Sorry I haven't updated in forever! I've been really busy with school lately. I'll probably only write on weekends from now on.

Laughing and chatting, Cinder shoved her way out of the robotics classroom with the rest of the club. She already felt more at home with these kids than she had with Thorne's group. They were kids like her: thinkers, inventors, innovators, geeks. It was so nice to be able to talk about mechanics with other people; Peony and Iko both knew nothing about the things she liked. Her head was already bursting with new ideas and plans for the robot that the club would be building.

Cinder especially liked Cress, the girl who she had been sitting next to. She could tell that Cress was also in need of a friend, and she was more than willing to fill that position. The girls had already exchanged phone numbers.

"See you!" she called to Cress as they parted ways in the hallway. Cress glanced over her shoulder, long hair swooshing, and gave Cinder a huge smile.

Maybe this school won't be as bad as I thought, Cinder thought to herself, still smiling after her new friend.

Okay, that line was really cliche, but I couldn't think of anything else.

Once school was over, Cinder walked outside into the crisp fall air. She texted Peony.

Cinder: Going to the mechanic shop, u ok to walk home by urself?

Peony: I'm good thx

Cinder tucked her phone away, praying that Peony would be fine. A young girl like her seemed like the perfect target for that Wolf Pack that had grabbed Cinder. But she didn't have time to worry about her adoptive sister. It was time for her shift at the mechanic shop. And judging from her first time working there, it was not going to be fun.

Despite Cinder proving that she was a much more competent mechanic than all the burly jocks in there, they still seemed determined to challenge her at every turn. They had called her to fix the most difficult problems, build the most complicated prototypes, and more. They had yelled at her if she took too long or if she was rude to a customer, they had intentionally shoved her and spilled fuel on her and stepped on her feet. Clearly, they had no sense of etiquette.

But maybe that was their goal. Maybe they were doing all this to her just to see if she was tough enough to work amongst them. And if this was a test, Cinder had no intention of failing it. She was not the kind of weak princess to crumbled under the smallest of blows. She would never back down. Adri forcing her to earn money for their family wasn't even Cinder's main incentive. Her pride was at stake here.

She walked the rest of the way with her chin up and her stride determined, ready to face whatever was in there. But she never expected what that afternoon would bring.

Cinder scanned around the mechanics room, checking to see if anyone was watching her. Business had come to a lull as evening crept upon them. She had been waiting for this moment for hours now, like a crouching tiger waiting to pounce. Quick as a wink, she yanked off her left boot, propping the prosthetic upon her knee. She had felt the joints come loose earlier during her shift, the screws and bolts shifting ever so slightly in a way that only a trained mechanic could detect. I hate this piece of junk, she thought. Her prosthetic foot wasn't going to hold up much longer.

She used a wrench and a screwdriver to tighten it up, making sure the metal pieces would stay together. Cinder was crouched down on her chair behind her workstation so that no one would see her. She planned to keep her prosthetics secret for as long as possible.

Bang! Something plopped down on top of her table, making it shake. The sensation vibrated through Cinder's bones. She whipped up, ready to yell at whatever insolent mechanic had decided to disturb her. But instead of a grime-smeared face, huge tattooed muscles, and a mean scowl, she was met with perfectly tousled black hair and stunning coppery eyes. The annoyance on her face melted into astonishment, and then nervousness coupled with a strange fluttery sensation in her chest. And then she remembered that her metal prosthetic was hanging out of the bottom of her pant leg, in plain sight for anyone to see. She hastily crossed one leg behind the other.

"Cinder?" Kai seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. It looked like the sound had been him slapping his hands down on the tabletop. "I'm looking for a mechanic to help me?"

Not meeting his eyes, she mumbled, "How may I help you?"

"You work here?" He sounded incredulous.

"Yes."

"A mechanic?"

She nodded and repeated her question. "How may I help you?"

Instead of answering, Kai grinned at her, making it impossible to look away from him. "You're not quite what I was expecting."

Cinder shrugged. She couldn't hold his gaze any longer, so she reached for her toolbox, preparing for something new to fix. "What brings you here today?"

He finally got down to business. "Come with me and I'll show you." Cinder gulped, hastily shoving her metal foot into her boot and tugging the hem of her pant leg over the cuff. She was expecting he needed help fixing a huge TV or a private jet or something. What she was not expecting him to bring her to was an ancient car, a small white model that was clean and sleek but still outdated. Cinder thought that famous people like Kai would have the very latest, most expensive cars, not old ones like this.

"Nainsi 8.6?" she asked, examining the logo on the hood of the car. "What's wrong with it? It looks to be in fine condition."

"I can't get it to turn on," said Kai as Cinder examined the car. "It was working fine one day, and the next, nothing."

Cinder opened the hood to look at the engine. "Why isn't a... more experienced mechanic fixing it?"

"The other mechanics here tried, but they couldn't figure it out. Someone said I should show it to you. They said you're one of the best here. I was expecting an old man."

"Oh." Cinder was partly smug that they hadn't been able to fix it, partly annoyed that she would probably have to work overtime. "I'm not seeing any obvious problems with your car. Sometimes they just get worn out. Maybe it's time to upgrade to a new model."

"Sorry, I would really prefer not to do that," Kai said, smiling sheepishly. "This is my first car. It's sentimental."

"Uh...sure," she said. "I'll just go run its diagnostics to figure out what's wrong." Before she could go do that, a tinny ringtone started coming from her pocket. She checked her phone. Iko. "One second," she said to Kai. She stepped aside.

"CIIIIINDER!" Iko's squeal was so loud that Cinder flinched. Kai raised an eyebrow, the sound so loud that even he could hear it. "I MISS YOU SO MUCH! I'M BARELY SURVIVING WITHOUT YOU!"

"Jeez, Iko, keep it down," Cinder exclaimed. "I'm at work."

"BUT-"

"And guess who my customer is?" Cinder grinned, barely able to keep her voice down. "Kaito Lee."

"WHAT?" Iko screeched into her ear, nearly making Cinder drop her phone. "KAI?" Cinder grimaced, knowing that Kai could hear her. She couldn't meet his eyes.

Over the phone, Iko was still fangirling. "I can't even - I'm just - that is the craziest thing ever!"

"Iko!" Cinder hissed. "He's right in front of me! And he can hear you!"

Silence. Then, "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME THAT HE'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU?"

Cinder sighed. "Kai, please say hi to my friend Iko, who is a huge fan."

Kai dashed another easy grin. "Hi, Iko! Nice to meet you! Cinder's fixing my car right now. She's amazing." Cinder blushed, staring at the floor. Iko seemed stunned into not being able to speak.

"Anyway," Cinder put in after the awkward silence had stretched for too long, "That's enough, Iko. I'll talk to you later."

"You better give me ALL the details!" Iko managed to say before Cinder ended the call.

Kai laughed. "You don't see a personality like that every day."

"I know, " Cinder sighed. "Sometimes it's awesome and sometimes it's exhausting."

And for some reason, after Iko's humiliating call, Cinder didn't feel shy in front of him anymore. Maybe it was the way he smiled. Or the way he laughed. But it was probably just the joy of having someone to talk to, someone who wasn't judging her or criticizing her or making fun of her. They talked as Cinder fixed his car, staying in the shop long after it closed. She felt an inexplicable connection drawing them together, and she wondered if Kai felt it too.

Finally, Cinder couldn't pretend to be fixing his car any longer. He seemed to realize that and pulled out his wallet. "Do you take cash?"

She waved him off. "Oh, you don't need to pay. It'll be my pleasure."

"No, really, let me," he insisted. "After a while, you get sick of the movie star treatment."

With those words, both of them seemed to remember that Kai was a movie star and Cinder was a nobody; he was a popular high schooler and she was a mechanics geek. They had absolutely nothing in common. They had no reason to spend time together. And yet Cinder found herself craving more of it.

"Well...I'll see you around, I guess," he smiled. That smile once again made her heart wince. He opened the door, so slowly, almost reluctantly. But maybe she was making that part up. He has a girlfriend, she reminded herself.

"Bye." The words sounded sad, too final. He gave her one last grin, one last bit of happiness before he disappeared and left Cinder staring around at a large, lonely shop.