As Viktor, Jackie (who somehow managed to get herself together after her tragic not-even-break-up with Diego), and I sat in the dining hall, a familiar face sat down with us.

And with that, Jackie got up and left.

"Look at what you did. You chased off Jackie, you asshole," I said to Diego.

"I didn't know she was that into me. Sorry, I guess," he replied with a slight roll of the eyes.

"Look, I think she's overreacting too, but damn, at least apologize to her," I said.

He rested his elbows on the table, then spread out his hand in annoyance. "Why should I? She's acting like I completely gypped her out of free food or some shit. She's not entitled to it, that's for damn sure."

"I don't even have a counterargument for that. Fair enough."

Viktor looked at the two of us. "Did you both just agree on something?"

Diego nodded. "We generally agree on this type of thing. Don't let your shitty emotions rule you. It's a dumb way to live."

I rose my glass of orange juice. "Preach."

"That's insensitive," Viktor said.

"Making me sleep in the fucking hallway is insensitive. Now my back hurts, and I don't feel like being nice to anyone today," I said.

Viktor hesitated, then nodded. "You have a point."

My phone began to buzz, and I bit my cheek in annoyance.

"I'll be right back." I stood up and pressed my phone to my ear. "What?"

I could practically hear Blaine raise his eyebrows at me. "I thought you'd be over the attitude by now."

"Nope. I got no sleep, and honestly, I'm not even going to try to be a nice person today."

"All I want is thirty seconds of your time, then you can go back to being in a shitty mood, okay?"

I sighed. "This better be good."

"It isn't. I just wanted your advice on something that's moderately important to me if you're willing to spare your valuable time."

"If you're gonna yell at me for having an attitude, you better stop with the passive-aggressive shit. We're not having that," I said.

"You're not the only one who's slightly stressed right now, so if you'd let me say what I want to say, I would appreciate that."

I let out an annoyed huff. "Keep it under five minutes. I have work soon."

"To make a long story short, I think I may be in serious trouble." Blaine said.

"What did you do?"

"I talked just a little too much, and I pissed off one of the important people around here."

"Did you make your stupid Waco, Texas cult joke?" I asked.

"It wasn't my fault! The director lady was talking about how the culture today is to follow the leader, and I just said, 'Yeah, that's how you get killed in a siege.' Apparently, it was too soon to say something like that."

"Shit, Blaine. How could you be so stupid?"

"You make rude comments all the time. Don't lecture me on this."

I sighed. "Oh my god, I don't want to argue with you right now. If you want my opinion, I think you should flee to Mexico, but do whatever you want."

"Thanks. That's all I wanted. You can go back to ignoring me again."

"I'm not ignoring you. Why would you say that?"

He hesitated. "I don't know. I—I don't know."

"Then just don't call me every five seconds, and we'll be good. Okay?"

"That's ridiculous, Amanda. A long-distance relationship requires actually talking to each other. If you're not willing to deal with that—"

"I never said I don't want this. I just said that I need a little bit of space. I've got a few concerns right now—"

"Wait, wait, wait. Did you say you need space? We're, like, a thousand miles apart."

"Emotional space. I have a completely different life when I'm here at Winterview, and that's something we're going to have to deal with."

Blaine took a deep breath. "Why the fuck are we both so pissy all of a sudden? Fuck."

I laughed. "I have no fucking idea. Okay, so let's stop being emotional little babies and act slightly more rationally."

"Good plan. I'll call you tonight, okay? Go to work," he said.

"Sounds good. I love you."

"Love you too."

We hung up on a slightly better note than last time, so I felt a little bit better. Blaine and I never really argued ever, so why was it just happening at the most minor provocation?

The biggest argument we ever had was what to do when we were nominated for prom king and queen.

Of course, I liked to block that memory out of my mind, since being considered a decent option for the prom queen in the first place was humiliating, and not winning was about ten thousand times worse.

I walked back to the table where Diego and Viktor were sitting, then smiled at them. "I'm going to work. I'll see you guys later."

"Everything okay?" Viktor asked.

I nodded and took one last sip of my juice. "Yup."

"Are you lying?"

"Well, we had a minor tiff, but we figured it out—wait, how did you know?"

"You talk really loud."

I bit my cheek. Damn my loud mouth.

"Is Amanda having boyfriend problems?" Diego asked in a mocking tone.

"Nope. Like I said, we figured it out, so unless you feel like dying, I would suggest you both don't mention it ever again. Thank you," I replied.

Diego looked over at Viktor with a smirk. "This sounds serious, but in all honesty, I don't really care about your many problems. Have fun dealing with that."

"I already dealt with it, but thank you for the well wishes. I hope you don't get killed today."

Diego rose an eyebrow at me. "That's... nice of you."

"I'm not sure that was actually nice," Viktor said.

"I seriously need to go now. I'll find you after class, Vik," I said, then turned to walk to work.

"You just dumped Caroline, and Amanda's having problems with her boyfriend. You are in a damn good place right now, amigo," I heard Diego say as I walked away.

"You think so?" Viktor replied.

"I've seen this movie before. You've got her right where you want her."

Viktor thought for a moment. "Hm. Maybe."

Amanda was definitely not having problems with Blaine, much to poor Diego and Viktor's dismay. Amanda and Blaine just had a two second disagreement that they quickly resolved.

I walked over to Cool Beans Coffee, then set my bag down in the kitchenette closet where I definitely wasn't supposed to put my stuff.

I poked my head out the door to see Mo wiping down the counter.

"Hey, where's Trey?" I asked.

"He quit. He got a new job," Mo replied.

"What? He left us?"

She nodded. "Yep, and I miss him already. Three years of working together, gone. Poof."

"So who's replacing him?"

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is that we're on our own for a little bit. It's gonna suck, but you're not a complete noob, so maybe we can make this work."

I walked out of the back room, just after I grabbed a muffin from the counter. "But there has to be someone who can cover his shift for the time being, at least."

"Sure, someone can, but no one's willing. I got exactly zero replies in the CBC group chat," Mo replied.

"There's a group chat?"

"Mhm."

"Is there any reason I wasn't added to it?" I asked.

"I don't think so."

I waited for a moment, then spoke. "Can you add me to it?"

"I can't be on my phone during work hours, just like how you can't take the food for free. I hope you know that's coming out of your paycheck."

I rolled my eyes and bit into the muffin. "Oh, come on. It's not like you're my manager or anything."

"Check my new name badge."

I bit my cheek, then looked at her badge. Mo, Manager.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I muttered.

She smiled at me. "No cussing on the job. Next time, I'll write you up."

"Really?"

She shook her head. "No. That's bullshit. Cuss away, Amanda, as long as it's not at the customers."

Mo was strict, but she wasn't unreasonable. I liked her.

"Unfortunately, we're both going to have to take on more work for the time being, but I'll make sure that's reflected in your pay, so don't worry about it. Do you mind working the register and the kitchen? I know it's not ideal, but it's the best we've got at this point," Mo continued.

"Me? The register? Where you actually have to talk to people?" I asked.

"You can handle it. Just pretend you're nice. That always worked for me."

I nodded. "Yeah, I got it, no problem. I just ooze friendliness."

"Let's not go that far."

I laughed. "That's probably a good idea."

She smiled, seeming more relaxed than I had ever seen her, which was odd, given our new Trey-less situation.

I never even got to ask him if had a basketball game tomorrow or if he got shoot game.

I missed out on a great opportunity.

Tragic.

I took my new spot behind the cash register, and I would have been lying if I said I didn't like it. The cash register was where all the money and power were, and if there was one person who appreciated having power, it was me.

The customers' orders were thankfully not complicated, and I passed them down to Mo fairly easily, and any time there was a slight break in the action, I went back to the kitchen to whip something up.

I still needed time to myself to keep myself sane.

"Hey, Amanda, there's a line starting to form, so could you come out here and help for a second?" Mo asked as she peeked into my kitchen.

"Sure," I replied, then followed her strangely polite instructions.

I flew through the line of customers, taking their money and trying not to judge them for their strange choices in drinks.

David ordered an iced hot chocolate just to mess with me, but he was the loser who had to drink it, so the joke was on him.

I got to the last person in the line, and I wasn't sure why the hell I expected my day to go at least okay, but it was my least favorite person on the planet.

"Hey, where's Viktor?" Caroline asked.

Her question was so stupid, I squinted at her. "I don't know. I'm working, clearly."

"Considering he's so far up your ass, I figured he'd be right here with you."

"Look, if you're just going to talk badly about him, don't talk to me. I love him to death, and you're just going to have to accept that you blew your chance with someone as amazing as him."

She rose an eyebrow at me. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Viktor's an angel, and you really messed up by treating him like trash. Guys like him don't come around every day."

She shrugged. "It's a temporary setback, yes, but nothing we can't overcome. I don't play by anyone's rules but my own, and he knows where that can get him."

"He also has morals and doesn't like being treated poorly, like any sane person."

"Are you busy right now?"

I inhaled. "Not at all. I'm clearly not doing anything right now."

"When are you free?"

"I have class after this until five thirty."

She looked over her shoulder as another person jumped into the line behind her. "Could you swing by the Sig Kap house after class? I want to have a legitimate discussion with you, no games, no tricks, no nothing."

"Why?"

"Might as well try to clean up some of the damage I've done, no?"

"No. I don't know what your intentions are, but they're probably terrible."

"They're about half-terrible. The other half is okay."

I hesitated. "I'll be there. Now can I get you something?"

Caroline smiled. "Nah. This place is too cheap for me."

"Of course it is," I muttered. "Bye then."

"Um, bye." She stepped out of the line, and I took the next customer's order.

She had something up her sleeve. I wasn't dumb enough to think otherwise. But I also was a naturally curious person, and that was what got me into trouble most of the time.

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Hey everyone! Thank you for reading, commenting, and voting! I hope you're doing well.

So is Amanda wrong for placing a little bit of trust in Caroline? Will it come back to bite her?