When I reached our room, Alana was already there.

I lost.

“Hey Van, you were out pretty late.”

“What are you saying? It's just 9 pm. I still have an hour til curfew.”

“Well, I got here first. So you were out pretty late.”

“Did you have dinner yet?”

“Yep, David took me out. He's great!”

“Did he treat you right?”

“Like a princess! He's such a gentleman.”

“I'm happy for you then.”

“What about Nolan? Was he nice to you?”

“He was pleasant.”

“You like him?”

“He was nice.”

“Van likes Nolan...” She sang in a cheery tone.

“I do not! Stop that!”

“Really?”

“He's nice. That's all.”

“Ok, well, let's go to sleep. We still have class tomorrow.”

“Good night.” and we went to sleep.

The next day, we decided to have our breakfast at the coffee shop since it's still too early to go to school.

“Have you even got a call from your Leif guy?”

“What's that for all of a sudden?”

“Nothing really, just want to know if you're going for Nolan.”

“Nolan's just a friend. More like an acquaintance.”

“Ok ok. Wow, the coffee shop is really packed in the morning.”

“What do you expect? It's the best place to get breakfast.”

“2 coffee and blueberry muffins please.” Alana ordered while I look around for a place to sit.

“Hey there Van.” It's Leif!

“Hey. Didn't see you here yesterday.”

“I was kind of busy. Sorry, did you wait?”

“No, I was actually here with someone else, since we did not make any commitment.”

“Oh.”

“Mind if my friend and I sit with you? I can't find a seat.”

“Sure, take a seat.”

I waved to Alana so that she will know where I was.

“Hey Van, aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?” Alana asked as soon as she reached the table.

“Alana, this is Leif Brown.”

“Ah, so you're Leif. I'm finally glad to meet you.”

“A pleasure to meet you too Ms. Alana.”

“So Mr. Leif, where do you go to school to?” And Alana took hold of the conversation.

“Oh, I'm staying at Gales.”

“That's funny, it's almost time and you are still not wearing your uniform.”

“I just transferred so I don't have a uniform yet.”

“Oh... are you single?”

“Alana!” I quickly interrupted.

“Haha, of course I am. You don't see any girl with me now besides the two of you right?”

“Just asking, maybe you have some foreign girl somewhere.”

“No, no. I'm completely single.”

“Glad to know that. Well, Van, it's time to go now. It's a pleasure meeting you Mr. Leif.”

“Call me Leif and it's a pleasure meeting you too.”

“I'm so sorry about Alana.” I said as we stood up.

“It's ok. May I meet you here later?”

“I'll think about it.” And we went to school.

When I got home, I checked the answering machine to see if there was some messages. Luckily, there was only one message and it went :

“Hi Lavander, it's me, Nolan. I got the number from David. Anyway, I was wondering if you want to catch dinner again tonight. I will be waiting at your dorm lobby by the time you hear this. Bye.”

So what do I do now? Do I choose Leif or Nolan? They are both waiting for me tonight. Nolan didn't even bother to ask whether I was free tonight or not. As I think about what I was going to do, I was actually changing my clothes.

I'm going with Nolan.

“Hey, you look nice.”

“Thanks. I was quite surprise when I heard your message.”

“Sorry it was too sudden. Lucky you didn't have anything planned.”

“Yeah, lucky.”

“I know this wonderful place for dinner and I'm sure you'd love it there.”

We went to a seafood restaurant bar which has a view of the entire city. It was really pretty there. A lot of people go there because it's known as the 'perfect place to propose'. And when we got back, Nolan insisted that he see me until our dorm room.

“That was a nice dinner. I had a great time. Thank you.”

“I'm glad you liked it. I hope we get to spend more time like this together.”

“Well, it's late. Thank you again for the dinner.”

He leaned closer to me and put aside the hair that got to my face.

“Van, mind if I give you something?”

My heart was pounding hard. I leaned on our door.

“Nolan...”

His face was centimeters away from mine. And I closed my eyes. Nolan's lips were soft and simply special. And it ended.

“Good night Van.”

“Good night Nolan.” And I entered our room. Alana was already asleep when I got back. I wonder if Leif was still waiting in the coffee shop. I waited for a while then I went tot he coffee shop.

It was 30 minutes before my curfew and I still went to the coffee shop with high hopes that Leif will still be there. When I entered the coffee shop, I pretended not to look around and went straight to the counter.

“One camomile tea please.”

“I'm glad you showed up.” Leif was sitting on the couch near the counter.

“Oh, sorry. I just had dinner... with a friend.”

“So, how was... dinner?”

“It was great. Have you eaten yours already?”

“Yeah. Look, Van, I'm sorry that I was keeping secrets from you. But I was afraid that you wouldn't meet up with me anymore if you found out. But now I'm ready to tell you everything.”

“What do you mean?”

“It's true that I am staying at Gales. Also true that I have just transferred there. But I am not a student there.”

“What do you mean? If you're not a student there, then why are you staying...” I realized what he was trying to say and quickly stopped myself from saying it.

“I'm teaching there...” He calmly said.

I can't believe that Leif is a teacher at Gales.