Chapter 10

"On a date"

Victoria stood up and helped Benji.
"Sorry. I have to go," she said. She started to run. Benji called out her name and said, "Don't forget. We have a date after school." Victoria looked back and smiled. That made Benji smile, too. She ran back to the volleyball court and Ryou was curling his hands into fists. He uncurled his fists, climbed down the tree and left. School ended and Benji was waiting near the gate of the school. Victoria came out and ran to Benji.

"Um, Benji. Can we make the date some other time? I have to go to work. If I don't, then I'll probably get fired. My manager is strict and I forgot about work when you asked me out," she said.
"Oh, ok. Sorry. I'll be at the park in case you ever wonder where I am," he said back. He turned and walked away.

"Benji…" she thought. Victoria arrived at the café looking down.
"We'll it's about time you showed up. We're working our butts off," Pudding said. The girls looked at Victoria and Mint asked, "What's wrong?"
"I was asked on a date but I cancelled it because Ryou would fire me if I don't come to work," she replied.

"Yup, so don't think you can play hooky, ever," Ryou said as he stepped up to the girls. Mint grabbed Victoria's arm and whispered in her ear, "We'll work. You can go on the date. We'll make sure Ryou doesn't know you're gone."

"I'm going to clean the bathroom," Victoria said. She walked in and left through a small air vent. She got through to the outside covered in dust. She patted her clothes to get it off and headed for the park. She immediately saw Benji with his friend taking a walk.

"Benji! Hey Benji! Wait up," she yelled. Benji turned around and saw Victoria running towards him. She stopped in front of him and Benji's friend said, "I'll leave you two alone."
"What are you doing here? I thought you had to go to work," he asked.
"My friends are covering for me. I managed to get out of the café by crawling through the air vent," she replied.

"You do know there is a chance your boss will find out you're gone."

"Oh well. If he does find out, I'll quit before he can fire me. Besides, being with you is 100 times better than working," she said. Benji smiled and held out his elbow.
"Shall we," he asked. She hooked her arm around his elbow and asked, "Where are we going?"

"You're going back to work, missy. Or would you rather be fired," Ryou said as

he appeared right behind Benji and Victoria.

"How did you find out I wasn't at work," Victoria asked.
"I over heard you say you wanted to go on a date but had to work. I figured that one way or another, you would try to leave without getting caught," he replied. Ryou grabbed Victoria's other arm and pulled saying, "You're going back to work." She tried to pull away but her other arm slipped out of Benji's arm. She fell on top of Ryou and stood up. She then said, "Go away! You're ruining my date. I hate you!" Ryou let go and looked down.

"Fine. If you would rather be on a date with him, i will no longer try to stop you, he said.Ryou walked away and Benji looked at Victoria.
"I don't think he was trying to make you work for him. I think he just wanted you to stay with him because he probably worries about you. He probably thinks of you as adear friend," he said. Victoria watched Ryou walk away.