His multi-slate rang suddenly and he almost hit the ignore button before he noticed Rabbit curiously watching. He slid out the earbud attachment from the side of the rectangular device attached to his wrist and slipped it into his ear before accepting the call.
“Hey, Arlet, what’s up?” He supposed if he had to waste time talking with someone she was as good a choice as any. She was smarter than the average student here, in any case, which was impressive considering she didn’t even attend Vail.
“I’m outside the cafeteria on your campus and was wondering if you were in there?” Arlet’s bubbly voice came through the line.
“You’re here?” He got to his feet.
“Go,” Rabbit said before he could say anything. “I’ll empty your tray for you.”
“Thanks.” His smile was genuine this time. He might not be able to feel many emotions, but he still understood the importance of treating those who’d treated him well right in return.
His brother would kill him if he ever acted any differently.
“Are you coming out?” Arlet asked as he started for the doors.
“You can’t come in here,” he reminded lightly. “If campus security catches you they’ll toss you out.”
“I borrowed a pin from a friend. They’ll never know. All I had to do was trade my dad’s autograph and they loaned it to me for an hour.” Arlet’s father was a well-known composer.
Sila didn’t bother pointing out they wouldn’t need that long. He had class in ten minutes and he’d planned to arrive exactly two minutes late, so this conversation had to be fast.
He found Arlet standing at the bottom of the stone steps leading up to the side entrance of the cafeteria building and, to help speed things up, he decided to be nice. Ending the call he smiled as he approached, even accepting a hug when she offered it.
“Why’d you come all this way?” Sila asked once they’d separated, turning slightly so he could keep the walkways that led around the cafeteria and its neighboring building in his line of sight. “Meeting with someone?”
Him. She’d come all this way for him. He wasn’t stupid, but it didn’t hurt to pretend to be every now and again. Stupid was relatable. Go figure.
“Yeah, you.” She batted at the side of his arm and giggled. Arlet wasn’t unattractive in any sense of the word. Her hair was this pretty lilac shade and she was currently dressed in a plaid skirt in black and a white t-shirt, no doubt an outfit she’d thrown together in the hopes it’d pass as the school uniform.
She was cute, but not his type for more reasons than one.
He glanced at the time and then shifted so he was facing the walkway a bit more. Any minute now…
Bay came around the corner just then, shuffling a stack of physical papers as he mumbled something incoherent to himself. He seemed distracted, a frown furrowing his delicate brow.
That wouldn’t do.
Sila laughed.
That did the trick. Bay stumbled and came to a complete standstill. Sila didn’t have to check to know he was looking at him now.
The professor was known for being a tough, rule enforcing, take-no-shit teacher, but there were moments where Sila was able to catch him off guard, where his suave act slipped just a little and he came off more clumsy than not. He’d only gotten to try it out a few times before the semester had ended before the start of the summer and he found himself looking forward to giving it another go.
It shouldn’t be nearly as entertaining as it was.
“I’m flattered,” Sila said, opting to get straight to the point since he knew Bay was on a tight schedule. He’d need to leave for his classroom in the next five minutes or risk being late, which wasn’t something Bay was a fan of being.
“Oh.” Arlet deflated some.
“No, it’s not that. Don’t take this the wrong way, you’re gorgeous. But I guess you haven’t heard.” He ran a hand through the short hairs at the back of his neck sheepishly. Really laying on that boyish charm thick. He’d yet to be able to peg if that was part of the attraction for Bay. If he was interested because Sila was younger. Better safe than sorry and stick with the part for now.
“Heard?” Arlet frowned.
“I’m gay.” A fact he’d known since he was twelve and one he’d been waiting for the right opportunity to inform Bay of. Knowing he was listening in on this conversation had Sila internally chuckling all over again. “Even if I wasn’t though, I actually just had my heart broken.”
“No, really?” Arlet rested a hand on his arm, clearly over her small crush instantly. “Are you okay?”
“I’ll be fine. But he was…I don’t want to speak ill of anyone.” That was a lie. He really, really did and if she didn’t stick to her predetermined role and ask him to elaborate he was going to have to rethink the whole keeping her around bit.
