Can I?
1264 Words
"At their dorm, Tine and her friends were celebrating her recent victory.
"Cheers!" they exclaimed as they clinked their glasses together. Eustace had finally agreed to help her.
"Hey Tine, what did you do to make him agree with you?" Olivia asked.
"Did you give him some kind of special service?" Phil added with a smirk.
"You are gross," Tine said, pointing at Phil. "I don't know. He just changed his mind all of a sudden."
"Hey, can you guys help me with something?" Tine asked. "Can you tell Gavin that I'll be in Eustace's faculty tomorrow?" She imagined Gavin seeing her with Eustace and freaking out.
"There," she said aloud.
"There? Where?" the others asked.
"In front of his faculty," Tine replied. "When you cross the parking lot in front of the university, there's his faculty building."
"Isn't it at the back though?" Fleur pointed out.
"I'll share the exact location tomorrow," Tine assured them.
"Can you do it now? I want to see where," Phil insisted.
"No! It's already late, you dumbass."
The next morning at the study shed, Phil began a countdown.
"Five... Four... Three... Two... One." Right on cue, Gavin appeared.
"Tine! Good morning—" he started, but then realized Tine was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Tine?" he asked.
"She's where her heart belongs," the girls said in unison.
"You rehearsed that, didn't you?" Gavin said, eyeing them suspiciously.
"No, really," they replied again in sync.
"So, where's Tine?"
Gavin eventually found Tine.
"Tine, your friends said someone's hitting on you. Is that true?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Who is it?"
"See for yourself," Tine said, pointing as Eustace stepped out of his car. She called out to him, but he ignored her and walked away. Her plan had failed, and she was dumbfounded.
"Why didn't you help me, Eustace?" she thought.
"Are you trying to make me jealous, Tine?" Gavin asked. "Don't worry, I wouldn't be jealous because I know we are meant for each other. Come on, I'll treat you somewhere." Another plan of Tine's had failed.
Later, Tine met with Eustace.
"Sorry, I didn't know you wanted me to start being flirtatious already. I didn't pay attention," Eustace said.
"Because of you, Gavin was stalking me for like an hour. It was really hard to sneak away," Tine complained.
"What do you want me to do?" Eustace asked.
"You really don't know anything, do you? Do it like how you hit on other girls. Buy me food and drinks. Take care of me. Something like that," she demanded.
"Got it," Eustace said nonchalantly, offering her the snack he was holding.
"What? Gavin is not around."
"Just take it. Someone bought it for me."
"I'll have it all then. Your fans are kind of kind and caring," she said as he walked away. Moments later, Man, a friend of Eustace, approached Tine.
"Are you Tine? Where's Eustace? I saw you two talking just now," he asked.
"He headed that way," Tine said, pointing.
"Thanks... By the way, his fans bought a lot of ice creams. Want some?" Man offered.
"It's okay, he just gave me a snack. It's from his fans too."
"From his fans? He bought that at a shop himself," Man said.
"You're mistaken," Bam, another friend of Eustace, added. "I have to go before these ice creams melt." Man and Bam left to find Eustace.
At the canteen, Gavin snatched Tine's snack.
"No snacks. Food first," he commanded.
"Why are you here?" Tine said, annoyed.
"To have lunch with you. I skipped my faculty's event just to come see you."
"Faculty of Humanities has an event?" Tine's friends asked.
"Yes, it's like a pageant for hot guys. Would you like to come? The event is starting. You can go. Leave Tine with me," Gavin convinced.
"My friends might be assholes, but they wouldn't leave me for guys," Tine pointed out. Yet, her friends left.
"Hey!"
"I made a lunchbox for you, Tine. Look, it's so cute, right?" Gavin said. "Let's try it. I'll feed you." Meanwhile, Tine noticed Eustace approaching. She gestured for him to help, unsure if he understood. Suddenly, Eustace came to their table, replacing Gavin's lunchbox with a plate he had ordered.
"Here's your lunch. Eat up," Eustace said, picking up Tine's drink.
"Can I have this?"
"I already drank it," she said.
"Who cares?" he said and left.
Later at the club, Tine complained to Eustace.
"You were exaggerating it. Gavin thought we were just pretending. It didn't look real."
"That's how people flirt in the series I've watched. What do you want me to do?" Eustace explained.
"What series do you think we are in?" Tine pointed out.
"The Nuisance and The Handsome Prince!" Eustace said, pointing to Tine's shoulder.
"I was being sarcastic," Tine replied. "You are so dull at flirting. Haven't you ever been in love with someone?"
Eustace just stared at her.
"Are we all here?" Ace announced.
"Go back to your professional zone now. This is for beginners," Tine said.
"Didn't you know? We have fewer members now, so we're practicing in one place. Be focused and don't let your weird music distract me. I need to rehearse."
"Weird music? I don't play weird anymore," Tine denied.
"Really?"
Still at the music club, members were practicing. Ace was tutoring Tine.
"Wrong, Tine. You need to press harder," she demanded.
"I can't press any harder. Do you have a guitar with less stiff strings?" Tine complained.
"We don't. Make it work for now. When we get a new allowance, we'll buy a new guitar," Ace explained.
"Do you have any recommendations for guitar strings?" Tine asked.
"If you prefer a clear sound, I recommend Elixir. If you prefer a soft and deep sound, go for D'Addario."
"D'Adda... what?"
"D'Addario. D'Ad...da...rio."
"Ah, yes yes. Got it."
Dan came in.
"Guys, before you go home, I have to announce two things. One, our music club will be having a festival. Many famous bands will be performing here, including Sunshine, Daisies, Butter Mellow—"
Tine chuckled.
"Is that a band name or an essay topic?" she said.
"Shh," Ace said. "That is my band. Got a problem?"
"No. Sorry," Tine said, embarrassed.
"And the other thing: we'll be having a small evaluation for our members. For those who are good, record a video of yourself playing a song. For the beginners, just play basic chords and send it to me. We'll be posting your videos, so sucky players will be bashed and kicked out. If you don't have any questions, you can go now," Dan announced.
Tine's face filled with worry—she might be kicked out of the club.
"Keep fighting, Tine!" Ace said to cheer her up as she left.
Tine approached Eustace.
"Hey, do you have anything to do after this?" she asked.
"Why? Are you asking me for a date?"
"No. But can you go buy some D'Addario strings with me? And also, I think flirting is a bit awkward for both of us because we aren't close enough yet, so we might... you know... spend some time together..."
"So you're asking me on a date to a guitar shop? No need to cover it up. A date is a date. Sorry though, the shops here don't have the strings you want."
"They don't? What should I do now?"
"I need to practice."
"I have a guitar with soft strings that I don't use often."
"Really? Can I borrow it so I can record a video?"
"Sure. But on one condition."
"What is it?"
- Writer
