“WHAT’S THAT?” Dustin was looking at the book on her lap. It was the first thing he noticed when he finally joined them.

“It’s one of the books Jo and I bought last night,” Tsa said. “Where’s our lunch?”

“Coming.” Dustin looked over his shoulder. “In a while.”

Tsa opened the book again to resume reading.

“What are you doing, Jo? You look creepy.”

She glanced up again and found Jo staring at Dustin intently like he was some kind of a microorganism under the microscope.

“My apologies, Boss,” Jo said, sounding unapologetic at all. “I still can’t believe it.”

“Still can’t believe what?” Dustin asked, his forehead in a knot.

“Ah.” Tsa closed the book. “Jo stalked my Facebook account, and she found our old photos together. That was the time when you used to be a huggable giant teddy bear.”

The crease in his forehead deepened.

“What did you do to achieve such a transformation, Boss? You should be in magazines,” Jo asked.

Dustin raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”

Jo brought her palms together. “Please don’t fire me for stalking you. I’m just a curious organism. I meant no harm.”

Tsa brought the book in front of her mouth and laughed.

“AREN’T you going to talk about the girl your mom sets up with you?” Tsa asked.

Dustin stared at Tsa, his expression changing in an instant. Jo had left them already as her break ended.

“No.”

“Why?” Tsa blurted out.

“It doesn’t interest me.”

“Okay.” Tsa grabbed her bag on the table and hung it on her shoulder.

“You’re leaving already?” Dustin asked in surprise.

“Yup. I plan to read this book in one sitting. I better start writing a new story, you know. For more chances of earning.” She winked at him and stood up.

Dustin stood up, too, and walked her to her scooter. Tsa hugged the book and waited for Dustin to say something, but he did not.

“You know what? I remember talking with Mama over the phone yesterday,” she said.

“What did you talk about?”

“Charlene is getting married, right? Now she’s making me look like I’m being left out. She kept pushing me to marry a foreigner so she could have grandchildren with blue and green eyes. So I told her I’m going to marry when I’m thirty-five, and I ended the conversation.”

Dustin chuckled.

“If you don’t like the girl, then don’t date her.” Tsa gave Dustin a light smack on the back. “Being alone is not bad. Being lonely is.”

Dustin nodded and smiled.

“See you tomorrow, Boss.” Tsa put the book inside her bag. “Wait.” Tsa wrapped her arms around Dustin’s waist. She heard him suck his breath. “I suddenly missed your fats. Jo shouldn’t have shown that old photo.” She pretended to sniff and sob.

“Come on.” Dustin lightly pushed her away. “You should have deleted that photo. It embarrasses me every time.”

“Never.” Tsa shook her head firmly. “You can go inside now. I’m good.”

“I’ll wait until you leave.” He put his hands in his pockets.

“Aw.” Tsa brought her hands to her chest and pouted.

Dustin gave her a look of disgust. Tsa hissed and shot him a glare before she mounted her scooter.

‘ON THE NIGHT of Princess Amethyst’s twenty-fifth birthday, the three knights came, drawing every one’s attention. All the royalties from other kingdoms were nothing compared to them. They stood before the princess, who was lovely in her glittering, black gown that sparkled like the night sky filled with stars. They offered their hands and waited for the princess to pick her lucky first dance.

Princess Amethyst blushed. She could not decide. All men were equally good-looking. She wished she could dance with the three all at once.

“Move aside, Rapunzel,” Tsa remarked with a smirk as she flipped the page.

She looked into the eyes of each of them and searched for that glow, which was supposed to be there whenever someone looks into the face of someone he adores. They were all smiling at her. Though the knights have the most beautiful pairs of eyes she had ever seen, she failed to see their desire for her.’