06

I narrowed my eyes at Liam. “Gee, thanks for the subtle insult there, Liam. But I guess he gets a good ego check from me. He knows he needs it.”

Liam scoffed. “Listen to you—maybe you need it too.”

I ignored the comment and started straightening the already neat pile of agenda sheets. “I just want him to leave me alone. I mean it. The sooner he disappears from my life, the better.”

“Apparently, it’s not going to be anytime soon,” Liam muttered, nodding to the direction of the hallway. “Here he comes.”

“Hey, Ali, Liam,” Seth greeted before I could cope with what Liam just said. His shadow loomed over our desk again, as usual, and when I looked up, he had a big, bright grin on his face.

“What do you want ?” I asked gravely. “I told you I’d give you your script.”

Seth shook his head. “I don’t recall agreeing to that so no, you’re not giving me a script. I can contribute to the report. I’m not a total dummy.”

“Ooh, drama, drama,” Liam mumbled, trying hard not to grin. “One point for Seth.”

“Shut up, Liam,” I muttered at him before glaring at Seth. “It’s not because I think you’re a total dummy. It’s just that if I do it all by myself, I don’t need to worry about working around your schedule because I don’t have that kind of luxury. I just want to get it done without jeopardizing the rest of my schedule.”

“Yeah, Seth,” Liam agreed. “’Coz you know, Ali volunteers to fight for world peace, feed the poor and perform miraculous medical cures in epidemic-stricken countries. She just doesn’t have the time to do extra homework.”

Seth laughed and I elbowed Liam on the side. It would’ve been nice Seth didn’t have the same effect on Liam as he had on girls.

“Tomorrow’s Saturday and I’m free. We can work on it then. What do you say ?” Seth looked at me with cheerful eyes.

I was going to immediately say no but I paused and went over my schedule in my head. Reluctantly, I said, “Fine. But I can only do it from two to four. I work at five and I still need to walk to the bookshop.”

“Two to four thirty, I’ll drop you off,” Seth countered confidently as if the matter needed no debate. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow ?”

“No, two to four and we can meet in the library,” I answered stiffly that this time it was Liam who gripped my thigh under the table. I shook his hand off.

Seth looked unsure. “The library ? Uhm, we can’t eat in the library.”

“Who said we’re eating ? We’re there to work on a project. We only have two hours to work on it. Besides, I’ll need some books.” I knew I was being difficult but I didn’t feel like being friendly with him right now.

With a resigned sigh, he finally nodded. “Fine. Library it is.”

“Would you like to volunteer for the Children’s Play Day as well ?” Liam asked out of the blue, handing Seth an agenda sheet. “We’ll be bringing in kids from a couple of orphanages outside the city three weeks from now and all proceeds of the fair will go to the Children’s Fund.”

I shot Liam a warning glare but he was looking up to Seth with that persuasive, charming smile of his.