I was really looking forward to this scene so I'm surprised that nobody had any thoughts on the flashback to when Alicia and Kattar were teenagers. Kattar was so cute.
I just planned to avoid Kattar until the party had passed, but that failed very quickly.
Apparently, he thought I was just in the library studying because I was a good student…
He found me during our lunch period about two hours after I’d determined to avoid him and plopped down on the seat beside me, closing my textbook with one hand as he beamed like a miniature sun, laughing with that squinted smile, “There you are, you sneak. Why on earth are you studying? You promised to let me top the class this month.”
When I just frowned at him, he pouted, scrunching his chin up like a bratty baby.
“How do you expect to top the class if I don’t study?” I muttered dryly, “You might end up copying wrong answers.”
“Aha ha. I’m doing just fine, thank you. I have more important things to think about this month than…what are these even? Differential equations?”
“Kattar, do you even know what we’re studying in math at this point?”
“Eh, it includes numbers,” he laughed, obviously in too good a mood to be bothered by anything. “I’ll figure it out when I cram the night before the quiz. But listen,” I didn’t have much choice since he’d put his arm on my book to keep me from ignoring him, “My mom is getting this huge restaurant to cater my birthday. We’re gonna have octopus, and fancy pasta, and lamb gyros and stuff.”
“Oh, cool,” I said flatly, trying to tune him out, so I could mitigate my disappointment about having to turn his invitation down.
But my response caught him off guard, and he frowned with this look on his face…
Worried? Confused.
“You are coming to my party, right, Lise?”
