Maya Renshaw

Lucas barely heard the teacher's words before he took off.

"Take an hour break."

That was all he needed to hear.

Without hesitation, he sprinted away from the fish-scaling station, kicking up sand as he made his escape.

His body ached, his hands smelled awful, and his back still hadn't recovered from the hours of leaning forward.

But that didn't matter.

He was free!

Maya's voice rang out behind him, calling his name, but he didn't bother looking back.

Nope.

Not today.

He had one goal: wash the goddamn stink off himself.

Lucas practically threw himself toward the shoreline, his feet skidding in the sand as he slowed just before the water.

He bent down, cupped some of the cool, salty water in his hands, and dumped it over his head with a long, satisfied sigh.

"Finally."

The sensation was immediate.

The grime, the sweat, the god-awful fish smell — it was all washed away in an instant.

He didn't even mind that it was saltwater. The refreshing coolness made up for it.

He ran his fingers through his wet hair, pushing it back as he let the wind dry his face. For the first time in hours, he felt clean.

"This is paradise compared to what I was doing before."

Behind him, he heard footsteps approaching.

"Lazy," Maya muttered as she came up to stand next to him, crossing her arms.

Lucas smirked, shaking some of the water out of his hair like a dog. "Not lazy. Efficient."

Maya scoffed, bending down to scoop some water for herself. "Efficient, my ass. You just ran away the second we got a break."

Lucas shrugged. "Can you blame me?"

Maya rolled her eyes but didn't argue. Instead, she splashed some water onto her arms, scrubbing off the bits of fish residue that had stuck to her skin.

Lucas noted how quickly she worked, almost mechanical in her movements. Even when she cleaned herself, she did it with the same efficiency she had when scaling fish.

She really was built for survival.

"You don't hate this, do you?" Lucas asked, watching her.

Maya looked up, arching a brow. "Hate what?"

"Y'know…" He gestured around. "All this. Being stranded. Working like this. The whole lost-on-an-island thing."

Maya wiped her glasses on the edge of her shirt before putting them back on. "I wouldn't say I like it. But I'm not miserable, either."

Lucas stared at her. "Couldn't be me."

Maya caught his look and smirked. "You, on the other hand? You look like you'd rather be anywhere but here."

Lucas sighed dramatically. "Maya, I belong in civilization. This island is an insult to my very existence."

She snorted. "Yeah? What part of civilization are you missing the most?"

'Everything,' Lucas wanted to say.

The internet. A warm bed. Indoor plumbing. The luxury of not having to scale fish for survival. Maybe a bit of Pornhub?

Instead, he simply replied, "Food that isn't fish."

Maya chuckled. "You're really struggling, huh?"

Lucas placed a hand over his chest. "I'm suffering."

Maya shook her head, amused, and went back to scrubbing herself clean.

For a moment, they stood there in silence, letting the waves lap at their feet as the sea breeze carried away the last traces of fish stink from their clothes. Lucas had to admit — it was nice.

No teachers yelling at them. No exhausting tasks. Just the ocean, the wind, and the feeling of not smelling like a rotting fish market.

Then Maya spoke again.

"You did pull in a lot of fish today, though."

Lucas groaned. "Don't remind me. My arms still hurt."

Maya smirked. "Well, that's what you get for trying to be useful."

Lucas pointed at her. "That right there? That's why I avoid hard work."

Maya laughed, shaking her head as she straightened up. "You're unbelievable."

Lucas grinned. "That's what makes me charming."

Maya gave him a look, one that said "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

#####

Lucas groaned as he plunged his knife into yet another fish, scraping the dull blade against its scales. The process was messy, tedious, and utterly beneath him.

But still, he worked.

After their short-lived break, everyone had returned to their designated tasks.

The teachers weren't forcing them to work, per se, but they all knew survival meant contributing.

Even Lucas — who normally avoided manual labor like the plague — knew better than to slack off too much.

Maya had been reassigned to putting the cleaned fish into barrels, while Lucas remained at the scaling station, now working beside another guy named Owen.

Owen was quiet, focused on his task, only speaking when necessary.

Lucas? Not so much.

"This blows," Lucas muttered, flicking a stubborn fish scale off his hand.

Owen grunted in agreement but didn't look up from his work.

Lucas sighed dramatically. "Remind me to never volunteer for fishing duty ever again."

"You didn't volunteer," Owen pointed out. "They told you to do it."

Lucas blinked. "…Huh. You're right."

Owen shook his head and kept scaling.

Lucas chuckled, shaking his own head before going back to work.

As much as he hated this, there was a weird satisfaction in seeing the fish all cleaned up. It made him appreciate the process more.

Fishing was fun and all, but damn — the backend work was exhausting.

Still, as he continued working, he found himself… distracted.

Specifically, by Maya.

He hadn't intended to stare at her, but when she and another guy hoisted up a bowl full of fish, something caught his eye.

Her ass.

And damn — was it round.

She always wore skirts slightly too big for her, so it was hard to tell before. But now, as she bent forward, lifting the bowl?

Lucas internally whistled.

"God bless this island."

Almost as if she sensed it, Maya suddenly snapped her head toward him, eyes narrowing suspiciously.

Lucas, ever the quick thinker, immediately shifted his gaze back to the fish he was scaling, pretending as if he had been working the entire time.

Maya glared at him for a second longer before turning back to her task.

Lucas smirked to himself.

'Too slow, sweetheart.'

Still, now that his attention was on her, an idea formed in his mind.

A brilliant idea.

He discreetly activated his System, focusing on Maya to pull up her Status Screen.

[Affection: 10]

[Trust: 10]

[Lust: 1]

'Why the hell are her affection and trust balanced?!'