Chapter 12 – Supporting Sam

He started eating his food. He had to distract himself from thinking about the twins' picture.

Still, he never expected to bump into one of them when he walked around after classes. He went toward a bar with Sam in his normal appearance.

The twins were drinking together with Amanda and Sienna. This bar was where the students from their college usually hang out, so it wasn't strange to see them here.

'Damn. I want to go and talk to them. But I can't do that. I am now Tom, not James.'

Tom felt conflicted. He wanted to talk to the twins, but he couldn't do that in his normal appearance.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Sam asked him.

"Oh, nothing. Just looking at the girls from the cheerleader club. They are so hot."

"You're right. Let's go and talk to them."

Tom looked at his friend and then back at the girls. Right, there was nothing stopping him to talk to them in his own appearance.

"Alright. Let's go."

He agreed and they approached the group of girls.

"Hello, girls." Sam raised his hand and greeted them.

The girls looked at him and smiled.

"Oh, hi. It's you, Sam. What's up?" Amanda, who was familiar with the boys from Soccer Club, spoke up.

"Nothing. We're just looking for some fun. Can we join?"

"Sure. We don't mind." She nodded. "You can sit here. Who's your friend?"

Sam looked at Tom.

"This is my buddy, Tom. Don't worry, he's cool."

He introduced Tom to the girls.

"Hi, I'm Tom."

Tom said, smiling at them. The twins looked disinterested while Sienna nodded with a smile.

"Hello! I am Sienna. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Amanda. Nice to meet you, Tom."

"I'm Mary."

"I'm Amy."

The twins introduced themselves. They seemed to be a bit bored with the conversation already and played with their phones. He couldn't help but smile wryly as he remembered the picture they sent.

"Hahaha, sorry about them. Recently, they are so into this guy and forget everything else."

Amanda tried to explain the twins' behavior.

"It's fine." Tom said, nodding in understanding. He could see they were texting someone, and he guessed it was probably James.

'My phone is surely ringing right now. I need to think of an excuse later.'

"So, what are you girls doing here?" He asked as he sat next to Sam. Amanda scooted over to sit with Sienna.

"We're just having a drink. It's been a long day. We have to celebrate that we survived the test today."

Amanda explained.

Tom chuckled.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. The test was really hard. I almost failed it. Sam too."

Sam nodded in agreement.

"Don't say it like that, man. I just got a bit distracted, that's all. I'll do better next time."

He punched Sam on the shoulder playfully and scoffed.

"Hah, as if you ever do well on tests."

Sam pouted. It looked dumb.

"I'm not that dumb. I'm just a bit... slow. That's all. Dude, don't embarrass me."

"Hahaha, sure. Whatever you say, man."

Tom laughed. Sam's expression was hilarious.

"Fufufu~ You guys are close, huh?"

Amanda giggled.

"Yeah, we are." Tom nodded. "We've known each other since middle school. We're like brothers now."

He grinned at Sam, who grinned back at him.

"Well, anyway, let's drink. It's Tom's treat tonight, right?" Sam said.

"Yep. It's on me."

"Wow, thanks, dude!"

"Hey, don't think I'm rich or anything. This is the only time I'll be treating you. I'm just feeling generous today."

Tom rolled his eyes and waved his hand. Amanda giggled again. She was the only one actively talking to them, while the twins were focused on their phones, and Sienna was silent, only joining the conversation when necessary.

"So, what do you girls do for fun?"

Sam asked Amanda.

"Oh, you know, we cheerleaders have a lot of things to do. We train, we do our best to keep our body fit. We also hang out together and have fun."

She replied.

"How about you, Tom?"

"Me? I play games and read novels."

Tom answered honestly.

"Ooh, that's nice. I like to read too, but I rarely have time to do it. I usually only read when I have free time. What kind of novels do you like?"

Amanda asked him curiously.

"Hmm, I like both light novels and web novels. I don't really have a preference. Ah, lately, I tried my best to fix my appearance. So I also began to read some health-related books and manuals."

"Wow, that's amazing. I don't know anyone else who can read that many books in such a short time. I'm really impressed."

"Haha, thanks. I like reading. It helps me relax."

Tom smiled. He could tell that Amanda was genuinely interested in what he said, and it made him happy.

"Do you girls have any hobbies?" He asked back. "Beside cheerleading, of course."

"Hmm... I like to draw."

Unexpectedly, Sienna spoke up. She seemed shy, but Tom could tell that she was passionate about her hobby.

"Really? What kind of things do you draw?"

"I like to draw cute animals. A-And I also like to draw people..."

She trailed off, blushing slightly.

"Oh, that's cool! I'm sure your drawings are amazing. You should show them to me sometime."

Tom said encouragingly.

"Show me too." Sam said.

"Y-Yeah, sure."

Sienna smiled shyly and nodded. She looked cute when she was flustered.

"What about the two of you?"

Tom turned to the twins. At least, he wanted for them not to feel awkward with him around.

"Well... Idols." Amy answered him, her eyes still glued to the phone.

"You like idols?"

"Yes. I love them. Mary too."

Mary nodded in agreement.

Tom felt like this new 'hobby' they had was due to what he said yesterday. He couldn't help but laugh bitterly inside.

"Oh, really? What kind of idols do you like?"

He asked. No answer arrived. It felt pretty awkward, and everyone fell silent for a few moments.

"Hey, let's drink. Let's have fun." Amanda spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Yeah, let's drink!" Sam agreed.

Everyone nodded in agreement and started drinking. The night was still young. Sam managed to at least have a conversation with Amanda and she looked a bit interested in him, the boy from the soccer club who approached them first.

'She complained that the boys are such a wuss.'

Tom recalled what she said before.

'I guess she's having fun. It's a good thing that she found someone interesting.'

He looked at Sam and Amanda. They seemed to be having a good time talking to each other. He was happy for his friend. If his interest shifted from the pure slut to Amanda, that would be better.

'Let's try using <Appraisal > on her.'

Tom activated <Appraisal >.

─Ding

─Appraisal Result

Name: Amanda Barton

Age: 22 years old

Race: Human

Condition: Healthy

Personality: Dominating, Tease, Flirty, Cheerful, Playful, Strict, Friendly

Title: Everyone's big sister, Cheerleader Club's Captain

Yeah, she's older than Tom, but she was a good girl. Tempted to have some fun with her later, but he didn't want to cause any problems for his friend.

Bros were forever, hoes were temporary!

'Good luck, Sam. I am rooting for you, brother. Go ahead with Amanda, she's a good woman.'

Tom took a sip of his beer and smiled. He looked at the twins. They were chatting with each other, but their eyes were still glued to their phones.

'Well, let's end the night. It's almost midnight.'

He decided. It was time for him to go back.

"Sam, I will go home first. I will pay for everything we ordered so far, but the rest is all yours."

"Already? Let's go back then." Sam was about to stand up but Tom stopped him.

"You have fun. I was just a bit tired. You don't need to accompany me home."

"Are you sure? Alright. Thanks, man."

"I-I will go home too." Sienna suddenly said. "I live near here. Thank you for paying for the drink, Tom. You are a nice person."

She smiled at him. He looked at her and nodded. She was probably tired, that was why she wanted to leave first.

"Let's leave together then. It's dangerous for a girl to walk alone at this hour. I will escort you home."

Tom stood up and offered his hand to her. She blushed but accepted his hand.

"Okay. Thank you."

The twins still stayed with Amanda and Sam. They were probably too engrossed in their phones that they didn't even notice that the two of them were gone.

Tom escorted Sienna back to her apartment. It was pretty late, and the streets were dark and empty.

"Thank you for walking me back home, Tom. It's nice that there's a man like you around."