บท 57: Reward

"Fufu~ It seemed it went well."

Dan pointed towards Kay walking off in the distance while looking at Lexi, "Is this what you call a success?"

"Fufu~"

The process was different than how he had imagined it, but Dan had successfully convinced his little sister Kay into becoming a founding member of the Massage Club. Having completed what he had thought was the most difficult task of them all, he felt a weight fall off his shoulder. Now the only thing left would be waiting for Kate to report her progress on her convincing her roommate, Tamaki, to become part of the Club.

"Fufu~ I got a bit tired from all of this. I worked soo~ hard that I think I need some sort of rewards. Wouldn't you agree?" Lexi winked suggestively.

"… That's true. What would you like? I'll listen to anything you have to say."

If Lexi hadn't been there, Dan knew he would have had a harder time trying to convince Kay to join. Listening to what she has to say is the least that he could do as a price for her help. No matter what Lexi might ask, Dan plans on fulfilling it to the best of his abilities… at a reasonable level of course.

"You said the words. No take-backs now."

"I'm not going to do that."

"Fufu~ Then here is what I want—"

Nodding his head as he continues to listen, Dan could feel his eyes widen from surprise at Lexi's request.

At the school infirmary's entrance…

"We're coming in."

"Ah, wait just a moment. I'll be right there in just a second."

As Lexi announced their arrival, the voice of a mature woman sounded from inside the infirmary. Just as the voice had said, after listening to the sound of various movements, the school infirmary door opened to reveal a beautiful adult woman behind it. Long blonde hair similar to Lexi's, tied back into a single braid. Her eyes are bright green. On her face she wears a pair of glasses, giving the woman an intelligent air. Over her body, she wears a long lab coat. Underneath the lab coat, the woman dons a tight maroon-colored turtle-neck and tight black pants. Hanging from her neck, she has an ID card reading: Natalie Burns, RN. She is unmistakably the school's nurse.

"Hello. What can I do for you?" In a business-like tone, the nurse asked both Dan and Lexi the question.

"Hello. We would like to borrow two of your beds. We suddenly felt a bit sick and would like it if we can take a rest here." Lexi answered.

"… Both of you feel sick?"

"Yes."

"At the same time?"

"Yes."

"… You two look fine by the looks of it. Well, it doesn't matter, come on in."

After giving both of them a suspicious cursory look, Nurse Natalie grudgingly let them in after a bit of consideration. After waving the two of them to take a seat on some of the empty chairs, Nurse Natalie went rummaging through one of her shelves. Both Dan and Lexi looked around the infirmary in interest. To the both of them, this was the first time they ever had to visit Raeparth's Academies Infirmary ward.

A large white-colored theme room. On the walls, cabinets with glass see-through doors can be seen filled with gauzes, bandages, and other medical supplies. A unique looking scroll, filled with symbols and letters, was hanging onto the side of a green foldable partition panel. It was obvious at first glance that it was a type of eye test. Several beds were laid in rows side by side with chairs in between. Each bed could be separated with a ceiling curtain. Useful in providing privacy for those who need it.

Finishing finding what she needs, Nurse Natalie returns to the both of them holding in her hand what appears to be an oral thermometer, used to take a person's temperature.

"I still haven't introduced myself, have I? My name is Natalie Burns. As you can see, I work as a nurse here at Raeparth's Academy. You can call me Miss Burns."

"Hello, Miss Burns. My name is Alexis Owens."

"My name is Daniel Foster."

"Alexis and Daniel… Okay, I'll remember ir. First things first, can I ask you two to fill out some paperwork? I wish for you to fill here and here, please."

"Of course."

"I understand."

Taking a few minutes, both Dan and Lexi were given each a clinic form to fill out concerning both of their past medical history and the reason for their visit. In the meantime, Nurse Natalie began to input various things into the computer.

"… I'm done. Here's my form."

"I'm done as well."

"Thank you very much you two. Hmm, you guys wrote here that the both of you are complaining of both stomach aches and fever. Is that correct?"

"Yes, Miss Burns," Lexi answered.

"Is it okay that I can take your temperature? Just to be su—"

It was at that moment, the sound of ringing filled the infirmary. Noticing that it was from the telephone on her desk, Nurse Natalie asked the couple to wait before answering the phone. Placing the phone to her ear, she began to talk to the recipient on the other side of the call.

"Yes, this is Burns…. Yes… okay… I'll be right over." After saying a few words, Nurse Natalie hung up her phone and turned around towards the couple.

"I'm sorry you two, but could I have you wait a bit? There seems to be a small emergency and I have to leave you two for the moment."

"What happened?"

"It was just a student who got hurt at the sports field. It doesn't seem that serious, but they wish for me to have a look."

"I see."

"I would feel bad to turn you two away like this, I'll have you two borrow the beds in the meantime. Since I have to leave the infirmary, I'm going to have to lock the door. Are you two sure you guys aren't going anywhere?"

"Yes. We just want to borrow the beds."

"… I'll trust you two on that."

Once she was satisfied with Lexi's answer, Nurse Natalie grabbed a first aid kit and her keys before standing right in front of the infirmary door. Taking one last look behind her, she gave the couple a few last words.

"I'm going to lock the door now. Make sure you guys don't leave before I come back. I don't know when I'll be back, but I'm guessing it will be 30 minutes. Until then, sit tight, okay?"

"We understand."

Nodding back in confirmation, Nurse Natalie closed the door behind her. Both Dan and Lexi could hear the sounds of her using the keys to lock the door before hearing the sounds of her footsteps disappear slowly away.

Once confirmed that she is gone, Dan let out a giant sigh in relief.

"She is actually gone."

"Fufu~ This kind of makes your heart race, doesn't it?"

"To call it 'heart-racing' is an understatement. If she didn't leave at that exact moment… how were you going to trick her that you have a fever? And me for that matter."

Lexi giggled, "I have my ways."

"You said that same thing before. Wouldn't it be fine for me to know what 'your ways' are?"

"A girl got have some secrets, you know?"

"… Haa~ Why did I agree to this again?"

"Fufu~ You having second thoughts about this now?"

"… No, it's just me letting out some frustration. I already agreed to this so there is no turning back for me anyway."

"I see. That's good."

While Lexi could be seen walking towards one of the beds, Dan looked back into the past when Lexi had first told him the reward that she wanted. From the moment she had opened her mouth, Lexi said that she only wanted one thing. She wanted to once again receive a massage from Dan.

Up to this point, Dan had been surprised. From all of her actions and attitudes until now, asking for a massage from him was probably the number one option that he would think Lexi would ask. However, that calmness from know what's going on quickly turned into true shock when Lexi said where she wanted to do it. It was the school infirmary.

Why the school infirmary, Dan wanted to ask. Choosing a public space rather than choosing to do it in his room just like they did it before. This was what Lexi answered with:

'Only having me over in your room is no good,' so she says.

Knowing what Lexi was trying to say, Dan had no other options that he could counter her argument with. He is not willing to go against his words to fulfill her wishes. She is not willing to go to his room because of her own reasons. After a bit of discussion, also left with no other choice, Dan grudgingly agreed to Lexi's demands.

"Dan-Dan? What's wrong? Aren't you coming?"

"… Ah! Yes, I'm coming."

"Fufu~ Are you perhaps nervous? You still getting nervous to massage a pretty girl like me? Even though you aren't a virgin anymore," Lexi teased.

"Whose the one being who now? Aren't you talking about yourself?" Dan isn't losing as he retaliates back with a tease of his own.

"You sure? Says the one who is hesitating even though I laid my heart out."

"…"

And Lexi retaliates with an even bigger counter punch. Even Dan couldn't recover from that jab and was forced to remain silent.

"Fufu~ It's just a joke. Don't take it too seriously."

"… Oh, a joke. I see."

Feeling that the situation began to get awkward, Lexi threw in a bit of padding to smooth it out. Using her hands, she grabbed her blazer that was wrapped around her waist and threw it to the nearest chair. Taking off her shoes, Lexi threw her body, belly down, onto the infirmary bed, her legs swinging behind her, to and fro.

"Fufu~ Please take care of me♥?"

"… Leave it to me."

Dan, too, removed his own blazer and threw it on the same chair Lexi did. Giving himself some preparatory stretches, Dan warms up his body, cold from the outside winds, and gets ready.

"Prepare yourself. Compared to before, I got much better."

"That sounds great! I'm expecting great things then."

Finishing warming up his hands, Dan places his hands upon Lexi's back—