#spoilers not really luka is her pen pal

I thought I was being SO CLEVER with Ch7, thinking I might trick some of y’all into thinking I goofed with the chapters/uploaded the wrong doc.  Y’all have my number, though, huh?    On to Level 2 hopefully this weekend…

“I’m curious,” [Luka] said with a shrug.  “And like you said: I don’t know what platform you’re on, so what could it hurt? What’s your buddy’s name, Marinette?”

She was quiet for a long moment, glaring at him, before she turned back to her sandwich.  Why was he so annoying?

“…I might even be a rock star twenty-two,” she finally said, scowling at him before taking another bite of her sandwich.  She missed Juleka’s surprised gasp.

“But…that’s –” Juleka started to say, but there was a scuffing Marinette didn’t quite catch before Luka was speaking again.  When Marinette looked back up at them, Juleka was scowling at him.

“What is that?  A Hannah Montana reference?” he asked, chuckling. “And what’s up with the twenty-two?”

“So what if it is?  And it’s just a number,” she huffed.  “Why does anyone add a number onto their handle?”

“His age,” Luka said, nodding. She jumped up in her seat, outraged, but he snapped his fingers and grinned at her.  “Or, even worse, the year he was born.  You could be messaging a centenarian, Marinette.”

“He is not, you jerk!” she snapped, and he waved her off with an easy laugh.

“Fair.  Centenarians aren’t usually that savvy with tech,” he said. He looked up, thoughtful.  “Number of tattoos he has?”

“Number of times I’ve told him about you and he’s called you an idiot,” Marinette grumbled.  He laughed, nodding.

“Number of times he’s called himselfan idiot,” he countered.  She groaned and dropped her head onto the table.

“Luka,stop,”she groaned.  “So what if I have an internet pen pal?  Lots of people have online friends.  It’s not some earth-shattering revelation.”

“Lots of people have online friends,” he agreed, “but you were smiling like he’s more than a friend.  That’s the part I’m interested in.”

“Andwhy, Luka?  Huh?” she huffed, sitting up.  “It’s not like you have any reason to be jealous of Star.  It’s not like you like me – it’s not like Ilikeyou!  So what’s the big deal?”

Something about that seemed to strike a nerve, and he watched her for a long moment before turning back to his noodles.  He poked at them, disinterested, before he finally shrugged.

“You’re right,” he said, nodding. “I’m sorry, Marinette.  I was just…curious.”