34 Always Been Serious

"Eh? Oh, my, I forgot to ask Clarence to let me go home first," Beauty exclaimed in realization.

"Hi, Beauty." The doctor decided to make his presence known.

"Oh, hi, Doctor John. How are you?" Beauty was a little shocked to see him there without her noticing.

"Why so polite? I'm your friend, am I not? I'm still young as well, just turned 25 last month. Please, call me John."

"Well, you're a person with a position; it's kind of awkward to call you informally." Beauty was now on guard with him, knowing his grandmother's aim was to ship them together.

"Beauty, are you afraid of me? Or to be accurate, avoiding me?" He slowly moved nearer to her and about to sit beside her.

The girl suddenly stood up, but a hand pulled her back to the bench. "Beauty, you're really avoiding me. Why? Have I done something wrong?"

"No, you didn't. It's just I really felt awkward being alone with you. I hardly had any young male friends. To be exact, only three."

"And who might these three be?"