ever be left behind in the system’s near-infinite vastness.

So, at least she would answer him.

He finally fell asleep with his phone still on, curled up in his imagination until the darkness took over.

⤙ ◯ ⤚

He had expected it to be chaos that day, but contrary to his expectations, it was quieter. Much quieter. Even Terral, who usually jumped on him the moment they met, was reserved. Everyone was trying to act normal, but their effort was painfully obvious to Elias—who was dying to find out.

“What was that video about?” he asked enthusiastically to Terral. He sensed some heads turning towards his direction, but paid no mind.

“Man, you can’t talk about it!” Terral harshly whispered, pulling him to the side. “Didn’t your parents tell you?”

“No,” Elias said, but softer. “What’s going on?”

“They said we’ll learn soon, so we have to wait,” Terral replied, sighing. “If we continue to talk about it, we’ll be banned for at least a week.”

“Who’s they?”

“The administration, dude. The ones ruling everything. Guess what—they existed.”

“You mean Workman? Of course he exists.”

“I guess. Well, we’re not adults yet, so we don’t technically have all the freedom. Man, just a few more months and I’ll tell you, okay? No one wants to talk about that right now.”

“But what is that?”

“Forget it. I don’t want to be banned. I’m off to parachuting.”

Before Elias could react, Terral hastily waved goodbye and vanished into one of the doors at the front of the room. All Elias could do was dumbly stare into the empty space before him and scratch his head in frustration. If his best friend wasn’t cooperative, his other friends wouldn’t be better.

Unfortunately for him, Jewel had been called to her parents’ home and would return later in the afternoon. He had always joined her in everything, and now that she was gone, he had to decide for himself.

Archery sounds nice. He liked aiming since he was good at it. And while the bow was harder to handle than the crossbow or rifle, it had a distinct characteristic of freedom to it. Besides, it was much more fun using the bow than dully swinging the other two.

Deciding his course for the day, he went to the corresponding portal and stepped inside. Immediately, a scenery of trees and blue sky opened before him, along with the various weaponry needed for archery. After some thought, he picked out a simple-looking bow that was a little below his height. Next was the string, which he let Crystal pick out for him.

“A little practice, and you’ll be amazing,” she encouraged as he felt the tension of the line. “Say, why don’t you call your friends over?”

“Nah, it’ll be awkward,” he spoke out loud. No one was nearby since he had moved to a shooting range.

The first target was around ten meters away, which he thought of as too close. But after knocking an arrow into the string and releasing it, the distance seemed just right for him. While shooting the arrows that endlessly reappeared in his quiver, he let his mind forget about his loneliness.

“I forgot to ask, but do you know anything about the video?” he said after firing seventy-three times.

“If you’re talking about ‘Sensual Steps from One to Ten,’ my lips are sealed,” Crystal adamantly refused.

“What? Why?”

“You’re not ready yet, Elias. The information could damage you.”

“But everyone else in my class saw it!” he complained, feeling rejected.

“That is correct.”

“I knew it. Why not me, then? I’m the only one who doesn’t know.”

“And you would be the best of them all,” she said, Jewel’s voice smoothly purring in his ears. “There are some things that are best left unexplored until the time is right.”

“But when is that time? Let me guess: summer.”

“Summer,” she agreed. “When you have completed six months of learning, you’ll finally be regarded as an adult, and be free.”

“Freedom. I don’t get why we can’t get it now.”

“Freedom comes with responsibilities, and responsibilities can give you headaches.”

“That sounds dumb.”

“I made it easier for you to understand.”

“Do you mean to say that I’m stupid?”

“That was not my intention.”

“What was your intention, then?”

“My intention is to assist and protect you.”

He felt bad venting his stress on Crystal, but he knew the helpbot would listen to his every word and come up with a kind reply. He could say to her everything he couldn’t say to Jewel. Crystal already knew everything.

“You say you know everything, but you won’t tell me.”

“Some details are beyond my authority. I’m sorry, Elias. I would never lie to you. Would you like some iced tea?”

“Fine,” he relented, putting his hand out. A cup soon materialized into his grasp, and he took a deep sip before letting out a satisfied sigh.

“It’s always good to drink after a good exercise,” he stated.

“I think so too,” Crystal agreed. Elias could imagine the smile on her face. With Jewel gone, the helpbot’s existence shined on him even brighter.

“Back to practice,” he muttered, placing another arrow on the bow. With his current body not feeling the strains of continuously stretching muscle, he only needed to work on his form and focus. There was a reason why people learned so quickly in the Otherworlds.

With Crystal cheering him on, the morning crawled by his notice.

He was forcibly disconnected according to the schedule along with all the others since it was time for lunch. After stretching his body, he followed his friends to the cafeteria where they each selected a package on a tray. While eating, they chatted about their activities that morning, until Elias noticed a missing presence in the group.

“Where’s Stonneran?” he said, not seeing the large guy anywhere in the room. He didn’t know why he hadn’t noticed it until now, and there were a few who looked like they shared his thoughts.

“I think he was called somewhere,” Monroy piped up. “I don’t know who called him, though. Maybe his parents, maybe someone else.”

“Oh yeah, about that,” Elias continued, “I heard you guys all had a talk with your parents.”

“You didn’t?”

“No. I think it’s because I didn’t see the video.”

At the mention of the word ‘video,’ almost everyone’s eyes swept around the perimeters, some even trying to act like they hadn’t heard it. “Come on, what’s the big deal?” Elias groaned, annoyed. “No one’s telling me anything.”

“Dude! Don’t talk about it,” snapped Terral in a low voice. “I thought I told you!”

“But I don’t know anything,” Elias faltered, his voice trailing off.

“You don’t need to know. Just. Don’t. Talk. About it. Yeah?”

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop,” Elias surrendered, feeling somewhat hurt by his friend’s manner. He hadn’t thought that Terral would rebuke him so harshly. Feeling that pressing the matter on further would only make himself look insensitive, he stopped pushing the subject—but the damage had already been done. With the mood now ruined, Elias had to choke through his food while the others silently chewed through theirs.

They returned to their linkers after lunch, and like before, Elias spent his time separated from his friends, practicing with the bow with Crystal cheering him on. He was getting used to his fifty-sixth arrow on his twenty-meter target when a message from Jewel lit up to his right.

‘Where are you?’ the message read. ‘It was such a long ride.’

‘You’re here!’ Elias typed excitedly. ‘I’m at the shooting range. Number fourteen.’

‘Gotcha. Are you alone?’

‘For now.’

‘Okay. I wanted to have a private chat.’

Before he could come up with a reply, there was a small ding behind him accompanied by a weak flash of light. Turning around, he found Jewel standing with her arms behind her back, leaning slightly to her left. He wanted to greet her with a loud hello, but her eyes were averted from him, and she looked…

Embarrassed? Nervous? Why?

He hadn’t seen this side of her in a while. A few times, but it had all been in the past. They were too familiar to blush from only seeing each other. Yet here she was, softly biting her lower lip, with a light flush that covered her cheeks. Her eyes met his, then broke off in a second.

“Hi, Elias,” she said a little awkwardly, refusing to meet his eyes. “I’m back.”

“The—The trip must have taken forever,” Elias stammered stupidly, trying to act natural. Her embarrassment was rubbing off on him, and he didn’t know how to react.

“Yup,” she replied, her voice faint.

Clearing his throat, Elias walked as confidently as he could to Jewel and put out the bow he held in front of her.

“Want to try a shot?” he asked, trying to make her more comfortable. “It’s fun when you get the hang of it.”

“Before that...can I ask you something?” Jewel said, this time locking onto his eyes. Elias couldn’t help but admire the charm that shined through her shyness.

“Sure. Ask away.”

“So...you really didn’t see the video?”

“No. I fell asleep, and it was gone,” Elias promised. “I’m still dying to find out though.”

“You really, really didn’t see it?” she insisted, leaning towards him.

“Never. Nada. What’s with the video, anyway? Everyone’s acting so weird.”

Closing her eyes, Jewel let out a deep breath, undoing the lock of fingers behind her back. Instead, she crossed her arms, lowering her head so that her hair covered her face.

“...I don’t know if I’m glad or sad,” she whispered, too quietly for him to hear.

“Sorry? I didn’t catch that.”

“Nothing. It’s nothing!” Jewel emphasized, suddenly flinging her arms out. Before Elias could react, her small body jumped on him, dangling onto his neck in an arm-lock that threatened to make him fall over.

“Woah, careful!” he cried, his mind going through a hurricane of emotions. But despite his effort to stay on foot, Jewel’s momentum overcame his balance, and they fell to the floor with a thump, her on top of him. They had hugged before, but not like this.

It made his heart want to fly out of his ribcage.

“Oww,” he breathed, but dared not to complain. He couldn’t see Jewel’s face, but he could tell that she wasn’t her usual, chatty self. Even now, she was unusually quiet. She didn’t pull her head away from his chest but instead stayed still, her shallow breaths drifting onto his clothes. After a deep breath, Jewel finally opened her lips.

“I had a talk with my parents, and they want you to come over,” she quietly notified, her head to the side.

“What?” Elias widened his eyes. “So suddenly?”

“You can’t?” There was a slight tremble in her voice.

“I mean, I’d love to. But why?”

“They just want to have a chat. About the future. About...our future.”

“Oh.”

“You don’t mind?”

“It does make me nervous,” Elias admitted, scratching his cheek. “I think they’re great people, though. I still had a few things I wanted to ask your dad.”

“Like what?”

“You. What else?”

With a snort, Jewel punched Elias on the shoulder, though the positioning of her blow caused her strike to be no more than a strong tap. Her face was in clear view now, as she had pushed her upper body off from him, using his shoulders as support. With her weight pressing down on him, Elias felt strangely comfortable; he could smell the faint fragrance of her caramel hair that swayed gently in the breeze.

“That’s so embarrassing,” she giggled, staring into his eyes. “What else would you want to know about me?”

He shrugged. “Everything.”

“Am I really that interesting?”

“There hasn’t been a day where you haven’t been,” Elias stated, earning him another punch on the shoulder.

“You and your sentences,” she sighed, getting up. Stretching her hand out, she offered it to Elias, who took it.

“Sometimes it feels like you’ve memorized your lines,” she said when they were both on their feet. “I hope you’re not copying everything off a book.”

“So my speaking improves every day!” he joked, doing a small bow. “I’m happy you are pleased with my performance.”

“So it was a performance.”

“Wait—no! Not at all. It was a joke. Sorry,” he apologized after getting an eyeful of Jewel’s mean, judging glare. Clearing his throat, he continued to tumble over his words. “You seemed off, and you’re not being yourself, so I thought that maybe I should joke to—”

“Okay, okay!” Jewel chuckled, prancing onto his arm. “I was just thinking how wonderful you are.”

“Oh...you’re making me embarrassed.”

“Don’t you feel anything when I’m touching you?” she asked suddenly, tightening her grip onto him. “Anything special?”

“Well. I guess I feel happy. And nervous.”

“Nervous?”

“And embarrassed! Why are you asking me this?” he protested, turning his head towards Jewel. She had a mischievous grin on her lips, a curious glint in her eyes that made him even more anxious. He didn’t know why she was acting so differently all of the sudden.

“What about when I do this?” she continued, locking her fingers into his. “I heard this is what couples do when they sleep.”

“When they sleep?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Um...it feels nice?”

Jewel didn’t look satisfied. “That’s it?”

“We’ve held hands before. What’s the difference?”

“I—oh, forget it,” she exhaled deeply, letting go of him. “So you really didn’t see the video. No wonder you’re so clueless.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he said with a small frown.

“You’re! Clueless. Clue—less!” she whined, emphasizing the word. After giving Elias a pout he couldn’t react to, she waved her hand in the air and vanished.

“Jewel? Jewel!” Elias cried, but a second too late. She was gone from the area and had probably relocated to the jumping grounds from yesterday. Out of irritation, he stomped the ground before him twice before looking up into the open sky.

“Clueless? Of course I’m clueless. No one tells me anything!” he shouted to no one in particular. After emptying his lungs a couple more times, he felt much better, and he realized that he had a lot more pent-up frustration than he had thought.

“Crystal, can’t you just show me the video?” he pleaded, grasping onto some little hope he had left. But to his disappointment, the helpbot refused to answer, replying only with, “I’m sorry. I’m not permitted to. Just hang in there until the summer, okay?”

It was peculiar listening to Jewel’s voice comforting him. The person herself never really had consoled him, as he had never told her his problems. He was slightly afraid that she’d come to see him in a negative light if he did. So far, Crystal was the listener. He hoped that it wouldn’t become a bad habit.

Reorganizing his emotions, he went after Jewel.