As they walked down the hallway in silence, Giselle remained lost in thought, clutching her folder. Luke, flanked by Giselle and Lorna, felt a bit stiff, while Lorna was busy with her smartphone. Then, Lorna leaned her head forward and glanced at her two friends walking beside her.
"So, where are we heading now?" Lorna asked.
"Let's go for a drive. I have a car. You can drive, can't you, Luke?" Giselle asked.
"Um... I can, but I can't go. I have to work my part-time shift at the bookstore now so I can open the cafe a bit earlier this afternoon," Luke answered, checking his watch.
"Aww... that's too bad. (She turned to Lorna) Let's just go, the two of us."
"Sure. I'm going with her, Luke. Consider this my request for permission," Lorna replied.
"Wait, why are you asking me for permission? If you want to go, just go," Luke said.
"Hehe, true. Why am I even asking you? You're not my dad," Lorna laughed.
"Exactly. Anyway, have fun," Luke replied.
"Got it. We're heading out first, Luke. See you tomorrow," Giselle said, waving her hand.
"See you tomorrow, darling," Lorna said, patting Luke on the shoulder.
"See you. I'm out," Luke replied.
Without further ado, Luke turned and walked down the corridor toward the building exit. Giselle and Lorna stood frozen, watching Luke's back as he grew more distant.
"Lorna, sorry to ask, but... are you dating Luke?" Giselle asked.
"Hmm, not really. Why?" Lorna asked.
"He's actually handsome, you know. He's just a bit nerdy," Giselle answered.
"Oh, I've known that for a long time. That's why I kept quiet about it—so nobody would find out until it was time for me to make my move, hehehe," Lorna replied, immediately drawing a line in the sand.
"Hmm, so you have a crush on him too?" Giselle asked.
"Yep, for a long time. Why? You too?" Lorna asked back.
"Hehe, yeah. But maybe later. I just got dumped, and my feelings are still a mess. I don't want to make Luke a rebound, so I'll take it slow. We're rivals then," Giselle answered.
"Okay, I accept your challenge. So, are we still going? Let's move," Lorna said with a smile.
"Of course. Let's go," Giselle replied, smiling back.
The two turned and walked toward the parking lot, chatting cheerfully and appearing carefree, though Giselle still looked a little sad. Lorna glanced at Giselle secretly with a sharp look, even though she kept a smile on her face.
***
Meanwhile, as Luke walked out of the building, he glanced left and right, checking his surroundings. Once he was sure no one was around, he opened his bank account on his smartphone again. He covered the screen, slowly revealing it bit by bit like he was peeking at his cards in a poker game.
The balance was still there. He kept staring at it, thinking that if he stared hard enough, the numbers might vanish and prove to be an illusion. But the balance and the new account were undeniably real. He checked his transaction history and saw that someone with the initials "MS" had sent the money without any description.
"Uh... I don't actually have a part-time job. I've been dying to know about this balance and who sent the money since this morning, but I couldn't do a thing with Lorna sticking to me like glue. Now, I'm heading to the bank first to find out who this MS person really is. If I remember correctly, there's a branch near the hospital. I already planned on visiting the hospital after class anyway, so I can just do both at once," Luke thought to himself.
Without delay, Luke walked out of the campus with quick steps. He headed toward the main road to catch a bus to the hospital. After getting off the bus, he spotted a branch of the same bank right next to the hospital. He stepped inside and went straight to the customer service desk. A female representative greeted him with a warm smile as he sat down.
"Welcome. How can I help you today, sir?" she asked.
"Yes, I'd like to check my account. Someone sent me a sum of money, and I want to see if it has cleared," Luke replied, showing his smartphone and his ID.
"All right, just a moment, sir," the rep said.
She began typing on her computer while checking the ID lying next to her. Then, she looked back at Luke.
"The transfer has cleared, sir. It looks like the money was sent last night and hit your account this morning. Here's the record. For future reference, you can check your transaction history using our banking app," she said politely.
"Hmm... yes. Is it possible to know who sent it? I mean, whose account is under the initials MS?" Luke asked, finally getting to his main question.
"It's just listed as MS here, sir," she answered, looking at her monitor.
"Is there any way to get the full identity instead of just the initials?" Luke asked.
"I'm sorry, sir, but we can't do that because we have to protect the privacy of our customers. However, according to the system, the transfer came from the same bank branch where your account was opened. Perhaps you had a transaction with someone recently?" the representative asked, looking at Luke.
"Oh, okay. Thanks anyway, it's no problem," Luke replied, quickly grabbing his smartphone and ID.
The customer service representative watched him as he hurriedly gathered his things. Her smile didn't fade, though her face was full of questions, as if she were thinking, "How could someone receive a transfer that big and forget who sent it?" After a moment, she spoke again.
"Alright then. Thank you, sir. It was a pleasure serving you," she said politely.
"Right. Excuse me," Luke replied.
Luke rushed out of the bank and shoved his phone into his pocket. His mind was racing, but then he smacked his own forehead.
"You're an idiot, Luke. Of course they wouldn't just give out a private identity... man, this just makes it even more confusing," Luke thought to himself.
Luke looked at the hospital next to the bank, then immediately ran over and went inside. He headed to the administration desk to make a payment using the money from the cafe's account, which he had specifically set aside for hospital bills. A short while later, in an isolation room:
"Beep."
"Beep."
The sound of an EKG machine filled the air. A middle-aged woman lay comatose in a bed surrounded by bulky medical equipment.
"Click."
A nurse wearing a mask opened the door and let Luke inside. Luke's eyes fixed on the face of the woman lying in the bed. He walked over and pulled up a chair so he could sit by her side. Aftersitting down, he took the woman's hand and held it firmly.
"How are you, Aunt Sharon? I'm back again. I'm doing just fine, and Noel and Ava are doing great, too. The three of us are still running the cafe that Dad, Mom, and you left behind. Oh, I just paid the hospital bill for today, and I'm planning to pay the mortgage tomorrow. Business at the cafe has really picked up these past few weeks; I'm truly grateful. But something strange happened today—someone sent money to an account I don't even remember opening," Luke said, continuing his story while holding the hand of his comatose aunt, his hospital payment receipt fresh in his pocket and a sad smile on his face.