Infinite Cashback System

Jordan burst through the doors of Bluffs Hall 220 with three minutes to spare.

The seminar room held maybe twenty-five desks arranged in rows facing a whiteboard that still had Monday’s supply and demand curves sketched in fading marker. Kyle sat front row center, legs stretched out, scrolling through his phone. When he spotted Jordan, he immediately stood up and extended his hand.

Jordan dapped him up. "Told you I’d be here on time, man."

"Yeah, yeah." Kyle grinned and sat back down. "Didn’t think morning gym sessions would actually make you punctual, but here we are."

Jordan dropped into the seat next to Kyle, setting his new notebook and pens on the desk. His phone buzzed in his pocket. Probably the System registering proximity to someone. He ignored it.

"Real talk though," Kyle said, leaning back in his chair, "I’m glad we finally got a workout buddy situation going. I’ve been trying to get you in the gym since October."

"I was busy being pathetic."

"You said it, not me." Kyle smirked. "But yeah, having someone there makes the whole thing easier. Even got Leo to show up this morning."

Jordan snorted. "For five minutes."

"Five minutes is still progress. He tried bench pressing the bar, couldn’t get it off his chest, and then sat on his phone for twenty minutes before leaving."

"Did he at least spot you?"

"Are you joking? He doesn’t know what spotting is. He thought I was asking him to look at something."

Jordan laughed. Actual laughter. It felt foreign in his chest, like discovering a room in your house you forgot existed. "We all start somewhere."

"That’s what I told him. But he just complained about his protein shake making him nauseous and left." Kyle stretched his arms overhead, his shirt riding up to expose a sliver of toned stomach. "I give it a week before he tries again. Maybe two."

"Generous."

"Optimistic."

The door swung open again. A guy wearing a backwards cap walked in, saw the seating situation, and immediately headed for the back row. Three more students followed behind him, spreading out across the middle section.

Kyle nudged Jordan’s elbow. "So. Are you gonna tell me what happened yesterday that had you ghosting all my texts?"

Jordan’s throat went dry. "Nothing happened."

"You’re such a bad liar."

"I’m an excellent liar."

"You just said nothing happened while your face turned red."

"My face is not red."

Kyle raised an eyebrow.

Jordan’s phone buzzed again. This time he pulled it out and checked the screen.

System: Beauty detected within proximity. Register to Slot 2?

Jordan swiped the notification away. Not now.

"Who keeps texting you?" Kyle asked, craning his neck to look at the screen.

"My mom."

"Your mom texts you in all caps with gold emojis?"

"She’s excited about something."

"Uh huh."

Before Kyle could press further, the door opened a third time. Three voices filled the hallway outside, one of them talking way too loudly.

Jordan recognized that voice immediately.

Alexis.

His stomach dropped straight through the floor.

Alexis walked in first, wearing a white cropped sweater that showed off her flat stomach and high-waisted jeans. Her blonde hair fell in perfect waves over her shoulders, and her blue eyes scanned the room.

Kumiko followed right behind her, wearing a pastel pink cardigan over a white button-up, a plaid skirt, and her signature twin-tails tied with pink ribbons. She carried an ita-bag covered in anime keychains that jingled with every step.

And then Chloe walked in.

Jordan’s heart stopped.

Chloe wore black leggings, white sneakers, and an oversized grey hoodie that hung off one shoulder, exposing her collarbone and the black strap of her sports bra. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, the blue streak catching the fluorescent lights overhead.

She looked tired. Like she hadn’t slept much.

Jordan knew that feeling.

Alexis spotted him immediately. Her entire body went rigid, like someone had pressed pause on a video.

Kumiko elbowed her in the ribs.

"Ow!" Alexis rubbed her side, glaring at Kumiko. "What was that for?"

"You know what that was for," Kumiko whispered, not quietly enough.

Alexis’s face flushed pink. Not the cute kind of pink. The I’m-pissed-off-and-embarrassed kind.

She walked down the aisle toward Jordan’s row, her heels clicking against the tile floor. Chloe and Kumiko followed a few steps behind, Chloe’s gaze fixed somewhere to the left of Jordan’s head.

Alexis stopped directly in front of his desk.

Jordan looked up at her. Waited.

Kyle glanced between them like he was watching a live grenade with the pin already pulled.

"I’m sorry," Alexis said. Her voice came out flat and robotic, like someone reading from a script they didn’t write. "For calling you a loser simp yesterday. Even if it was true."

Jordan blinked.

Kyle choked on air.

"Wow," Jordan said.

Alexis’s flush deepened. "What?"

"That’s the worst apology I’ve ever heard in my life."

"I said I was sorry!"

"You also said ’even if it was true’ in the same sentence. That’s not how apologies work."

Kumiko giggled behind her hand.

Alexis turned around and shot her a death glare before looking back at Jordan. Her blue eyes blazed with something between fury and mortification. "Fine. I’m sorry for making fun of you. Happy?"

"Getting there."

"You’re impossible."

"And you’re only apologizing because Kumiko made you."

Alexis opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. "That’s. Not entirely true."

"It’s completely true," Kumiko said cheerfully. "I told her if she didn’t apologize, I’d post screenshots of her Wattpad account."

"You wouldn’t."

"I already have them saved in three separate cloud folders."

Alexis spun around. "You’re a monster."

Jordan watched the two of them bicker while Chloe stood off to the side, arms crossed, still refusing to look at him. Her jaw was tight. Her shoulders were tense. She kept shifting her weight from one foot to the other like she wanted to bolt but couldn’t figure out which direction to run.

Kyle leaned over and whispered, "What the hell is happening right now?"

"I have no idea," Jordan whispered back.

Alexis finally sighed and turned back to Jordan. "Look. I was being a bitch yesterday. I shouldn’t have laughed at you. Eliza’s my friend, but that doesn’t mean I needed to pile on. So. Yeah. Sorry. For real this time."

Jordan studied her face. She actually looked genuine this time. No sarcasm. No hidden jabs. Just exhaustion and reluctant sincerity.

"Okay," Jordan said. "Apology accepted."

Alexis blinked. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"That was easier than I thought it would be."

"Did you want me to make you grovel?"

"Honestly? Kind of. It would have made me feel less weird about this."

Kumiko bounced on her heels. "See? That wasn’t so hard! Now we can all be friends and go to karaoke tonight without it being super awkward!"

Jordan’s stomach twisted. Right. Karaoke. Tonight.

With Chloe.

Who still hadn’t said a single word or looked at him once.

Kyle raised his hand. "Sorry, hi, I’m Kyle. Jordan’s friend. Nice to meet you."

"Hi Kyle!" Kumiko said brightly. "Aren’t you coming too?"

Kyle looked at Jordan. Jordan shrugged.

"Sure," Kyle said. "Why not."

"Perfect! The more the merrier!" Kumiko clapped her hands together. "Oh, we should do duets! I call Jordan for a duet!"

Alexis made a disgusted noise. "You can’t call dibs on people, Kumiko."

"I just did."

"That’s not how it works."

"Then how does it work?"

"You ask them if they want to sing with you like a normal person."

Kumiko turned to Jordan, her eyes wide and earnest. "Jordan, do you want to sing a duet with me?"

Jordan’s brain flatlined. "Uh."

"He’s thinking about it!" Kumiko announced to the room.

"He looks terrified," Alexis corrected.

Chloe finally spoke. "Leave him alone, Kumi."

Her voice cut through the conversation like a blade through silk. Everyone went quiet.

Chloe’s blue eyes met Jordan’s for the first time since walking into the room. The look lasted maybe two seconds. Long enough for Jordan to see exhaustion and something else he couldn’t name.

Then she looked away again.

"We should sit down," Chloe said to the other girls. "Kevin’s gonna be here soon."

Alexis nodded and headed toward the back row. Kumiko followed, still chattering about song choices for karaoke. Chloe stayed frozen for another second before trailing after them, her sneakers silent on the tile.

Jordan watched her go.

Kyle leaned over again. "Okay. What the fuck was that?"

"What was what?"

"The girl in the grey hoodie just looked at you like you personally invented heartbreak."

"That’s dramatic."

"Dude. I have eyes."

Jordan pulled out his phone and pretended to check his messages. The screen showed a new System notification.

System: Chemistry update detected.

Chloe Kim: 46% → 43% (-3%)

Reason: Unresolved tension, emotional distance.

Jordan locked his phone and shoved it back in his pocket.

"You good?" Kyle asked.

"Yeah."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

Kyle didn’t look convinced, but he dropped it. "Alright. But if you need to talk about whatever the hell that was, I’m here. You know that, right?"

"Yeah," Jordan said. "I know."

The door opened again. Kevin Zhao walked in carrying a messenger bag and a Starbucks cup, his glasses slightly crooked on his face. He set his stuff down on the front desk and pulled up a PowerPoint on the projector.

"Alright everyone," Kevin said, turning to face the class. "Let’s talk about aggregate demand and why Professor Jones’s explanation yesterday made absolutely no sense."

A few students laughed.

Jordan opened his notebook to a blank page and clicked his pen.

Kyle nudged his elbow one more time. "You’re gonna tell me eventually."

"Maybe."

"Definitely."

"We’ll see."

Kevin started the lecture. Jordan took notes. The words on the page didn’t stick in his brain. His attention kept drifting to the back row where Chloe sat between Alexis and Kumiko, her hoodie pulled up over her ponytail, her arms crossed tight over her chest.

His phone buzzed.

He didn’t check it.