Chương 247: Chapter : 247

Ira followed behind them, still holding her movie poster with both hands. Her face was as blank as ever, but she walked with a certain quiet purpose. She was going to see her movie. Nothing in the world was going to stop her. Sayma watched them go from her armchair. She shook her head slowly, a tiny, fond smile hidden behind her book. The estate was always like this, she thought. Loud and chaotic and completely unpredictable. But never, ever boring.

"Those three," she murmured.

"What a combination." Zinia grunted in agreement and went back to her push-ups. And so, on a perfectly lazy morning that was supposed to be about doing nothing, Ken Eliot found himself being dragged out the front door by a sleepy lightning mage, on his way to watch a movie he did not care about, with a girl who never showed emotion and a girl who never woke up before noon. All for a bag of potato chips. Sometimes, life in the 13th Unit was exactly that simple.

The front door of the estate swung shut behind them with a soft click. The living room fell back into its usual quiet rhythm. Sayma turned a page. Zinia counted another push-up. The morning sun continued its slow climb across the floor. And from the top of the staircase, two figures watched the trio walk down the dirt path toward the main road. Laxmi leaned against the railing, her vibrant orange hair catching the sunlight. Her golden eyes tracked the three figures shrinking into the distance.

A slow, mischievous grin spread across her face. She turned to the person standing next to her. Naomi had come upstairs to see what all the commotion was about. She stood near the top of the staircase with her arms crossed and her red ponytail hanging over one shoulder. Her sharp green eyes followed Ken, Luna, and Ira as they disappeared around the corner of the street. She looked like she was trying very hard to look like she did not care.

Her posture was rigid, her expression carefully neutral, and her eyes were fixed on the street below with an intensity that betrayed her true feelings. Laxmi nudged her with an elbow. A playful, deliberate nudge that said, I see you looking.

"Hey, Naomi," Laxmi said, her voice dripping with barely contained amusement.

"You notice how Ken is getting pretty close with the girls lately?" She nodded toward the street.

"Going to the movies with Ira and Luna. Just the three of them. Like a little date." She stretched out the word date like it was a piece of taffy, making it last three times longer than necessary. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Naomi's jaw tightened. Her green eyes flicked toward Laxmi for just a second before snapping back to the street.

"It is not a date. It is a movie. People watch movies. It is a completely normal activity."

"Sure, sure," Laxmi agreed, nodding way too enthusiastically. Her grin was getting wider by the second.

"A completely normal movie outing. Just two quiet girls and the boy who never leaves his couch. Super normal. Nothing cozy about it at all." She leaned closer to Naomi, her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"So you are not even a little bit jealous?" Laxmi asked, her voice dropping to a theatrical whisper.

"Not even a tiny, microscopic, itsy-bitsy bit?" Naomi's face turned pink. It started at her cheeks and spread to the tips of her ears like wildfire. Her green eyes widened for a split second before narrowing into a fierce, defensive glare. She scrunched up her nose like she had just smelled something rotten. She crossed her arms so tightly that her knuckles went white.

"Jealous?" Naomi's voice came out louder than she intended. Much louder. It echoed down the hallway like a battle cry.

"ME? Jealous? Of THAT? Of Ken Eliot going to a movie with Ira and Luna? Are you out of your mind, Laxmi?" She threw her hands up in the air, her red ponytail swinging with the force of her denial.

"Why would I be jealous? What is there to be jealous of? He is lazy! He is messy! He haggled for potato chips like his life depended on it! He drools on the couch! He is the most annoying person in this entire estate!" Laxmi was grinning so wide it looked like her face might split in half.

"Wow. You sure listed a lot of things about him for someone who does not care." Naomi's face went from pink to red. She opened her mouth, closed it, opened it again, and then let out a loud, frustrated scoff that could probably be heard from the kitchen.

"I am NOT jealous!" she repeated, even louder this time, as if volume could make it more true.

"I am stating facts! Facts, Laxmi! That is all!" She turned on her heel and stomped down the hallway toward her room. Her footsteps were hard and angry, each one landing like a tiny explosion. The sound of her door slamming shut echoed through the entire second floor. Laxmi watched her go. She leaned back against the railing and let out a low, satisfied chuckle. Her golden eyes danced with amusement.

"Sure, Naomi," she said to the empty hallway.

"Sure you are not." Inside her room, Naomi stood with her back pressed against the closed door. Her heart was beating faster than it should have been. Her cheeks were still burning. Her hands were balled into fists at her sides. She did not understand why Laxmi's teasing had bothered her so much. She did not understand why the image of Ken walking off with Luna and Ira made something twist uncomfortably in her chest. It was just a movie. It was just Ken.

Annoying, lazy, messy Ken who drooled on the couch and argued about potato chips. There was absolutely no reason to feel anything about it. None at all. Naomi pressed her palms against her flushed cheeks and took a slow, deep breath. The heat in her face slowly began to fade. Her heartbeat gradually returned to normal. It was just a movie. Just a silly, stupid movie. And Ken was just a silly, stupid boy who happened to make her laugh sometimes when he was being completely ridiculous. That was all.

There was nothing more to it than that. She pushed off the door, straightened her ponytail, and walked over to her window. Outside, the morning sun was bright and warm. The dirt path leading away from the estate was empty now. Ken, Luna, and Ira were long gone. Naomi watched the empty path for a moment longer than she needed to. Then she turned away and went downstairs to help with breakfast, telling herself that the tiny, confusing twinge of irritation still bubbling in her chest was just hunger. Nothing else.

Just hunger. She was probably right. Probably.