"Is it really okay?"
"Hmm... I think so."
"But what if that woman tries to sabotage your project?"
"Then Donna is also sabotaging her own grades. We're groupmates, after all."
"What if she put all of the blame on you? You are the group leader of your group, right?"
"I think she's not that bad. And besides, we have our own things to do for our project to become successful."
Candice just looks at her friend who looks so carefree right now while eating her pizza. They are spending their time break together in the cafeteria. Keith will not be joining them today because he has a long examination today in one of his major subjects. While Candice is busy cleaning the tupperware where her mother put the food she brought for Rhianne, she mentioned that her class will be having a group project and it will be submitted by next week.
Their group project can be called as easy to make. Their class was divided into five groups. Each group has to make and film a five-minute short story. It is up to them what kind of short story they will make. The most important is they can show the things they learned about filmmaking for the whole semester on that project.
This time, Rhianne's group has five members in it. One of them is Donna. When Candice first heard about it, she quickly asked Rhianne to find another group to join and stay away from Donna. But Rhianne refused to say she does not need to do that since they will just be together for the sake of their project.
She didn't like that woman named Donna. The first time she saw her, Candice's instincts are telling her to stay away from that girl. And when she saw how that Donna girl treated Rhianne the other day, Candice is more determined to keep her good friend away from that woman.
But it seems like fate has other plans for them.
"Stop thinking about her now, Candice. I think she is not that bad to plan something bad towards me." Rhianne said before smacking her lips after finishing the pizza slice in her hand. "But what do you think about the storyline?"
Candice just let out a sigh when she sees Rhianne who eagerly gets another pizza slice and take a bite on it. Shaking her head, Candice returns her focus to the paper in her hand. She's in the middle of reading the storyline that Rhianne will use for their project.
"I think you also have a talent in story writing." Candice said while reading the words written on a paper. "Did you really make it last night?"
"Hmm." Rhianne hums.
"This is actually good."
"Okay! Thank you for your feedback." Rhianne said after chewing her pizza. "My groupmates also said the same thing. So are you going to accept it?"
Rhianne is actually thinking of getting Candice to play the role of a female lead for their group project. She's thinking that it will be good to see Candice in a short film where she is the leading actress. Setting aside the original flow of the novel, Candice can really become the leading actress since she's pretty, smart, charismatic, and camera-friendly.
"Well, I have no problem with it since I used to join our theater club when I was still in middle school. But are you sure you want me to be the female lead?"
"Yes. I'm very sure of it." Rhianne quickly replied.
"But what if I mess it up? I don't want you to get a lower grade because the person who acted in your project didn't do a good job."
"Trust me, you won't. And our grades will be based on how we deliver and edit the video before submitting it." Rhianne answered after licking the small crumbs on her lips. "And I know that you well for this one."
When Rhianne discovered that she was a former theater club member in her old school, she quickly asked for her help to finish their group's project. Rhianne said that her group has no issue with whoever will act for their short movie. Seeing how persuasive she is, Candice agreed to her request in the end.
As for the person who will act as the male lead...
"Rhianne, how did you make Keith agree to help you with your project?" Candice asked.
It was probably a dumb question. But Candice still cannot understand it. She knows that Keith will help Rhianne anytime in a heartbeat. But with his personality, Candice almost doubt her ears when she heard Rhianne telling her that Keith will play as the male lead in their short video.
It's not like they are still fighting until now. But Candice cannot imagine Keith acting like a sweet lover to her especially since she knows that he's exclusively acting like that towards Rhianne. Based on her friend's story, the female lead and male lead will have a sweet confession scene near the lake. Just thinking that she will act so lovey-dovey with Keith is making giving her goosebumps already.
"Well... Keith disagrees at first. But after bribing him, he reluctantly agreed with my request." Rhianne said.
"Oh? And what did you bribe him with?"
"Well..."
Candice raised a brow when she sees Rhianne's cheeks turning red.
"I told him that we will have another date after we finish my project." Rhianne replied. "And..."
"Okay, okay. Stop. I don't want to know how sweet you two are to each other." Candice said as she wave her hands in front of Rhianne. "As long as you two are happy, then that's good."
Rhianne blinks her eyes first before she laughs seeing her friend's reaction.
"Okay. And oh, I promise to treat you in a good place if we get good grades after we submit it to our professor."
"I'm not asking for anything in exchange for my help." Candice reminded her friend. "I only want to help you with your project."
"I know that. I just want to treat you for helping us. And..."
"And?"
"And I want to visit this newly opened restaurant near the district. I heard they are serving delicious grilled meat with lemon juice in it."
As expected.
At this point, Candice is no longer surprised to hear it. She knows that Rhianne is such a foodie. She's like a kid who easily gets pleased as long as she has a delicious meal in front of her. It is also one of the reasons why her mom becomes inventive again while cooking.
The food Candice always brings to Rhianne is her mom's new recipe. Her mom wants to receive some feedback about its taste before she serves it to the children in the Welfare Agency. For today, her mom prepared a new potato dish for Rhianne to taste. And as usual, it received a lot of praises saying the potatoes are very tasty and its sauce is so creamy that the children will surely like it.
"Alright. I'll come with you." Candice said. "But what about Keith?"
"I think we will just go there together next time. I want to make sure that the place is really good first before I invite him to come with me there." Rhianne explained.
"Okay."
Rhianne is really excited to start their filming this weekend. The story that she submitted for their short movie is actually a part of the original novel. It is the part where the female lead and the male lead will accidentally meet each other near the lake. Then after exchanging a few words, the male lead will confess his feelings for the female lead. That is also the scene where they will officially become a couple.
That's also the reason why Rhianne wants to see Candice and Keith doing that scene. She is no longer worried about their future. But as a former reader, Rhianne wants to see the original characters act in that scene. She is also curious if they can recreate that scene beautifully just like how the author describes the whole scene in the book.
After eating, Rhianne starts collecting their trash to put it in the trash can nearby. Right after Candice put the tupperware back in her bag, Rhianne's phone suddenly rings. She first thought Keith is calling her now after taking his exams. But Rhianne's eyes suddenly widen in surprise before it curves beautifully as her lips slowly show a pretty smile.
"What's the matter?" Candice asked.
"He's here!" Rhianne excitedly shared the news with her.
"...Okay? Who are we talking about here? Keith?"
"Not him! Oh! We should go now then I will introduce you to him."
After putting their things inside the bag, Rhianne holds Candice on her arm before she starts running excitedly. Though confused, Candice just follow her quietly until they arrived at the front gates. Rhianne becomes more excited when they see a man standing there. He's wearing a black windbreaker and black pants.
"Andrew!"
When she did, the man named Andrew turn his head and looks in their direction. When he sees Rhianne's face, he suddenly smiles and waves at her. Rhianne let go of Candice's arm to run toward Andrew and gives him a big hug.
"Welcome back, Andrew!" Rhianne cheerfully said.