Lick Me Up If You Can Novel (Completed) - Chapter 3

“I definitely sent the email, I did. I emailed you early this morning and then fell asleep, really.”

“Hmm.”

The teacher responded indifferently, opening her laptop. She quickly typed her password with one hand, paused for a moment, then turned the screen towards Koi. Numerous emails had arrived, but the email address he was looking for wasn’t there. The teacher, watching Koi frantically check the email address repeatedly, asked with folded arms,

“Did you check?”

“Th-this can’t be happening.”

Koi’s vision went dark, and he frantically alternated between the teacher’s face and the screen.

“I definitely sent the email, Mr. Martinez. I can even show you proof from my email. The record must be there in my email. Really, this is absolutely ridiculous!”

Despite Koi’s plea, the teacher showed no reaction. Her cold demeanor, as if she had already grown tired of such protests, made Koi despair. The teacher, calmly looking at Koi, spoke.

“Let’s do this. Send me the email by tonight. Then I’ll accept the assignment. But,”

Before Koi could rejoice, she added sternly,

“Rules are rules, so I can’t give you an A. You may go now.”

“What? But…”

“Go.”

The teacher firmly cut him off. There was no room left to plead. In the end, Koi turned away with a sigh.

What should I do?

His vision went dark, and his mind went blank. Will the scholarship be okay? How many points will I get? What about my GPA? Why didn’t that email go through? Why did I even stay up all night?

This is absolutely ridiculous…!

Just as his eyes stung with injustice and disbelief, the teacher suddenly called out to him.

“Wait.”

Koi, who had stopped with tears welling up, cautiously turned around. Mr. Martinez sighed with a frown and added,

“There’s only one assignment left. If you get a good score on that, I’ll take it into account.”

“What?”

Koi turned around in surprise. The teacher looked at Koi and continued,

“I’ll tell you what the assignment is in the next class. This time, you must submit it on time and with diligent content. Understood?”

“Oh, yes, yes! Of course, Mr. Martinez!”

Koi nodded frantically with joy. The teacher waved her hand as if to say it was enough, signaling him to leave. Koi couldn’t help but let his mouth hang open, his face brightened as he stepped into the hallway.

With naturally lighter steps, he patted his chest in relief. The email not going through was truly a major disaster. But to get another chance, wasn’t that incredibly lucky?

What will the next assignment be?

He took a deep breath and renewed his resolve.

I must get a good score.

“This assignment is a group assignment.”

Koi’s eyes widened in surprise as he stared at him. The teacher, standing in front of the blackboard, continued casually.

“There won’t be a presentation. Instead, the topic is the same for everyone. Form groups of two and submit a report according to the topic. I’ll give both of you the same score, so please work diligently on the assignment.”

Except for the no-presentation part, everything else was the worst. He could accept that the topic was the same. But forming groups of two? From that point on, Koi’s thoughts became completely blocked.

Because Koi didn’t have a single friend to form a group with and work on an assignment together.

He had never had friends before, but Koi had been doing quite well. Of course, he felt lonely and bored, but after trying too hard to make friends and getting severely tricked and bullied, he decided it was better to be lonely alone. It was better to study and work part-time during that time. In fact, he barely had enough time to sleep, so even if he had friends, he wouldn’t have had any time to hang out with them.

He had comforted himself with that thought until now.

It felt like a huge wall had suddenly appeared in front of him. But he couldn’t give up on the assignment either. In such cases, most people formed groups with close friends. The remaining students had to somehow form groups. Of course, even among them, one had to be somewhat likable or have exchanged words to even make an offer.

In the end, for Koi, both options were impossible. For him, who was at the very bottom of the food chain, a group assignment was a deadly poison. Just as he clutched his head in a near-panic,

“This time, I’ll assign the groups randomly. Now, as I call your names, come up and draw a lot from this box. You’ll form groups according to the names written there and complete the assignment, understood?”

The teacher finished speaking and looked around the classroom. Although it wasn’t a decision made with Koi in mind, her words ultimately saved him to some extent.

Just as he finally sighed in relief, the teacher called out the first name. One student went up, pulled out a small folded slip of paper from the box, and the teacher, taking it, read the name written on it.

After confirming each other, the teacher called the next student. As names continued to be called, one after another, a subtle tension filled the classroom. Koi also felt his heart pounding inwardly and subtly looked around the classroom.

Before long, nearly half the groups were formed, and the remaining number, including Koi, was steadily decreasing.

“Connor Niles.”

The moment the teacher finally called his name, Koi was startled and hastily stood up, only to trip over his chair and land on his backside. Mortified by the burst of laughter, he buried his head in his hands and rushed forward, almost running.

I want this moment to end quickly.

Koi put his hand in the box and immediately pulled out the first lot he touched, handing it straight to the teacher. He quickly turned to go back to his seat when the teacher spoke from behind him.

“Connor Niles, your partner is…”

Koi, who had no choice but to stop, heard her voice continue.

“Ashley Miller, where is he?”

In his wide-eyed surprise, he saw the ice hockey team captain raise a hand. Then the teacher said,

“Alright, you two are a team. Now, next is…”

The next student whose name was called went forward, but Koi stood rooted to the spot, unable to move.

Ashley Miller and I are on the same team?

Ashley, unfazed by Koi’s pale, breathless reaction, was still indifferently resting his chin on his hand, checking messages on his phone.

“Um, excuse me, Ashley… Ash!”

At the hastily added nickname, Ashley finally stopped walking and turned to Koi. Koi, who had called out to him as soon as they exited the classroom after class, took a deep breath before speaking the words he had prepared.

“Um, excuse me… about the assignment. You know, right? That we’re on the same team. So, I think we should talk about how we’re going to do the assignment.”

There was a lot to discuss: how to research, how to divide the chapters, and who would be responsible for each chapter. They would need to meet at least three times to exchange information and make revisions before finalizing the report.

Koi thought they should finish the assignment as efficiently as possible, matching Ashley’s free time with his own days off from his part-time job. The school cafeteria would be a good place. He wouldn’t have to order anything, so he wouldn’t waste money unnecessarily. Of course, that was only if Ashley agreed to all his ideas.

He watched nervously, his heart pounding, as Ashley gave his usual refreshing smile.

“Oh, right. Hmm, what should we do?”

He frowned for a moment, pretending to think, looking up into the air, then brushed his hair back with a regretful smile.

“I have practice after class, you see. After practice it would be fine, but that would be too late, wouldn’t it?”

“No, it’s fine. Then what time would work?”

Koi answered eagerly, and Ashley paused. From his reaction, Koi realized his response was different from what Ashley had expected. Did Ashley not intend to do this assignment? Just as he started to feel uneasy, Ashley said with an awkward smile,

“It’ll be really late.”

“It’s okay. I can wait.”

Given the situation, he had no choice but to push through. When he spoke stubbornly, Ashley sighed, openly looking dismayed.

“Um, so…”

As he aimlessly twirled his hand in the air, Koi quickly interjected,

“Connor Niles. My name is Connor Niles.”

“Right, Koi.”

Ashley, who readily used his nickname, continued,

“You don’t have to work so hard on just one assignment, do you?”

His cheerful smile could charm most people in the world, but Koi was an exception.

“No, I want to do my best.”