Unforgettable!

V A wish on an eyelash

5.1 Fort

"We are doing great, thanks for asking," Na Fai says on the other end of the phone. I rub my forehead. I do feel guilty for not being in the lab with them, but with the studies and Open-days committee, I simply have no time. "If you'd be here you'd be happy to know that we had an MRI scan and we tested his blood and hormones. And his wound is healing surprisingly fast."

"Any interesting results?"

"Some. Mostly theoretical at this point. But it's not my place to tell you anything. Talk to Luc if you want to know more." Actually, we text each other almost every day. We talk about studies, weather, our friends, our favorite music, and food. Sometimes Luc tells something about Na Fai, but he never mentions tests or the theories they come up with. I don't mind, or I have no right to mind. I understand – it's Luc's secret and he doesn't like discussing it.

But I miss seeing him.

I sigh, "I'll join you next week, after UniFair."

"Promises, promises. Okay, kiddo, I've got to go." She hangs up and I stare at my phone, contemplating calling Luc.

"Fort," Ann pops her head around the kitchen door. "We have a bit of a situation here."

I stuff my phone away and go back inside.

"So," May says with a nervous laugh. "Ping, the girl from our culinary program – she and her team were supposed to cook here today... well, she just called and, apparently, she's sick... Looks like they've got some food poisoning epidemic on their campus. Or something. Great timing, I'd say. So now we have all this," she gestured at the countertop where bags with veggies, meat, and god knows what else are piled, "But no cook to turn it into something edible."

"Can you cook, Fort?" asks Ann.

There are only three of us – Ann from medicine, May from science, and myself from Business Management. We are preparing a banquet for sponsors and patrons of the university. It's a tradition – the day before the open-door event, Head Students must organize an evening for important guests and professors. We've prepared the ceremonial hall – flower decorations, table appointments, name tags, everything looks perfect, everything should've been perfect.

I shake my head. There are only three dishes I can cook and, before this very moment, I was sure they are enough – fried eggs to impress, pancakes to conquer hearts, and instant noodles to survive.

"Most students have already gone home. No kitchen staff here, either. We are truly fucked," Ann closes her eyes with her hands.

"Not yet," I say, checking the time. We've still got about two hours. "Call everyone. Find someone who can cook. Lily's not the only student who knows how to make curry, right?"

"We could use YouTube," May offers.

"Let's leave it as our last resort."

Half an hour later we still have piles of ingredients and no idea of how to turn them into a dish. May's checking out cooking tutorials on YouTube, Ann's smoking outside and I'm frowning at my phone. The last text from Nam is a little bit cryptic, 'Can't wait to see the stunned look on ur face and hearts in ur eyes' it says. I start typing 'What do you mean?' as the doors open and my friends with some other students from other faculties walk in. Luc strides behind them, tiny and cute as always. There's this shy little smile on his face and his eyes are sparkling so bright I want to cry or run to him and hug him. I missed him so much.

"My lord, we've searched the kingdom and found you the perfect cook," JK proudly declares and gestures to Luc with both hands.

"You know how to cook?" I think I can pass out because of the totally unexpected news and the pure joy of seeing Luc.