All the students who were tasked with organizing the game for tonight fell silent when they saw Vero bringing Lev as her partner. One of them stepped forward, looking nervous with his hands clasped in front of him. His fingers were pressing against each other and he couldn’t bring himself to look directly at Lev. He chose to speak to Vero instead.

“Ar-are you... sure about your... partner?” The guy paused for a moment to glance at Lev. “Your... partner?”

Vero shrugged and glanced over at Lev. “Yeah. Why?”

The guy swallowed hard. “It’s okay if you want to change partners or-“

“She said she’s okay with me,” Lev interjected....