Another two weeks passed, and Kayla proved to be a diligent worker. After questioning her from time to time, I realized that she would surpass me by quite a bit, at least in the theoretical part. I am not trying to brag, but in the practical part, there aren't many at my level.

I sat on a bench across the building of the Magic Ministry Branch of our state. Kayla and I had to take a 90-minute train ride to get here, and I wasn't sure which one of us was more excited right now... her or me?

Her exam started around half an hour ago, and the average time for taking it was around 45 minutes; the best part is that you get your result instantly after submitting your answers since it is a digital multiple-choice test with random questions out of a huge catalog.

The practical exam will be held later today, so we have time to kill if she passes now. I looked at my phone every two minutes... just some happy emoji from Kayla on my display would have been great, but I got nothing.

She really needs to pass it… the next chance to take the test is in three months, which means she could not start working yet, but why am I even worried? She has worked so hard, and I should put some trust in her. If she fails now, I am also failing! My job was to teach her and get her through this exam! 

I noticed sweat forming on my forehead. 

"Are you ok? You look terrible." A familiar voice spoke to me.

I jumped off the bench, and Kayla was startled. "How did it go? Did you pass?" I asked hastily.

"Guess what," she said, smiling from cheek to cheek, holding a document bag in her right hand. Since I was staring at her, she sighed and started to unpack it, exposing her theoretical exam results.

93%, my mind went blank for a moment. Why was I worried again? Because I expected her to fail? Maybe I was projecting my own flaws onto her.

Sorry, Kayla. I humbly thought.

"Congratulations," I simply said and smiled as well. I was happy for her, maybe even more than I was at the time I passed my own exam, even though the reasons for taking the exam and our past, in general, are not comparable at all.

"Thank you! So, what's my reward?" Kayla asked as she put her result papers in her bag. I had actually thought about how to reward her beforehand. Since I only knew her on the surface, I had to come up with something generally nice.

"How about Pizza?" I suggested, and she simply nodded.

"Sounds great!"

As smart as I am, I already checked online for places with good reviews and reasonable prices. You won't believe that many of these only open up in the evening, so our choices were limited.

We walked for about ten minutes without talking much. I just noticed Kayla looking at me occasionally with a happy smile. Even her walk seemed more cheerful and bouncy than before. Every time our eyes met, I couldn't help but grin a little.

"This is the place," I said and stopped right next to a food truck. There were a few tables with several chairs placed in front of it. According to the online reports, most customers ordered takeout, but I planned to eat right here.

"Take a seat. I will go and order the food. What do you want?" I asked Kayla, who was already studying the menu.

 "A medium Pizza Hawaii and a Coke, please." She said, smiling.

Pizza Hawaii. I felt a shiver running down my spine. I never understood people who ate that, but somehow, it did not surprise me that Kayla was one of them.

"Got it."

Kayla sat down, and I walked over to the truck. They truly had a stone oven inside, just as it said in the reviews.

"Hello, young lady. What can I do for you?"

"One Pizza Hawaii, one Pizza Napoli, a Coke, and a still water, please."

I paid and walked over to Kayla with two ice-cold plastic bottles. "He said it will take around ten minutes."

"Wow, that's fast," Kayla said, already opening her drink.

"How much do you get for that?" she asked.

I sighed. "It is on me, of course."

"Thank you so much," Kayla said in an exaggerated tone as she bowed repeatedly.

"Stop that; it is embarrassing," I whisper sharply and perhaps a little too serious because Kayla started pouting like a little child.

"Come on, I am sorry. But please stop the fuss."

"You don't need to apologize; I am just a bit too hyped after that exam." She said, smiling, while her eyes looked kind of sad. 

I can't figure her out, but I do not want to question her behavior right now, not today.

Because of our little argument, the wait seemed much longer, but in the end, our pizza was even brought to our table, so I wouldn’t complain at all.

To describe our meal in one word… delicious. At least visually, because Kayla had a pizza with pineapple on it, I could tell that the taste would not be comparable to the presentation.

"Want a bite?" Kayla asked as she examined my food. I could see the disgust written all over her face when she discovered the olives on my pizza.

"No thanks, I'm not exactly what you'd call a pineapple fan." Very diplomatically phrased if you ask me.

"Do you want to try mine?" I asked politely, knowing the answer already.

"Just… if you feed me."

No, never, not in your dreams.

Did she actually ask that? What is wrong with her? I understand that some people enjoy such things, but our relationship is not even close to the level that I would feed her.

Aah, now I get it. She suggested it on purpose because she didn't actually want to eat my pizza. She hates olives, I'm sure, but what if she uses reverse psychology just to get me to do it?

"Ok, sure," I answered after my inner monologue.

She grinned happily and brushed her hair behind her ear. For the first time since I met her, I took the time to study her facial features. I remembered her whining that Lilith and I were far too pretty and that she felt inferior.... but this idiot has a pretty attractive face herself.

Still leaning over the table, she opened her mouth and waited for me to feed her. So, I quickly shoved a piece of my pizza into her mouth, she took a small bite, and it was all over. 

In the end, it wasn't as awful as I had imagined it to be.