The day continued as customers came and went, and Elias remained as efficient as ever. He greeted customers, took orders, and served food with the same polite yet detached manner that he applied to everything in life. And, just as Lila had predicted, many of the girls in the café reacted to him in unusual ways—blushing, whispering, or giggling when he so much as made eye contact.

  Elias had seen such behavior before, but he still didn’t quite grasp the reasoning behind it. He was simply doing what was expected of him. Why did they react so differently to him than to the other male classmates in similar uniforms?

  More importantly…

  Why did Lila suddenly seem annoyed?

  She wasn’t her usual, playful self anymore. Instead of watching with amusement, she now looked at him with an odd, unreadable expression. Sometimes she would glance his way, only to quickly look elsewhere. Other times, when she saw him interact with certain customers, she would frown slightly before focusing on her own work.

  Elias found himself observing her more than usual.

  At one point, during a brief lull in customers, he finally addressed it.

  “Lila.”

  She jumped slightly, as if caught off guard. “What?”

  “You are acting differently.”

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  She blinked. “H-Huh? No, I’m not.”

  “You were enjoying yourself earlier. Now you are not.”

  Lila stiffened, looking away. “I—It’s nothing! Don’t worry about it!”

  Elias tilted his head. “Then why are you avoiding looking at me?”

  “I’m not!” she said, very pointedly looking at a napkin instead of his face.

  “You are.”

  Lila groaned, running a hand through her hair. “Ugh. Can we not talk about this right now?”

  Elias studied her carefully. He didn’t understand what was wrong, but he knew when someone was hiding something.

  Still, if she refused to answer, there was nothing he could do at the moment.

  “Very well,” he said.

  Lila blinked, as if she had expected him to push further. Then she sighed. “Good.”

  Elias, however, was not finished gathering information.

  Later that day, while Lila was busy, he approached another classmate—one who seemed more attuned to these social nuances than he was.

  “Excuse me,” he said to a girl named Mina.

  She looked up from arranging decorations. “Hmm? What’s up, Elias?”

  “I require an explanation.”

  “Okay… about what?”

  “Lila has been acting unusual. I wish to know why.”

  Mina stared at him. Then, slowly, a mischievous grin spread across her face. “Ohhhhhh.”

  Elias narrowed his eyes. “That reaction implies you know something.”

  “Oh, I definitely know something.”

  “Then explain.”

  Mina chuckled. “Tell me, Elias—do you seriously not get why she’s acting like that?”

  “If I understood, I would not be asking.”

  Mina smirked, leaning in. “It’s jealousy.”

  Elias blinked. “Jealousy?”

  “Yep.” She crossed her arms. “You were getting way too much attention from those girls, and Lila did not like it.”

  Elias frowned. “That does not seem logical.”

  Mina laughed. “Oh, Elias. You poor, clueless thing.”

  “I am not clueless. I am lacking data.”

  “Same thing in this case,” Mina teased. “But trust me, jealousy is very real. And Lila? Oh, she so has it right now.”

  Elias considered this information carefully.

  Jealousy. A negative emotion caused by a perceived threat to something—or someone—you valued.

  Was that truly what Lila was feeling?

  And if so…

  What did it mean for their relationship?