Welcome to Café Luxe

"You know," Kirsten said as she and her best friend walked to the Excellent Building, "I haven't encountered your dad, Sam."

"Really? He's having rough times at work," Sam unconsciously looked up as if think aloud, "now that you mentioned it, he hasn't been home for a while."

Kirsten sighed, "plus, I still haven't heard you complain about how your mom drags your dad back to Japan for work. I suppose your mom doesn't know your dad is back in the country...?"

Sam thought for a while. With a smile, she glanced at her, "I don't think so. Don't worry, I won't be complaining about how she'll drag dad back again."

"I remembered last December," Kirsten recalled, "when we were still elementary and Luke wasn't that close to us. You told me that your mom had to call for Luxe Security to catch your dad who was at school for Parent Day."

"But in the end, he realized that we weren't celebrating Parent Day," Sam giggled, "that was really stupid of Dad. Although I appreciate him for secretly reading our 'Parent's Memo' for Parent Day...that was distributed to us during last year's September."

Kirsten sighed, "seriously, how can your dad think that we would celebrate Parent Day in December?"

Both girls laughed out loud as they reached their classroom. When Sam opened the classroom door, both girls were greeted with their classmates mobbing over the Teacher's Table.

"Hey, what's up with the class?" Kirsten asked the nearest student she could tap...Harvey.
Harvey laughed heartily, "Guess what? Mr Dean will be staying here at Freshman Class Excellent!"
"Mr Dean?" both girls asked at the same time.

"You know," Harvey smiled, "the husband of Ms Dean, Mr Martindale."

"WHAT?!?!?!"

The whole class fell silent, their attention switched to Sam who just, without warning, exclaimed.
"Ah, good morning...," Sam smiled nervously as they stared at her.
"Good morning," some of them greeted and their attention finally switched back to the person they were mobbing.

Sam sighed as she proceeded to her seat while Kirsten followed her. Suddenly, the door opened again.
"Kyaa~it's Luke Van Drie!" a girl squeal.
Out of nowhere, the girls mobbed over the defenseless top student that had just entered class.
Kirsten sighed, "poor idiot."

"Agree...," Sam nodded without hesitation. She was about to settle down and forget about her worries of her dad being in her class for a visit when suddenly, she paused. "Kirsten, why do I feel as if I've missed something....?"

"Oh, you mean Idiot number 2?" Kirsten cupped her own cheek and rested her elbow on her desk as she faced Sam who sat diagonally back of her seat.

"Who's idiot number 2?" Sam asked.
"Jean Langston-idiot...," she yawned.
Sam thought for a while. "Yeah, he seemed to have missed us on the way here."
"Well, 'Langstonidiot' needed to renew his Visa today so he'll be out for today."
Sam smiled, "oh, I see. You two seemed to be closer, huh?"
"Nah, I just eavesdropped yesterday while he was talking to Mrs Saxton."
"Oh," Sam said with half-moon eyes.

"Okay, class. Settle down!" Mrs Saxton suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Luke almost ran to his seat to avoid other mob of girls from Superior division that just entered the class but retreated because of Mrs Saxton's presence.

"You okay?" Sam asked.
"I'm fine," Luke waved her off unconsciously.

"Okay, as you all know who our guest will be for today," Mrs Saxton grinned,"he is the husband of our Dean and until the other day, he was working overseas as a representative of Luxe Academy in the 'International Top Schools'. Please give a warm welcome to Mr Adam Martindale."

The whole class clapped excitedly except for a pair: Sam and Luke, who secretly glared at the man who entered the classroom -again- wearing a formal suit with a matching tie.

"I hope he doesn't go gah-gah over Sam...," Kirsten whispered.
Luke raise his eyebrow, "what do you mean...?"
"Well, Mr M is a very affectionate towards Sam and he seem to love Sam as his daughter TOO MUCH."
"Oh," Luke stared at Mr M now, "doesn't show."
"Believe me," Kirsten guaranteed, "Mr M is too good for a father."

"...okay, so class, do you have anything to tell Mr Martindale?" Mrs Saxton asked with half-moon eyes when hands were already raise before she could even finish her question.

"Oooh, I want to ask something," Sam smiled, about to raise her hand.
Luke grabbed her wrist, "no. You can't risk it. If the class finds out that he's your biological father...even though you don't have the same surnames."
"Yeah, Sam," Kirsten added, "if you ask a question, Mr M will go from 'Mr Respectable Dean' to 'Affectionate-father mode'."

"But I want to."
"No," Luke said without hesitation, gripping her wrist tighter.
"Let go."
"No."

"Hey!" Kirsten whispered, "you two shouldn't fight here...," her attention at the person who was stomping over.
"Let go, Luke!" Sam whispered angrily.
"No!"
"Guys, stop fighting..." Kirsten whispered as her voice faded away into a mouse-like squeak.

"Stay quiet, Kirsten," Sam and Luke glared at her at the same time. Suddenly, they noticed a man standing in front of them, glaring at both of them with smoke coming out of his ears.

"Whoops...," Luke muttered.
Mr Martindale, who stood with his hands on his waist in front of the rivals, pointed at them, "you two can't hold hands!"

"H-Hold hands...?" both of them raise their eyebrow.
Sam suddenly realized that Luke was holding her wrist and Luke was clearly aware of that. They both looked down at their hands when Luke let go of Sam's wrist.

"Sorry...," he mumbled with a blush.
Sam ignored him, "we're not holding hands," she looked up to her 'secretly-supposedly' dad.
Mr Martindale was about to speak again when he noticed 2 figures staring through the window on the door of the classroom. A smile crept up on his face.

"Let's play a game," he suddenly said out of the blue.
The whole class, including Sam, Luke and even Mrs Saxton, seem to have question marks above their head.
Mr Martindale walked towards the teacher's table again and smiled at the class, "it's called The Hunters' Game."

=o=o=o=o=o=o=o=
"Ian dear!!!" Ms Dean burst into the Guardians' Dorm.
Ian, who was about to have his tea time in the balcony, stood up from his seat and headed down the stairs.
"Oh, hello, Ms Dean," he smiled, folding his hands.

"I need your help to catch a wild animal on loose," Ms Dean spoke frantically.
Ian tilted his head to one side, "but that would be the Zoo Maintenance does."
Ms Dean suddenly put her hands on both shoulders of Ian and shook him, "I need to catch my husband!"

"W-Wild animal...?" Ian muttered uncertainly.
"Yes! I need to catch him and I don't think it's a good idea to call up Luxe Security to arrest him."
"L-Luxe Security...? Surely he's not that hard to, uhh, arrest," Ian smiled.

"Oh, he is," Ms Dean said threateningly, "he goes wild over Sam because he has daughter-complex or whatever they call it. He's too protective of out daughter!" she sighed, "I can't call Luxe Security because he's in a classroom full of students and that would be very scary for students to witness a man crying and begging in front of them while the police takes him to the airport...again."

"B-but," Ian smiled nervously, "why do you need to catch him...?"
"Because he is a threat and I don't want him near MY school."
"Oh."
"So we will proceed to 'Operation: Catch the Puppy'!!" Ms Dean threw his fist in the air victoriously.
"WHAT?!" Ian's eyes widened.
Ms Dean smiled, "I've always wanted to be a spy!"

"Let me ask something first....," Ian smiled nervously again, "why 'puppy', Ms Dean...?"
"Because I like puppies and I want it to be our missions' title."
"M-Mission...?" a sweat dropped from his forehead.

Ms Dean put her arms around Ian, "think about it: going to Luke and Sam's classroom. Wouldn't that be great?"
"R-Right...," Ian's eye twitched.
"Then, first, we need a disguise...," she pointed out, "and I have the perfect idea for that...," an evil smile crept up on her face.

"I have a feeling this won't be good...," Ian thought.

--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--o--
"Buffet Service...?" Ian whispered.

Ian, dressed as a waiter of a buffet service and wearing a violet wig, walked uncomfortably along the halls where teachers who were passing by for their next class stared at him. He stared at the woman in 40s beside him.

Ms Dean was wearing a waitress costume with orange wig and un-matching shoes to go with her uniform. She tiptoed as teachers who passed by chuckled and some of them laughed out loud as well.

"No wonder Master always knew who you are even though you're in disguise, Ms Dean," Ian said with half-moon eyes.
"Hush! Freshman Excellent class should be here somewhere...ah! Here we are," Ms Dean grinned to herself.
Ian rolled his eyes secretly as Ms Dean crouched down and took a peek over the window of the door.

He sees Mr Martindale kind of scolding Luke and Sam. She then sees both children blushing and letting go of something.
Ian sighed, "might as well, take a look," he muttered. But as he was about to take a peek, Ms Dean pulled him down as she sat on the floor.

Ian landed on his butt as Ms Dean pulled him, "ow!" he whined. "What's wrong, Ms Dean?" he asked.
Ms Dean swallowed hard and her face showed horror, "I think our animal just spotted me."

==o==o==o==o==o==
Mr Martindale grinned as the class chattered. He looked over the window on the door where 2 figures 'secretly' took a peek again.

"The rules are simple, actually," Mr Martindale announced as the class quiet down, "all you have to do is to catch the 'IT' and if you do, then you are declared as a winner."

"Cool!" Sam smiled excitedly.
"Interesting...," Kirsten said in a detective-like manner.
"Boring!" Luke suddenly said.
Sam smiled, "maybe you're just too chicken to lose."

"Am not," Luke protested.
"Why don't we make this interesting," Kirsten smirked, "between Luke and Sam. If Luke loses, he will have to give up his rank as first and give it to Sam in the next semester, the last semester and if Sam loses, Luke keeps his title."

"DEAL!" Sam and Luke said at the same time without hesitations they glared each other.

"So the IT will have to be...," Mr Martindale grinned, "Ms Dean!"
"WHAT?!" the whole class exclaimed.
"Right! Ms Dean is somewhere around the school right now and she's in disguise so you have to look for her. The first one to drag her to me WINS THE GAME!"
--
Outside the classroom, Ms Dean almost fainted to what she just heard.

"Are you okay, Ms Dean...?" Ian asked nervously.
Ms Dean nodded, "I'm fine, Ian. But it seems he's about to start the game."
"What do we do now?"
Ms Dean stood up, hands on her waist, "WE WILL NOT LOSE! WE MUST NEVER BE CAUGHT AND WE SHALL CATCH HIM FIRST because surely, he will run away while the students will chase us."

Suddenly, they hear the chairs moving and stomping of the feet.
"But first," Ms Dean raises her index finger to make a point in the air, "we'll have to accomplish 'Operation: RUN AWAY FOR NOW' mission."

Ms Dean grabbed Ian and made a run for it.
"Why do we have so many operations...?!?!" Ian asked while running.
"Don't ask. I just make the titles!" Ms Dean huffed.
All of a sudden, a mob of students were going after her, "there! A weird disguised lady! After her!!" a student from Class E exclaimed.

"It's not weird!!" Ms Dean shouted to them as she ran, "it's just unique!!"
Sam and Luke just rolled their eyes. Both being athletic because they alway compete even at sports, Sam and Luke slipped through the crowd and jumped out the window.

They both landed on their feet at the same time as they ran. They entered the Superior Building and expectedly, mobs of girls squeal as Luke winked at them as he passed by them.

"Flirt!" Sam suddenly said.
"Jealous?"
"No!" Sam threw a punch which, as expected as well, missed him.

They both ran towards the connecting door that connected the Excellent and Superior buildings. They both jerked forward to a stop as they reached the door. They breathed heavily to catch their breath and wiped their sweat at the same time.

"Tired?" Luke chuckled challengingly.
"Not a chance," she replied, almost out of breath.

Suddenly, the door burst open and two weird-looking people entered, slamming the door behind them.
"Ian?!" Sam suddenly exclaimed.
"Ms Dean?!" Luke exclaimed as well.

"Hello...," both Ian and Ms Dean waved tiredly.

"Are you okay?" Sam poked Ian's cheek.
"of course," Ian smiled at her.
Luke burned with jealousy, "excuse me, we have a race here," he reminded.
"Oh yeah," Sam chuckled.

Both their eyes landed on Ms Dean. They stared at each other and then to the target of their contest. Both of them grabbed Ms Dean's wrist at the same time, taking her left wrist was Luke while Sam took the other one. They pulled her and ran away with their target.

Ian stood there for a few minutes, "what's with those two....?" he muttered.
"A race," a voice suddenly came up.
"Oh, Ms Freeman," Ian smiled, "what race are you talking about?"
"Between life and death; first rank and second rank," she smiled.
--
"W-Wait, both of you!" Ms Dean exclaimed, "I'm here to catch Mr Dean and he's using your class to catch me so that he could run away!"

Both Sam and Luke pulled to a stop, "really...?" they both said at the same time.
"Why do you think I'm dressed like this...?" she asked, taking off her wig.
"Good point," they said at the same time again.
Ms Dean chuckled, "oh, you two look so adorable when you say sentences at the same time...!"
The rivals stared at each other and frowned, "I don't think this idiot looks good with me," they both said at the same time, pointed to each other.

They both stared at each other. This time, with a smile, "how about 'the first one to catch Mr Dean is to win'?" Sam asked.

"Agreed," Luke nodded without hesitation.
Without any warning, both of them raced towards the faculty where Mr Dean was about to have his tea. They both grabbed his shoulder at the same time, "gotcha!" they both said simultaneously.

"Eh?"
"Your work here is done, dear," Ms Dean suddenly appeared at the door. The whole faculty members bowed and greeted her with respect.
Mr Martindale was left dumbfounded as Ms Dean pulled his ear, :let's have THE talk, shall we?"
"Ow! Not the ear!!!" Mr Martindale whined as Ms Dean pulled him out of the faculty.
--
"You two okay?" Ian suddenly asked as he got at the scene.
"Fine," they both said.
Kirsten hugged Sam, "are you okay, my adorable thing?" she sobbed, "did idiot number 1 hurt you...?"

"Who's idiot number one?" Luke asked, demanding an answer.
"You are!" Kirsten exclaimed, hugging Sam tightly, "don't steal Sam away so easily!"

"Who would want to?" Luke shrugged with a grin.
"So who won the contest?" Sam asked Kirsten with a smile, leaving a punch mark on Luke's face.
Kirsten hugged her again, "you did, my dear sweet thing!!"

"Yeah!"
"Hey! That's a bit bias!" Luke pointed at them, "you two better not be bisexuals!"
Kirsten smirked, "what if we were?" still hugging Sam.
"Now, now...," Ian put a hand on Luke's shoulder.

"What did I miss?" a boy suddenly asked. At the doorway, stood Jean with a uncertain smile.
"Oh, it's idiot number 2," Kirsten mocked.
Sam smiled, "Jean, you are better off without knowing..."