"The study guides we got from our professors honestly don't cut it, so I made my own." Lindy said as she passed out thick binders filled with papers with several color-coded tabs.

  Nate was intimidated by the size of the binder and glanced at the study guide that came from their professors. There were only five pages, one for each class they had. Those pages just bulleted out topics and then pointed to a page in the codex to do further study.

  "You’ll notice the tabs on the right, each corresponding to their own class, and the topics from the study guide are a gradient color of that topic’s main color."

  Nate looked at the tabs and saw a dark blue tab for Ethics, and then several tabs with a variation of a lighter blue in a lightening order of gradient, each representing their own subtopic like Meta-ethics, Normative Ethics, Applied Ethics, and so on.

  Nate was starting to sweat as he was growing more fearful of going through this binder than taking the actual test.

  "All of our tests are on Friday this week, which means we have four days to study for five classes." Nate said. "We still have to do our conditioning, then immediately after we will be in this room all day, every day, for the next five days.”

  Dee let out a groan and buried her head in her arms on the table.

  "DEE!" Lindy shouted angrily.

  Dee’s head shot up like a bomb went off and activated her fight-or-flight mode. Wide-eyed, she looked at Lindy, who was smiling maliciously in her all-navy-blue training suit, hair done up in a pony like she was ready to hit the track.

  "You. Will. Listen. Ok?" she said, ending with a very high-pitched squeak.

  Dee nodded in agreement, still wide-eyed. The rest of the team all nodded in agreement even though the veiled threat in the room wasn’t directed at them for the moment. The team had grown to be a little afraid of Lindy when her angry side came out. It was so rare that she would turn from her normal bubbly, happy self into a terrifying monster that was also drop-dead gorgeous. The combination of her beauty and anger made Nate even more intimidated, not to mention that she was a literal princess.

  Maintaining her wide, frightening smile, Lindy tapped the TV-sized link she was standing in front of, which activated and showed what looked like a PowerPoint presentation of all things. "We are going to start in Ethics with the existence and nature of moral facts because I think we can cover this whole topic in half a day."

  Nate took a deep breath and opened his fat binder to the first page.

  ***

  After nearly four hours of lecture, Lindy finally finished her self-made study guide on contractor ethics.

  "And that’s ethics, by me, Lindy." she said, twirling her hands in a flourish out to her sides, remaining bright-eyed and smiling big as if she had just put on the greatest live performance ever.

  Nate looked at his other two teammates and started slowly clapping. Jax joined in quickly and with greater vigor than Nate, while Dee slowly clapped, but more so mocking the ordeal than actually applauding Lindy.

  Lindy started breathing heavily and her smile grew bigger from the praise of her team. “Time for a break before we jump into Biology!”

  Dee shot up from her seat immediately at the word break and bolted out of the room. Jax followed her but with much less urgency, leaving Nate and Lindy alone.

  Nate walked up to Lindy and held up his hand to give her a high five. Nate noticed an almost imperceptible tinge of disappointment cross her face before she returned the high five.

  “That was awesome, you're really carrying the team here, thank you.” Nate said enthusiastically.

  Lindy’s eyes brightened from the gesture of gratitude but then darkened, giving off that resemblance of disappointment Nate caught just before.

  “Is everything ok?” Nate asked gently.

  “Yeah, I'm great, I'm just thinking about how to go about covering biology next.” The smile that crossed her face now was unmistakably fake.

  Before Nate could prod her further, Dee entered through the door, causing both Nate and Lindy to look at her at the same time. Dee stopped walking, slowly meeting both of their gazes, first Nate’s, then Lindy’s, then a slight grin started to creep across her face.

  “Am I int—” Dee stopped as she took in the death glare from Lindy.

  Lindy’s expressions were her superpower besides her attuned abilities. From lighting up a room with her bubbly personality to striking fear into the hearts of hardened soldiers, Lindy now took aim at Dee. Dee stopped mid-sentence, receiving the message she was sending telepathically.

  Nate looked at Lindy, then back at Dee, and knew there was a silent conversation happening that he was witnessing but was not privy to what was being said.

  “Sweet cone.” Nate said, breaking the silence.

  Dee replied with a disgusted “Ugh." before sitting down and putting her feet up while finishing her ice cream.

  Jax walked in like nothing was the matter and sat down in the seat closest to Lindy. His little Raccoonan eyes shifted to Dee and her ice cream cone before saying, “Aw man, is there still time for me to get a cone too?”

  “No.” Lindy quickly replied, turning her gaze back to Nate, who was standing a lot closer than she remembered. She could smell the woodsy body wash he had been using the past month. Taking in the smell, her heart started beating faster; her lips parted as she started breathing a little heavier.

  She had bought the body wash for him and told him it was from Mara, her homeworld, but in reality, she had smelled it at a market when she was out with Dee and she liked the smell, she knew she would like it more if it was on Nate. Lindy snapped out of her trance and turned to the link on the wall, tapping through her slides till she arrived at the biology section.

  Nate took this as a cue to get back to his seat and did so. Something was up, but he needed to focus on studying this material or he would fail out of school and wouldn’t be able to get his certification.

  ***

  “Wow, we got through a lot more of biology than I thought we would. Good work, guys!” Somehow Lindy had energy equal to that of a morning coffee kicking in.

  Nate and Jax were barely holding on, literally, as they were holding their heads in their hands, trying not to collapse into their binders.

  Dee was out cold from the sugar crash of the ice cream she had earlier. Her head was hanging off her shoulders and the back of her chair, both arms dangling at her sides.

  Lindy slammed her binder shut violently, looking straight at Dee as she snapped awake, eyes bloodshot, and started clapping.

  The team started laughing instead of clapping along with her. Dee frowned, then opened her mouth to say something when Lindy started first.

  “Dee, we need to go get ready for that store opening, remember?” While the stare Lindy was sending to Dee wasn’t exactly the death stare from earlier, it was clear there was an underlying message to her question that one would have to be in the know to pick up on.

  “Oh yeah, that store, market… thing.” Dee replied.

  “We’ll see you tomorrow, boys. Don’t wait up for us!” Lindy said, smiling while wiggling her individual fingers as she walked past Dee and out of the room.

  Dee collected her things and stumbled out of the study room after her.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  “Food?” Nate said, slowly turning his head to Jax while it was still resting on his hand.

  Jax didn’t reply, as his head was slowly sinking through his hands and into his binder.

  ***

  Lindy and Dee arrived at the Cat’s Meow after getting out of their training clothes and into more casual attire. The pair headed straight for their corner spot in the lounge area, Lindy walking a little faster than Dee as she was bubbling over, ready to spill some figurative tea.

  “He was like right there, Dee. I could smell the body wash off his stupid chest.”

  “You ladies want your usual?” Gildy asked from afar.

  “Can I actually get something a little harder tonight, Gildy?” Lindy asked.

  Gildy walked closer. “That boy not paying you the attention you deserve again?”

  “He was right there, G. We were like a foot away from each other. I could smell his body wash clear as day.

  “Dee, do you think it’s time?” The waitress looked at Dee.

  “I do, G, I really do.” Dee replied.

  “Time for what?” Lindy asked.

  Gildy the waitress walked away to prepare drinks for her patron while Dee stared Lindy down.

  “Princess, let me tell you something. We’ve been at this for a year. A year, your Highness.”

  Lindy rolled her eyes at Dee. She despised when Dee mocked her royalty, not because she was insulted, but because she had purposefully left Mara so that she could just be normal.

  “You are a ten out of ten in everything a man is looking for. You got the hair, the face, the curves, the boobs, the butt, you’re nice, bubbly, gentle, I could go on. You have never had a problem with men approaching you. I won’t tell you Nate is a bad pick, okay. Are there better-looking, more successful dudes out there? Definitely. But he could make something of himself. We have finals this week, and the tournament after that. His mind is elsewhere, has been all year, which leaves you with two options sweet cheeks. You can either tighten up and make a move on him, or move on. All the hugs, gentle touches, playful flirty banter, and sitting practically skin-to-skin hasn’t gotten him to ask you out. So you’ll have to, or move on. Besides, why do you want a guy that can’t seem to pick up what you’re putting down?”

  Gildy returned with two glasses of red wine and two shots of hard liquor each for Lindy and Dee, and a plate of loaded nachos, a delicacy the chef at the Cat’s Meow learned from a brief exploration of Earth cuisine before the border closed. Gildy looked around her serving area to see that her diners' drinks were full and food was on the table for those who had ordered, before she sat down on the corner booth couch on the other side of Lindy. Gildy picked up one of the shots and handed it to Lindy, then turned to Dee while Lindy downed her shot.

  “So did you give her the ultimatum?” Gildy said.

  “Yeah, she hasn’t responded yet though. The shots were a good call.” Dee said as she downed one of her shots.

  “Dating has never been this hard for me before. I literally just look at a guy back home and then I’m stuck learning about his two-hour workout routine that starts at four in the morning. Actually, that’s not too different from Nate, but he didn’t throw it on me, you know? He’s not a douchebag like that.”

  “Yeah, ’cause you’re a princess. We’ve been over this, girl." Gildy added.

  “Look, as far as we know, he’s got a penis, and we don’t think he swings the other way, so he’s thought about it at least once. Why he hasn’t made the leap, we don’t know.” Dee argued.

  “Maybe he doesn’t want to mess up the team dynamic? From what I hear, he is pretty into training and winning and being high on the leaderboard. He doesn’t want to ruin a good thing.” Gildy chimed in.

  “But he doesn’t know that being with you would be even better." Dee added.

  Lindy nodded, sipping her wine and taking in her friends’ words. Lindy looked around the lounge, taking in the dimly lit area that was filled with comfy bean bags, plush chairs and couches with leg rests, bookshelves, and blankets.

  “I’m just so grateful for you two.” Lindy said, tearing up.

  “Oh hell, you had like two drinks, girl. You’re getting to your mushy drunk phase a little early.” Dee said, scooting closer to her, putting an arm around her.

  Someone from the lounge area saw Gildy and flagged her over, probably to put in another drink order. Gildy waved back and leaned in to give Lindy a tight hug. “Sweety, if you like him, go get him. Maybe be a little more obvious this time.”

  Lindy nodded in agreement, her face scrunching up, getting ready to cry. Dee laid her head on Lindy’s shoulder, then picked up a chip coated in gooey cheese, seasoned meat, and peppers and fed it to Lindy. Lindy ate the nacho in silence and laid her head on Dee’s.

  ***

  Nate and Jax were feasting on a pile of meat in their regular booth at Slop. Hal and his band hadn’t gone on stage yet, but the crowd was starting to flow in for his little show he did each night of the weekend. Peggy came over to the table to chat with the boys whenever the girls ditched them to do whatever it is girls do when they want to be alone.

  “How you boys doing? Finals week this week? Those lovely ladies go for a girls’ night again?” Peggy asked.

  Nate and Jax both nodded, sinking their teeth into the expertly prepared cuts of meat that were brought to the table earlier.

  “Yeah, we have finals on Thursday and then the tournaments start on Saturday.” Jax said.

  “Did you guys get the tickets I brought?” Nate asked.

  “Oh yeah, I passed on the pair for K and Dalma too, and to your sister and her team. We’ll be there, sugar, wouldn’t miss it.”

  “Great.” Nate said, nodding as he picked up a rib with his hands and ripped off a piece of meat.

  “I can see why the ladies might need a break from you two sometimes.” Peggy said as she laughed at Nate’s barbaric approach to eating his meal.

  “Girls running away from Nate? That’s nothing new.” said a familiar voice as Nate looked up, confused.

  Yoli had come up behind Peggy and was leaning on her shoulder now, watching Nate and Jax eat like it was feeding time at the zoo. Yoli had a look of disgust on her face as she beheld Nate covered in sauce and seasoning, with Jax looking the same, but it was smeared across his fur instead of skin.

  “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Yoli, Nate’s sister.”

  “Hi, I’m Jax Stock. I’m the team’s quartermaster!” Jax replied enthusiastically. “I’d shake your hand but I’m kinda…”

  “It’s fine." Yoli said, examining Jax’s sauce-covered hands. “What’s this I hear about girls, Nate? You finally gonna bring a girl home for Mom to smother?”

  “Oh, you don’t know?” Peggy interjected. “Nate has a princess on his team.”

  Nate rolled his eyes. “Okay, yes, she’s a princess, yes she’s gorgeous, but she’s way out of my league. There’s no way me and her are happening.” Nate said.

  Peggy was tapping through on her link, pulling up a picture as a reference for Yoli. She found a good one of just Nate and Lindy and handed the link to Yoli.

  “God damn, Nate, you’re right, she is way out of your league.”

  Yoli looked closer at the picture though and noticed subtle details in Lindy’s posture that indicated she might actually be attracted to her brother. Her head was leaning on Nate’s arm as she had one hand on his bicep and another on his forearm, holding it tightly to her own body. She was holding on to him pretty intimately for someone who was way out of his league.

  “So when are you going to ask her out?”

  Nate choked on his meal while Jax just kept eating like nothing happened.

  “There’s no way. She will shoot me down and it’ll ruin our whole dynamic. We have to be sharp for finals and the tournament.”

  “I guess that’s fair. But what is it Dad always said that I got but you never did?”

  In unison they said, “You miss one hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

  Nate nodded along sarcastically. “But I really don’t want to mess this team up. Plus, there’s no way she’s into me, right Jax?”

  Jax looked up from his food, confused, but had heard the question.

  “Well um." Jax started before clearing his throat, “she might say yes, you never know?” Jax said with a pretty high-pitched voice.

  Nate tilted his head a little. Yoli and Peggy both smirked, knowing that there was more behind what Jax said.

  “Okay, look, I don’t know for sure for sure… but I’m pretty sure that she is into you. Okay, she’s really into you, and it’s kind of obvious. I actually thought you guys were dating but keeping it a secret or something.”

  Nate’s jaw dropped as Peggy and Yoli giggled to themselves.

  “Jax! What do you mean it’s obvious?!” he practically shouted.

  Jax looked up to Yoli and Peggy for help.

  “That girl is practically sitting on your lap every time you come in here. She’s always laughing too hard at your jokes, sometimes it’s kind of hard to watch, to be honest. At the same time, it’s incredibly sweet. Literally, look at this picture, you idiot.” Yoli held Peggy’s link to him. “Look at how she’s holding you, dude. Some girl that isn’t into you wouldn’t be all over you like that.”

  Nate examined the photo closely and his expression softened a bit from the shock of Jax’s confession.

  “Wait… she likes me? For my body?”

  Yoli slapped Nate up the back of his head, but he giggled in pain, knowing his joke landed a little bit.

  “Yeah, I don’t know why. But my friends can lift thousand-pound boulders, I can heal deep cuts, and you can teleport, so here we are.” Yoli said sarcastically.

  “So what do I do now?”

  “Nothing, right now, that is." Jax said. “You were right earlier when you said we can’t mess up the dynamic before finals and the tournament. Not that she would kick me out, but you, more than most, need her study sessions to pass the exams this week, and you definitely need to be in the right mindset for the tournament, both of you.”

  Nate nodded in agreement.

  “But that doesn’t mean you can’t flirt back a little more openly now that you know.” Yoli added.

  “Be careful not to break her heart though. I happen to like her a little better than you, boy, and having a princess come around here is pretty good for business. Don’t screw it up.” Peggy chimed in.

  Nate made a face of shock and disgust, putting his hands out like he was a mobster that had just been wronged.