The Many Problems of Luka Erebi | Sapphic Romance | Chapter 4
Luka has a theory
Bellamy almost saw the lunch box today.
While Luka was stuck in a replay of yesterday, staring at the lunch box on the ground, she heard the door to Bellamy’s open before she saw her. Her body reacted before she could even think, kicking the lunch box into her apartment. When she looked up, she saw Bellamy in a cute overall dress over a long sleeve shirt, a pink pastel jacket completing the look.
“H-hey, Bellamy! Didn’t expect to see you this early.”
“Hi, Luka. I’m actually helping out the Lotus Bookstore today.” Bellamy beamed, her crystal blue eyes glancing at Luka’s backpack. “Let’s walk together.”
“Sure!” Luka nodded, happy that Bellamy missed out on that lunch box… even if it was now inside her home.
They walked out of the apartment building with a relative quiet, but it didn’t take long for Bellamy to begin asking questions about Luka and Wren.
“How did you two meet?”
“Um… we met when we were eight at the playground. I saw her all alone, almost like nobody wanted to play with her. So I did.”
“Wow. Did you know she was a Vespula at the time?”
Luka’s brow raised. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Bellamy returned her reaction with a surprise of her own. “You… oh. Hehe. I guess that’s why we get along so well.”
That certainly didn’t make Luka any less confused, but if Bellamy somehow found her response reassuring, then she wouldn’t question it.
“By the way, what was that thing you wanted to tell me?” Bellamy asked.
This was the perfect moment. They were away from the apartment and halfway to Lotus Academy. Luka should tell her.
“Oh. It’s nothing. I already got it solved.”
Luka chose not to tell her. Why?
I just know if I tell Bellamy about it, she’ll tell Wren. And I don’t want to bother her with my issues.
She silently thanked Bellamy for not pushing further, and their walk to school concluded without any incident.
During class, she was pretty much on autopilot. Her hands were taking notes and participating, but her mind was back on yesterday’s meeting.
Luka had to admit, when she first saw Wren again, her body froze. She could hear everything going on around her, but she couldn’t move. An out-of-body experience, almost.
The Wren she knew was a softie, a crybaby even. So imagine the shock Luka felt when the woman nearly scared the soul out of her. Every part of her body wanted to run, but she was locked in.
Then her savior arrived in the form of a beautiful black cat.
That was when Luka came up with a theory. One that worked well enough for her body to calm down.
If she’s got a cat, then that means she can’t be a bad person!
Was her theory backed up by science? Of course not. It wasn’t even a theory, more so a hypothesis, but let’s ignore that.
Once class was over, she made the walk back to her apartment. There, she set down her backpack in exchange for her sling bag, picked up the lunch box, and marched toward the apartment’s bin room. A sharp sting pricked her nape when she dropped the box into the garbage.
She hurried out of the room and looked around only to see no one. Goosebumps bloomed on her arms, suddenly making her realize how cold it was.
It wasn’t ten just yet, but she didn’t want to wait.
I might as well go up to see Wren and get out of here.
———
“You really need to learn the history of Insecta. Even if you’re just a Citizen.”
Luka didn’t really understand what Wren meant even when they finally arrived at The Cusp.
The cafe was spacious enough that even when half-full, it didn’t feel crowded. The purple walls and red wood tables gave it quite a regal atmosphere.
She saw Ms. Danaus joking and laughing with the servers behind the counter, but her mood changed the moment Luka and Wren entered. Luka wasn’t sure what got Ms. Danaus so surprised.
“My, my.” She smiled, yet it was devoid of any humor. “If it weren’t for your eyes, I wouldn’t have even recognized you. What brings a Vespula to my humble abode?”
Almost like Ms. Danaus said a code, the head cook walked out from the kitchen. Luka usually never saw the man smile, but she never thought he was intimidating. At least, until now. The malice leaking from his eyes made her want to take a step back. Good thing it wasn’t aimed at her.
But… she didn’t like that it was aimed at Wren, who maintained her frown.
“Uh… Ms. Danaus… you know how I mentioned yesterday that someone I know is looking for work?” Luka said, hoping to ease this rather tense situation.
“Yes, you did, Lu. Oh! This is who you were talking about?”
Ms. Danaus studied Wren, her eyes glancing up and down.
“Have you already found someone?” Luka asked.
“Not yet, but…” Ms. Danaus looked over at the head cook. “What do you think Imon?”
“Do I really need to spell it out?” He replied, unamused.
Wren clicked her tongue, whispering something under her breath about this being a lost cause. Then she said aloud, “Look, I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll be heading out.”
“Ah, Wren—” Luka turned to see Wren already marching out.
“Woah there. I never said I’m not interested,” Ms. Danaus said. “Let’s discuss this in my office, so we don’t cause too much of a scene out here. Imon, get back to work.”
Wren eased her frown, though she still kept her hands in her pocket. Luka followed behind Wren as they walked into the office in the corner of The Cusp. This was actually Luka’s first time in the office, considering Ms. Danaus was often found outside of it.
Inside, she saw the Star given to The Cusp last year being hung behind the desk. Ms. Danaus sat on her designated seat, her arms resting on the desk and her fingers woven together. After Luka and Wren took a seat, Ms. Danaus flashed them a rather disarming smile.
“Wren, was it?” When Wren gave a slight nod, she continued, “I’d like to know how you know our Lu.”
Well, that’s a weird question to start an interview with, Luka thought.
“We’re… we knew each other when we were young.”
“Is that true, Lu?”
“Yeah,” Luka said, “We’re friends.”
Ms. Danaus’s lips parted at that statement, like she wasn’t sure she heard that right. “Even though she’s a Vespula?”
There it was again. Luka had heard this question earlier this morning.
“Did you know she was a Vespula at the time?”
And just like this morning, she continued to not understand. “I… I’m not sure what you mean.”
Wren sighed. “If you think I’m blackmailing or coercing her into this, then just say it. I’m tired of beating around the bush.”
Luka thought that was a rather sudden jump to conclusion. She wasn’t sure how Ms. Danaus was going to respond to that, but she sure knew she didn’t want it to be about what Wren just said. So she began to explain to Ms. Danaus.
“Actually, my friend asked me if we were hiring because her cousin was looking to work. That’s when I found out Wren had just moved back .”
“Her cousin?” Ms. Danaus seemed more and more surprised. “What’s her name?”
“Uh… Bellamy Apis.”
“An Apis, you say?” Ms. Danaus’s eyes moved to Wren, who looked away.
“Y-yeah,” Luka said, not sure where she was going with this. She wasn’t even sure why Bellamy’s name needed to be uttered.
Ms. Danaus’s fingers unwoven, she now tapped her nails in a slow rhythm before making a decision.
“You must be a rather lucky woman, Wren Vespula. To have the approval of my favorite employee and an Apis at that.”
Wren only responded with a reluctant, “Yeah.”
“Alright, let me give you a proper interview then. Lu, you’re free to go. Thanks for bringing her in.”
“Oh, okay.” Luka got up from her seat, and began walking toward the door. “I’ll see you outside, Wren.”
Luka let out a long sigh of relief once she left. It seemed she managed to steer the boat out of the storm. Now, it was up to Wren.
She walked toward the patio, feeling the sun heating her cold skin. Milkweeds lined the patio, attracting butterflies to the premises. The best time to see them were when The Cusp wasn’t busy.
Three months ago, she would’ve had to run into the cafe if she saw butterflies swarming the outside. Nowadays, she was able to take her time walking in, and even sitting around them.
Oh, yeah. I almost forgot.
Luka took out her camera from her sling bag, hoping to take some pictures of the butterflies.
Snap!
[A picture taken of a monarch butterfly with its wing span spread, the pattern resembling stained glass.]
Snap!
[A photo of a butterfly resting on a milkweed flower.]
“Yo, Luka. You want anything to drink?”
Luka jumped, causing the butterflies to depart from their nectar tasting. She turned to see her coworker, Reggie, standing behind her. He had his hair tied up today, probably because he got scolded the other day for keeping it unkempt and letting a hair fall into a customer’s food.
“You scared me, Reggie,” Luka said and then sighed. “And the butterflies.”
He looked at the winged insects scattering, then laid his eyes on her camera. “Oh, you’re still taking pictures?”
Luka showed him the two shots she took, and he whistled a positive tune.
“Nice. They’re not extremely blurry anymore.”
“Thanks…” Luka wished he would stop commenting on how blurry her beginning photos were. “Anyways, can you get me some coffee?”
“Sure, sure,” Reggie said and walked away.
As she watched him move to behind the counter to fill her a cup of coffee, she noticed Ms. Danaus and Wren leaving the office. Her boss led Wren over to the kitchen to show her inside and possibly introduce her to the other cooks. Luka could see her coworkers, Reggie included, trying to eavesdrop while acting busy.
She’d never seen them so interested in a new coworker like this. Was it because of what had happened?
Vespula. Apis. Danaus. Are these all names I should know about? Wren said that I should learn about our history...
School only taught Luka the basic history of Insecta, but Luka wasn’t the best at paying attention in history class. In her hazy memory, she could only remember Insecta being formed some four-hundred years ago by multiple erupting underwater volcanoes. Then something about the British-Spain occupation. Nothing else came to mind.
Reggie came over with her coffee, along with sugar and cream. She thanked him and fixed it how she liked it. While she mixed, she took out her phone. She wasn’t going to look up the entire history of Insecta, but she might as well search up the names, starting with Vespula.
The first thing that came up was: [Wisteria Vespula refuses to sell the northern part of Asacia Park to the House of Danaus.]
Wisteria? I think that’s Wren’s mom… I didn’t know she owned a portion of the Park.
She stared at the headline for a moment longer, her finger wrapped around the cup handle and brought the coffee to her lips.
So Wren’s family was already tangled up with Ms. Danaus’s before today. And what exactly is the House of Danaus?
Just as the question formed in her thoughts, she typed it down in search. This was the first result: [The House of Natives: Who they are and their influence over Insecta.]
The House of Natives?
She clicked on this one, leading her to an article from Koncha News. According to the writer, there were at least twenty families that arrived on Insecta during the crash landing of the SV Monarch two hundred years ago. However, there were five families that rose above because of their leadership, strength, resources, cunningness, and benevolence.
Luka read through these five names, her jaw dropping when she saw Apis as one of them. Good thing she had set down her coffee, else she would’ve dropped that too.
Naturally, she had to search up Apis. A headline from last year caught her eye: [Cortesan Callum Apis appointed as the Minister of Health by President Yang.]
What?! Bellamy’s relative is in the Cortes AND is a Minister? I’ve always thought she gave off the rich girl vibe with the way she never worries about money, but you’re telling me I’ve been friends with someone who has this much influence this entire time?!
Luka placed her phone down, the screen now hugging the table. Her shaky hands grabbed her cup, feeling the heat dissipating into her fingers. Then she took a sip and tried to wipe away everything she had just learned.
Let’s be honest… does this really matter much in my life? I’m just a regular college kid with nothing much going on.
That nothing much being a potential stalker, but that was just another stressor Luka would sweep under the rug for now.