Surprise

"Haha," Ryan laughed as he read her message and replied with a winky face emoji as he continued to dry his wet hair. He wasn't worried about her reaction, already imagining how she reacted.

"I guess smiling works well on Rose too," Ryan commented, enjoying teasing Rose even more now.

He flipped his brown hair to the back and called it done, settling on his usual messy look. Rose already conveyed she liked it longer so he decided against cutting his hair.

Growl...

Just as he walked out of the bathroom, his stomach gave him a clear signal, calling for food which reminded him he needed to grab something to eat on his way to the mall.

After wearing his jeans, a simple white shirt, and a black hoodie, Ryan didn't forget to send her a message with an attached picture before leaving the house.

'I'm leaving for shopping. I will grab something for breakfast on the way too. Listen well to your Professor and have a nice class~'

———

Bzzz, bzzz.

The attendance list was checked and the lesson started when Rose felt buzzing in between her thighs. She didn't hide her phone as she waited for Ryan's message.

Rose glanced at the teacher and seeing she was busy writing on the blackboard, she reached down without looking to pick up her phone. There was another female in front of her so she used her body to hide from the teacher and read the message.

She couldn't help but smile when a picture of silly Ryan showing his tongue to her while wearing the hood on his head.

"Hehe, such a dummy…" Rose giggled in her mind as she saved the photo to view it closer after the class and replied.

'Silly, my tongue was better! Don't visit those fast-foods and instead eat something healthy. There are some nice restaurants near the mall. Also, send me many photos of what you like, I will help you choose. It's my favorite thing to do. Too bad I can't go with you else I would choose you some great outfits...'

She was stuck at University while Ryan was out shopping. Lifting her head, she realized that her professor was explaining something she already studied yesterday which made her bummed.

"Ah… I guess I should stop studying ahead…"

Rose sighed as she lamented internally, laying on her desk when a sudden idea struck her.

"What if I skip this class and join Ryan…?"

Rose immediately threw that thought out of her mind, knowing she would be in serious trouble but it just kept coming back. The idea of shopping with Ryan became an extremely appealing option compared to sitting in on the class and wasting her time.

The more she thought about it, the more reasons in favor of it she could find. She drafted a quick message to Ryan and hovered her thumb on top of the send button.

'Ryan! Call me right now. Don't ask why, just do it.'

Rose eyed the Professor and slowly lowered her finger, sending the message.

Oof, I did it.

She took a deep breath, her heart pounding. It was the first time she tried to skip her class on purpose. The streak with many years of being a good and exemplary student would end today.

The last thing she needed to do was turn the volume up and wait. Thankfully, Ryan didn't make her sit stressed for too long as her phone rang a few seconds later.

The melodic rhythm of her favorite Vivaldi classical song resounded throughout the class, turning everyone quiet. The Professor also froze and looked at Rose's row where the tune was coming from.

"Whose phone is ringing?" the lady professor asked sternly, walking towards the back to find the culprit. "I think I said at the beginning of the lecture that all phones must be turned off."

Rose didn't wait to be caught and stood up on her own. "Miss, it's mine. I'm sorry," Rose announced while showing her phone. Her cheeks were already reddened from embarrassment, having all gazes on her but she pushed through.

The Professor frowned, not expecting it would be such a good girl like Rose and asked in a much softer tone, "Miss Robinson, I think you should know the rules by now. There is already one semester behind us."

"I know, I forgot to turn it off today. I will accept the punishment and bring my phone to the teacher's room," Rose suggested, starting to pack her stuff yet the Professor did not act according to her expectations.

"It's okay, I will overlook it this time, taking into account that it's your first offense. You can sit back down," the Professor decided kind-heartedly, causing Rose to cry inside her.

The Professor turned around, thinking the case was closed when Rose yelled out determinately, "No! I want it!"

"Excuse me?" the Professor asked confused, her expression full of questions.

"Uhm…" Rose paused under the gaze of the Professor before replying calmly, "I want to accept the punishment. It would be unfair to everyone who already suffered from one. I don't want to be treated differently from others."

She looked innocently at her Professor and played with her fingers, squeezing the phone that still played the famous melody of summer.

When the Professor saw her innocent eyes, she couldn't say no to her. "Aww, you are such a good child… Fine, go. You will be able to pick your phone after all the lectures end."

"Thank you, Professor!" Rose replied in gratitude while bowing and quickly packed, running out of the class.

Oof...

Rose leaned over the wall outside the class, finally able to breathe and accepted the call.

"Rose? Did something happen?" Ryan asked anxiously, having no idea what she did and the sheer thought of his care made her smile.

"I'm okay, don't worry. I just needed you to call me for something," Rose assured him and questioned him to change the topic, "Where are you? On a bus?"

"Yeah, just entered line ten that leads to the city center," Ryan replied distracted but still returned to the main subject to fully confirm, "Are you sure everything is alright?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Anyway, can you switch to line fifteen and stop near my University before you go to the mall? I have a little surprise for you." Rose teased as she hid behind a pillar to hide from the approaching teacher.

Before Ryan said anything, she whispered, "When you arrive at the bus stop you can message me. I need to go now."

Rose canceled the call and waited for the teachers to pass before pulling out a second phone from her bag.

"Good I always carry a spare one with me just in case."

———

I guess this should be it?

Ryan left the bus according to Rose's instructions and looked around. One side of the road was filled with fancy restaurants while the other had nothing but a three meters tall wall made from clean brick.

He spotted a sign on the wall stating, 'Saint Mary University' which told him he found the right place.

'I arrived. Where are you?'

Ryan sent his status and waited. The gates to the University were closed so he didn't know what Rose was thinking.

Beep, beep.

'Go alongside the wall until you see a tree leaning against the wall. I will be there in a second.'

He blinked twice, curious about what she was planning and followed the instructions. After walking for thirty seconds, he noticed a sole branch of the tree leaning against the wall but Rose was nowhere to be found.

He was about to message her again when he noticed something moving on top of the tree. He was surprised it was someone he knew and waited for.

"Rose…? What are you doing there?"

She was walking on top of a branch and jumped confidently onto the wall, glancing at Ryan from above.

Rose smiled excitedly and passed him her bag without explaining much, "Hold it for me please."

Having her hands free, she sat down on the wall before slowly lowering herself on her fingers and jumped down before Ryan could even prepare himself to catch her.

Thud.

She landed safely and turned around while wiping her hands from the dirt on her hands.

"Even if I can't run fast, no one can beat me in tree climbing. Surprise!" Rose called out with an excited smile and took her bag from his hands while entangling her fingers with his own. "Shall we go?"

"So the surprise was you skipping classes to go shopping with me?" Ryan guessed as he quickly connected the dots and squeezed her hand, returning the smile.

He never liked shopping for clothes, especially alone but now he looked forward to it. Rose would make this boring activity more fun.

"Yup. Are you happy?" Rose asked, watching his expression closely and he booped her nose casually, "Won't you get in trouble for this?"

The rules in her private University seemed much stricter compared to a public university like his. No one would do anything to him if he skipped one or two classes.

Rose tried to act unbothered and looked down as she replied, "I will but I can think of some excuse. I can return just in time for my second lecture to avoid more problems..."

He wanted to scold her like a good boyfriend but watching her cute act made him smile wider instead. He suddenly felt like hugging her but he resisted his urge, looking away.

"I won't lie, I'm really happy to see you. If we were not in public, I would hug you on the spot," Ryan muttered honestly, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.

As if Rose could see his struggle, she walked up in front of him and aimed his face to look at her. "It's okay if you want to hug me… I can always stop you if there is a need. Don't worry about it."

She gave him a soft, assuring smile before pinching his cheek.

"Let's go before we get caught."