Once they were done grabbing their food, they sat back down to eat. The atmosphere had turned a bit stiff, and they ate in near silence, with nobody really speaking up. It was obvious that Emma, Chloe, Priya, Heidi, Monica, and Laura had overheard Eric’s phone conversation and had witnessed a much colder side to him while he was talking to Caleb. Eric, on the other hand, stayed quiet and didn’t offer any explanations, though he looked completely unbothered as he casually enjoyed his meal.

But just as the silence was stretching out and making things feel even more awkward, the sweet, melodic sound of a guitar and a familiar voice suddenly drifted over. Everyone recognized it instantly. Eric turned his head toward the next table, where a couple was sitting close together with their backs to him, huddled over a smartphone. They were listening to the track he had uploaded the night before.

Naturally, the six girls turned to look at the couple too, and the tension at the table instantly melted away. Priya, who happened to be sitting right next to Eric, looked over at him, and Emma, who was sitting on his other side, nudged him playfully.

"The guy singing and playing the guitar is sitting right here with us, haha," Emma teased.

"Come on, don’t do that, it’s embarrassing," Eric said, looking down at his food, though truth be told, he wasn’t embarrassed at all.

"Have you been playing guitar for a long time? You’re seriously amazing," Priya added.

"And you were incredible downstairs earlier, too. A ton of people were watching and recording you. Look at this," Chloe said, shoving her smartphone screen right in front of Eric’s face.

Sure enough, the screen showed a clip of Eric jamming on the street with Billy and Wendy. A local influencer who had been in the crowd had turned it into a short video and posted it to their social media account with a simple caption: "Unbelievable," followed by shocked face, heart, and rose emojis. Suddenly, Monica slammed her phone down on the table.

"Whoa... look at this! Your video already has 2,122 subscribers, 101,229 views, 5,729 likes, and 10,568 shares globally... you’re killing it, bro," Monica said, pointing at her screen.

"That’s insane... people are absolutely loving your song. At this rate, you’re gonna have record producers sliding into your DMs," Heidi chimed in, checking her own phone.

"Awesome... last night’s post is already going viral. You are seriously talented, Eric," Priya remarked.

"Well, look who he’s hanging out with," Emma bragged, tilting her chin up proudly.

Eric stared at the screen on the table, genuinely questioning it. "Is it really that good?" After all, his original goal was simply to clear his quest, but what Monica said was true—he was already halfway to meeting the requirements, and the numbers were climbing fast.

"Hopefully the numbers keep going up so the quest wraps up... and I get paid," Eric thought to himself, a slight smile cracking across his face.

While he was staring down at the phone, he suddenly felt a soft, warm touch on his hand against the table. He glanced down, surprised to see Laura, who was sitting directly across from him, holding his hand while giving him an incredibly sweet smile.

"I’m really proud of you," Laura said softly.

"Hey... Laura, why are you touching him?" Emma barked suddenly, snatching Eric’s hand away and grabbing it herself.

"Let’s just keep eating," Eric said, not knowing how else to handle the situation as he gently pried his hand out of Emma’s grip.

"Eric, you have to teach me how to play the drums," Emma said, turning to look at him with total seriousness.

"Huh?" Instantly, Priya, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura all whipped their heads around to look at Eric with intense curiosity.

"You... you play the drums too?" Laura asked, looking completely impressed.

"Yeah... yesterday when I walked past his shop, I heard drums coming from the venue downstairs. He was the one playing, and he was incredible," Emma answered for him.

"Seriously, Eric, how many instruments can you actually play?" Heidi asked.

Eric wasn’t quite sure how to answer. He didn’t want to brag, but he also didn’t want to completely play down his abilities; the thing was, aside from the guitar and drums, he hadn’t actually tried any other instruments yet, so he didn’t know for sure.

Suddenly, a holographic screen flashed right in front of his eyes, displaying his entire skill list. Eric’s eyes went wide. For the first time, he realized he could play the guitar, bass, drums, keyboard, mix music in a DJ booth, sing, and to top it off, his newest unlocked skill was the violin.

"Um... just the guitar and the drums," Eric lied, deciding it was best to keep the rest to himself.

"Wow, that’s awesome... how about we go watch you play the drums after this?" Priya asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah, totally! I’m really curious too," Monica added cheerfully.

"Is it okay if we head over to your place after this, Eric? We can just watch a movie some other time. We were originally going to invite you to the theater anyway," Heidi chimed in.

"I want to see you play too," Laura added.

"But if it’s a hassle or you have plans... we don’t want to force you. We can always do it another time, right Emma?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, exactly. Don’t force it if you can’t make it work," Emma agreed.

"Hmm... alright then, sounds like a plan. But hey, do you guys know a good electronics store where I can buy some computers? I don’t have PCs for inventory and the register at the shop yet," Eric said.

"Don’t even worry about that. My dad owns a computer shop. Just send me the specs you want, and I’ll pass them along to him," Priya said proudly.

"Oh, really? Awesome. I’ll text you the details, then. I need to buy two PCs for the shop, one high-end PC for the recording studio, and two laptops—one for personal use. I’ll send over the specs later," Eric replied, turning to look at Priya beside him with genuine excitement.

Finding Eric’s enthusiastic face so incredibly close to her own, Priya’s face instantly flushed bright red. Her smile locked up, and her eyes darted around nervously while completely pinned to his face.

But all of a sudden, a sudden chill went down Priya’s spine. She darted her eyes around and saw Emma leaning all the way forward just to get a clear look at her, glaring intently. Monica, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura were throwing her the exact same piercing look, as if they wanted to swallow her whole.

"Great... just keep me posted, haha," Priya said stiffly.

"Awesome. Well, it’s totally fine if you all want to come over to my place later. Let’s finish eating first—it’s a waste of money if we only eat a little bit at a buffet," Eric said happily, glad to have checked that off his list, before diving right back into his meal.

"Oh, true... we’re on a time limit here... let’s hurry up and eat," Priya said, immediately turning back and focusing on her plate.

Seeing that both of them were looking down at the table again, Emma, Monica, Chloe, Heidi, and Laura finally went back to eating their food, finishing up their remaining time at the restaurant.

Once they finished eating, they all headed downstairs and walked out of the mall. They stood by the curb to call a rideshare back to Eric’s music shop and recording studio. When the car pulled up, they all piled inside and drove off.

Moments later, Chad burst out of the mall and sprinted to the edge of the street. He watched the rideshare carrying Eric and the girls disappear into the distance, his fists clenching tight as his jaw hardened.