Sam and Louis found themselves together in the cafeteria.
Despite Louis’s average table manners and not exactly being a model of virtue, Sam felt quite at ease around him.
After all, how many true friends can one have? Do you make friends thinking they will help you advance in life?
Clearly not. Most people never encounter the kind of profound friendships found only in novels and films.
Because most of us are ordinary folks, just getting through life is challenging enough, let alone thinking about helping others advance. It’s quite unrealistic.
Actually, if you keep it simple, being happy and getting some comfort during tough times is already quite an achievement.
"By the way, you haven’t joined any clubs yet, have you? Hasn’t Alice the teacher talked to you about it?" Louis suddenly asked while eating.
Sam shook his head.
"She did, and so I’ve joined a club."
Louis was shocked: "When did this happen? Why didn’t you tell me?"
"Just a few days ago... I guess I was too busy and forgot."
Louis, curious, asked: "Which club did you join? It’s a pity, I was about to invite you to the Steam Gaming Club... I was telling you, the after-school club activities are so much fun, although the club only has two computers, but..."
"It’s called The Ultimate Human Department..." Sam said simply.
Louis’s eyes widened: "The Ultimate Human Department? What a strange name. Who founded this club?"
Indeed, even Louis thought the name was odd, which certainly wasn’t normal.
Sam shrugged: "I think it’s Isabella... Yeah, that’s the name."
"Isabella? Wait, Isabella! It’s her?" Louis’s reaction was one of utter shock, as if he had just seen Sam transform into Superman right before his eyes.
"Do you know her? She does look pretty good."
"Of course, I know! Isabella... she’s a well-known figure in our school, haven’t you heard?"
"Why would I have heard? What’s she famous for? And how come you know all about her, are you the encyclopedia of our school?"
Sam found it strange. He knew about Angel, Sophie, and even Isabella... but unknown to Sam himself.
Could it be that Louis is the secret author behind all this? Were all these female leads his creation?
Louis was about to speak when Asher and his two friends suddenly appeared and blurted out a lot:
"Isabella is a rather unique student. She has 50K followers on social media, making her somewhat of a celebrity in our school...
Moreover, she’s known for her anime and game cosplays, even being considered a VIP guest at some comic conventions, enjoying a high reputation in the fan community.
But Isabella always seems to give up these endeavors right after getting involved, like her social media, which hasn’t been updated in a while, and her cosplay activities, which she hasn’t done recently.
It’s as if she suddenly lost interest... It’s been a long time since she was in the public eye, but everyone must admit Isabella is a very special presence in our school."
Sam, taken aback, looked at Asher. "How did you guys end up here?"
Before Asher could reply, Louis, as if he had discovered something, lowered his voice.
"Ah... it’s them... wait, sorry, my friend tends to be blunt, no offense meant, definitely not trying to be disrespectful."
Louis clearly remembered the bad reputation of these individuals and, worrying that Sam’s impatient demeanor might cause trouble, hurriedly apologized on Sam’s behalf.
He also carefully tugged at Sam’s sleeve: "Sam, you’re joking, right? You didn’t mean anything by it..."
Louis made faces at Sam, trying to signal him to back down a bit.
But Sam looked puzzledly at Louis, then turned to Asher and his group.
"What do you mean, no offense? I meant exactly what I said. Are you three nuts, stalking me while I’m eating?"
Hearing Sam speak like this, Louis was completely stunned.
All he could think was: This is bad, so bad!
Has Sam lost his mind, talking like that to the well-known troublemakers of the school?
Well, it was too late for regrets now. Who else but him, Louis, to stand by Sam, his best bro? Despite the numerous girls that liked Sam, Louis was the only man by his side!
So, should he silently bear the brunt of the imminent disaster that was about to unfold on Sam’s behalf?
Let it be him then!
Louis felt a surge of valor, as if ready to face death. He lifted his head to confront the trio, only to see Asher looking appeasingly at Sam.
"How could that be... I swear we just happened to be here eating and saw you, so we came over to say hi... Right, Jace, Orin?"
The two sidekicks immediately nodded, also adopting a pleasing demeanor towards Sam.
"Really, it’s a coincidence. We’ve been eating here for several days now, we’ve been very honest these days..."
"Of course! Naturally!"
Louis was baffled, unable to grasp what was happening. Weren’t these three known as the bad students of the school? Why were they acting as docile as kittens, even somewhat dog-like?
"What the heck, do you... have some compromising photos of them? Why are they treating you like this?"
Asher was taken aback for a moment before glaring at Louis.
"What are you babbling about, kid!"
"Ah? So-, sorry!"
Louis apologized instinctively, then heard Sam’s voice, cold as ice.
"What did you say to my friend? Who’s apologizing?"
Stunned, Asher immediately stood up and bowed to Louis.
"Sorry, I was a bit loud just now..."
"Ah? No... no, it’s okay, don’t worry."
Louis turned his head, shocked, looking at Sam. He truly couldn’t make sense of the world anymore.
He couldn’t tell if he was dreaming or not.
What was going on?
Had the plot of a novel spilled into reality?
Was his bro actually a mafia boss?
Sam didn’t explain anything to Louis but turned to Asher.
"So, you just wanted to say hi, nothing else?"
As if nothing had happened, being polite and courteous to others seemed not so difficult for Asher now, who said with a smile.
"Isn’t it because we heard you joined The Ultimate Human Department... We also want to join, could you introduce us?"
Sam frowned.
"You’re interested in this club?"
Asher responded cheerily, "Well, since you joined... we thought we’d give it a try too. Heard that being in the same club can really fast-track friendships."
Upon hearing this, Louis immediately became restless.
They wanted to get closer to Sam?
What did that make him?
An ex-bro left behind?
His status as Sam’s best bro was under threat! This couldn’t stand!
Louis quickly grabbed Sam’s sleeve.
"Um... I want to join too."
"Aren’t you in the Steam Gaming Club?"
"I can quit! I now think gaming is just wasting time. I love the challenge of pushing human limits! Yes, I want to join The Ultimate Human Department!"
Crazy!
His conviction was as if he was pledging allegiance to a cause.
Sam shook his head.
"I don’t have a say in this; I just joined myself, no special privileges. If you want to join, go ask the president yourself."
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Hearing Sam’s response, the group seemed disappointed but not deterred. Sam didn’t want to deal with it any further; he preferred to navigate this vortex alone.
With two not-so-simple girls in this club, only God knew the challenges...
Suddenly, a voice broke the brief silence.
"So many people, are you having a meeting?"
Everyone looked up, except for Sam, who recognized the voice.
Asher stuttered, "Ah... Miss Angel... How...?"
"If you’re not eating, make some room. I need to speak with Sam."
Her tone was as always: superior and impatient.
Asher quickly caught on, stood up with his companions, and said with a smile, "We won’t disturb your romantic couple’s conversation then..."
At this strange reference, Angel frowned, a faint blush on her cheeks, but she didn’t correct him.
Louis, still sitting dumbfounded, seemed overwhelmed by the girl’s presence.
Asher, about to leave, came back to drag Louis away.
"Hey, hey, why are you pulling me? I haven’t finished eating, I’m with Sam!"
"Come on, you have no sense of atmosphere at all!"
With that, the area was cleared, leaving Sam alone, with Louis reluctantly being taken away.
Wearing a pleated skirt, Angel, whose beauty seemed to mature with each passing day, sat down across from Sam.
Sam looked up at Angel, who appeared slightly displeased. "What’s wrong? Who upset you?"
Angel huffed. "Your cat, how long has it been since you last checked on it?"
What kind of excuse was that?
Sam smiled at her. "Is it the cat missing me?"
"Or perhaps it’s me who’s missing you?"
Sam blinked, unable to help but laugh. "Heiress, do you have to be this adorable?"
This time, Angel wasn’t about to blush hastily. She crossed her arms, accentuating her cleavage, tilted her head back, and displayed an air of unrivaled pride.
"I have always been adorable."