บท 28: Joint Project

The moment their professor enters the room, he quickly announces the projects he gives to his students.

"I won't give any multiple choices in your exam, but a group project to be submitted after a week," he added.

"I will email each of you the choices to generate who your group will be. Just choose which one you like. Once the choices are full, move on to other available choices."

"Each group must consist of seven people. I will e-mail the topic of the project to the group leader, so you must choose a group leader as well. Now you can open your email and make the choices, discuss it with your group, and then submit to me the lists of the names of your group. Good luck. See you next week."

He said, then left his class. Everyone is dumbfounded, but they open their emails and look at the choices to create a group pairing. The options are colors. Everyone is racing to choose their favorite colors.

After they made a choice, it began appearing in the group list according to their chosen color.

Once the choices are complete, it will reveal the names who choose them. Chelsca dropped her mouth. Is she have to work with Lewey?

"Chels will be in the same group! I will be safe!" May Lin said happily.

"But we don't know yet if what topic our professor gave us?"

"Does not matter. I know it will be easy as long as we're in the same group!"

"All right! Let's have a roll-call!"

Chelsca ended in the same group as May Lin, who also took Law, a freshman like her. The next member of their group is May Lin's boyfriend Sam, senior engineering. Then a first-year Law student Kyle, Dan an Engineering, Lisa a Senior Lawyer, and Lewey.

Correct. She will be in the same group as Lewey! What will she do now?

"Okay, we better go to the café to discuss further," Lisa suggests.

They all agreed that Lisa would be the group leader, and Lewey does not care if whoever will be. The rest of them are worried if this Prince has many complaints, but so far, he stays quiet and nods if he needs his opinion.

But the truth is, he's fine whoever be the group leader, as long as he was in the same group with Chelsca, and no one knows how obvious he is but her.

As decided, their group went to a café where Chelsca works at. After choosing a table upstairs for a private discussion, she takes their order to get them herself. While she was preparing their coffee places in a tray, it surprised her when Lewey followed her to the counter, watching her filling the cups with their orders.

"Do you want to change your order?" she asked him.

"No. I'm here to get our coffee," Lewey replied.

She's dumbfounded. His action overwhelmed her heart, but no, she must wake up… this is not about her, but Lewey is doing this for their Joint Project. Speechless, she just followed him silently, carrying the tray of cakes and sweets they ordered to pair with the coffee.

Everyone in that Cafe is also curious why Lewey is serving someone's coffee, and he hangs out with someone like her. Well, it's for the project. Her reasons to herself, again.

"Okay! I already emailed our group list, and our prof sent the topic for our joint project!"

She heard Lisa announces. Lewey places the tray, and everyone instantly takes their coffee. She also remembers the tray of the sweets and quietly sits beside Lewey, ignoring the crazy thumping of her heart but trying to focus on Lisa's explanation.

They must submit a presentation regarding rural and urban behavior and their ways of living. They must survey both high society and low-class families.

Kyle volunteered to gather data about the urban areas since he was from lower-class families.

"I think Chelsca should write the same article," Dan commented.

"What are you talking about, Dan?" May Lin blurted out. She doesn't like the way he teases her friend.

"What? She's also from a low-income family. So then, she has better ideas about them," Dan's reasoning to them.

Chelsca keeps her silence. But Lewey got pissed and won't let this go. He grabbed Dan's t-shirt and almost punched him.

"Just shut up if your opinion did not ask," Lewey angrily scolds Dan, then shoves him in his seat.

They were surprised and confused by the way Lewey reacted to Dan's jesting. They never imagined that Lewey would care about it.

Chelsca also did not expect that Lewey would defend her. He may not show that he did it for her, but she was thrilled to show how he disagreed with Dan joking with her.

But one thing is, she has less knowledge about poverty because she grows as a princess, and Lewey knew that.

However, she acted like an orphan girl who struggled with her college. She needs to think about a better concept of her contribution to their group project.

"Okay. I may write an article about countryside life," she told them.

"Sounds great, Chels! You from Italy, right?"

"Yes. Probably, a farmer's life is what I will base on."

"Looks interesting! Then, Lewey, Lisa, and Dan will write an article about a wealthy lifestyle?"

"Whatever." Lewey shrugged a shoulder.

"Okay! Then let's stay at my house on Friday night, and then let's complete our presentation during the weekends! My family will be on a trip, and so? We have the house to ourselves!"

Lisa announced excitedly, which May Lin cheered. Sam, Kyle, and Dan are also happy about it.

Weekend? No, she can't stay overnight with Lewey! Chelsca freaked out inside her head. She glances at Lewey, and he is grinning!