If anything woke Luke up this morning it was that his fingers were so much better.
This is not a lie!
Luke actually woke up from feeling my fingertips which became very smooth. I was surprised myself when one of my thumbs touched it and touched it repeatedly until I realized that last night I had soaked my hands in the water that had been given the magic powder. So here are the results. The itching is gone and the scars are gone.
Amazing!
Luke had to thank the girl in the jacket.
Unfortunately, when Luke went to school this morning on the subway, he didn't meet the girl in question. Maybe it was also because the atmosphere on the train was full and lively, so they didn't have time to pass each other or possibly, the two of them just happened to meet each other last night.
Well, Luke hoped they would see each other again when he got home from school.
***
Luke rushed off to his desk exactly two seconds before Miss Rachel entered the room. The female teacher taught about advanced reproduction in humans which made the girls giggle and the boys started whistling. Useless lesson, Luke thought. Because he was sure, all the students in this class had learned it when they were self-taught.
An example just happened. Luke heard Andrew Judges sitting behind him whispering to Amy Lee.
"Amy... Psst, Amy."
Amy Lee, whose seat was beside Luke's, turned her head.
"What?" he whispered back.
"Lunch break, in the back toilet," whispered Andrew.
Amy Lee winked and giggled. The girl also asked if Andrew Judges brought 'something' to which Andrew answered by showing something behind his hand, then Amy bit her lip and smiled coquettishly. No need to explain and no need to see what objects Andrew is showing to know what is on the minds of these two teenagers.
Oh shit, Luke thought to himself.
Why did he have to listen to their dirty deals anyway? Even so, Luke didn't care what Amy and Andrew were going to do in the back restroom at lunchtime. Luke was quite hungry and chose to head to the cafeteria. Line up with the other students to queue up salads, mashed potatoes, and half-burnt nuggets. Didn't forget for a box of yogurt.
Luke carried his tray to one of the empty tables in the corner of the room before anyone else seated at it. Not that Luke didn't like mingling, but eating in a crowd made his digestion worse. So, he sat there alone. At least before someone greeted and threw themselves in front of him.
That's Valentina Miller. Luke was sick of admitting this, but this beautiful girl was his ex-girlfriend. They broke up six months ago because Luke felt that he had been played inhumanely by Valentine. That girl had an affair with a Rugby player at school. When he found out, Luke immediately broke up with Valentine and strangely, she actually refused that they had broken up and kept chasing Luke to get back to her.
"Just alone?" asked Valentine Miller, sitting in the chair across from Luke.
"You see," Luke replied curtly.
"May I sit here?"
"Not."
"Why not?"
"I'm lazy to see you."
Val laughed lightly. She said, "I want to see you instead."
And instead of leaving, Valentina Miller just uncorked her cola bottle and took a quiet sip, as if not feeling driven out. Even this girl was still rambling on about the jungle, the empty barn, and bragging about the psychopathic clown who might be hiding there. Luke didn't care and was indifferent. Luke just let Val open her mouth to tell this and that, because Luke just wanted to eat and quickly left there.
"... but that's what I heard from Jennie Lim. To be honest, I actually didn't really believe her words. do you believe it?"
Indifferent! Luke didn't even know who 'Jennie Lim' was.
"...and Olson said he hid the camera there for two days. But that's ridiculous in my opinion, because the camera's battery will surely run out, and sure enough, it turns off even after just twenty minutes of shooting. That idiot forgot to charge the battery before being brought there. Ha ha..."
There's nothing funny at all that Luke can laugh at. After all, Luke didn't care about that Olson and his camera.
"... the plan is for us to go there after school to prove the truth of what Alex said. I hope he's just bragging."
Luke wouldn't be surprised because they all-Valentina and her fellow cheerleaders-seemed to be boastful. Luke is done eating now. To be more precise, he was no longer in the mood and decided to leave, which Valentina also stood up for. Holding Luke's hand.
"You're not finished yet," said Valentina, fixing her eyes on the plate on Luke's tray.
Luke just jerked his hand free then headed for the trash. Again, Valentina trailed behind Luke. 
Before, Luke felt that he was going crazy, because Valentina had been approaching Luke like this for months, even though Luke had rebuked her many times. But now Luke decided to just let it be. After all, if Valentina Miller was tired of what she was doing, she would stop.
Valentina spoke, "You know Amy is having a party tomorrow night. Want to come with me?"
"Nope." Luke kept walking.
"So, I will pick you up."
"I said no."
"Ah, so you're coming with Andrew?"
Luke sighed and subconsciously rolled his eyes. Don't care about anything Val says. But that condition immediately changed as soon as Valentina Miller spoke a series of questions when the two were not far from the toilet line.
"Oh come on Luke. Why do you have to be like this? Why do we go on like this? Did you not-"
Luke suddenly turned and glared at Valentine. Her one sentence had angered Luke.
"'Why'?! After everything you didi to me and you still ask, 'Why'?! Is your brain too stupid to think what did you do wrong? Is your ego too high for introspection?!"
Luke couldn't stop himself from shouting at his ex-girlfriend. Several people who were in this corridor or who accidentally passed this corridor and heard him scream, immediately turned their heads. It was only two seconds before they were whispering to each other, getting out of the way. Meanwhile, Valentina looked surprised that Luke finally gave a response. The girl's shoulders seemed to jump for a moment before she smiled awkwardly. Walk closer.
"That is what I mean-"
" Oh, stop talking, Val! Did that guy reject you? So you approached me again and-"
"No, Luke. I do not mean..."
And before Valentina Miller explained the various reasons, Luke first shot all the words that had only been buried in his mouth.
"... Do you think, just because you're pretty and popular, you can look down on me like that?! Oh, or because I look like a nerd boy you find it fun to play a trick on me? Look easy as a guy who won't get angry if he sees you cheating? Is that so? Well, thank you, Ma'am. Do not talk! I'm sick of even hearing your voice!"
Just then, two people emerged from the door of the men's room. The two of them were the perverted couple. Andrew Judges and Amy Lee. Both of them came out giggling under their breath, red faces, and haphazardly tidied hair. But a second later, when they heard Luke was yelling at Valentina Miller, Andrew and Amy both immediately stopped laughing and looked at the two of them awkwardly.
"Oh, believe me. We're not eavesdropping," said Andrew, anticipating before one of us accuses him.
Amy also chimed in, " Sorry."
So, for five seconds, the four of them just glanced at each other and felt awkward starting a movement or sentence. Luke also had no desire to be angry at Valentina Miller and finally decided to walk away from there. Valentina had been seen trying to catch up but her footsteps were no longer heard. Instead, it was replaced by Amy's invitation echoing down the hall.
Hey Bright! Don't forget tonight, okay? I don't mind if you just bring apple pie or peanut butter!" he added in a low voice, "Give her time, dude. Come on."
The anger that was surging above the crown, made Luke walk to the back of the school building, instead of heading to class. Who knows. Luke felt bored and angry.
With trembling hands, Luke reached into his trouser pocket and took out a roll of cigarettes, luckily he didn't have any. Luke almost couldn't contain his anger anymore and almost chewed the cigarette before Andrew appeared and lit the match right in the cigarette in front of Luke's lips. Andrew smiled, then closed his zippo and leaned against the wall.
"Girls are jerks," he said with his arms folded. "I understand how you feel, bro. But Amy isn't a jerk, you know."
Luke, who had been angry, suddenly laughed because of the remark. Andrew glanced at Luke while still with that thin smile. Luke and Andrew can't really be called close, but that doesn't mean they aren't close. Because they were friends when they were in elementary school. At least they never clashed and didn't act like strangers to each other.
Compared to that, Luke actually hated it when his memories dragged back all the annoying memories at the end of winter six months ago. That was when he and Valentina Miller were still dating. They dated for two or three weeks. Actually, from the beginning Luke didn't really believe how a member of the cheers team who was quite popular at school, could be so attracted to him that even if Luke wasn't present for three weeks at school, the teachers wouldn't even notice. But because then the relationship just happened. Then there's the moment where Valentina invites Luke to go skiing and stay for the night, Luke overhears the conversation.
"... I always felt you were stupid, Val. You should have gone out with Hans, the Rugby team leader, instead of Luke. Your boyfriend looks like a nerd guy."
And Luke overheard Valentina saying, "Well, just so you know I've slept with Hans."
"What?! Wow, that's amazing. Now is the time for you to throw your boyfriend in the trash, Val."
"No... I still love him, but I also like Hans."
Luke was sixteen, his first girlfriend is a popular, beautiful, and exotic-skinned member of the cheers team. But in reality Luke was played by Valentina, even he was cheated on. It didn't take long, Luke broke up with Valentina that very night and returned home before it was too late. He cried for seven days and seven nights before Luke thought that mourning Valentina Miller was ridiculous.
That's how it is.
Ah, but still, if he recall that feeling of annoyance appears again. So Luke just kicked the beer can under his feet and it bounced back against the wire fence surrounding the school and along with the clatter of the beer cans wire fence he heard a thump from the other side of the wall. Reflexively, Luke and Andrew looked at each other before they finally popped their heads. There were five other girls giggling while staring at what was in front of them. A girl who had fallen on top of a potted plant that had been crushed under her back and a bleeding temple.
But, wait... where is this fragrance coming from?
***