Hartland University. A beautiful, idyllic college campus of red brick and classical architecture. Carefully trimmed rose bushes lined pathways all throughout campus as tall oaks arched overhead, leaves waving lazily beneath a clear summer sky. The late morning saw a scattering of students making their way beneath their boughs. Many headed toward the dining halls for breakfast. Others were accompanied by suitcases or other belongings as they excitedly searched out their new dorms to move in.
Inside one of those red-brick dorms, gazing out the window, stood Kaitlyn. She leaned out the window slightly, her shoulder length brown hair fluttering in the cool August breeze. For a moment longer she gazed out, watching the familiarly picturesque scene. She could easily imagine it being taken straight from the game this college existed within. Eventually though, she pulled her attention back to the present.
Right. Time to prepare for the loop.
Turning back inside, she took a long look around the room. The modest space was populated with a pair of closets, two wooden desks, and a bunk bed. Looking to the side, her desk lay neatly organized and populated with notebooks, pens, pencils, and other assorted school supplies, as usual. Between that and the string of fairy lights draped across its shelves, the space appeared more like an idealized college desk rather than one someone actually used. At least, for now.
This was her room. It was small, and at times it had even felt claustrophobic. But right now?
It feels like… like I’m coming back from a vacation. She stretched, stepping across the dark blue carpet and away from the window. Pretty appropriate, to be honest.
She wasn’t quite sure what she’d expected to feel, being here again. After spending an entire loop at Vinny’s house, she wasn’t sure whether being thrown back into these familiar surroundings would feel like home or a prison. Thankfully, her emotions had apparently decided on the former.
At least I’m not dealing with a panic attack or anything. All of that time to reflect did help, I guess. Even though I’m not done yet.
Nodding to herself, Kaitlyn began to change and gather her things to freshen up for the day. As she did, the planning began. She needed to decide how to approach being stuck in Heartthrob University this time around.
The best lead I have on escaping this game is getting more endings. But if the Alex one was any indicator, they’re going to be a lot more difficult to navigate than I thought. Not to mention harder on my mental state. Plus, with how I managed to get Vinny hurt last time… I want to make sure that I’m in a place where I won’t just make things worse by accident. Which means that, first and foremost, I need to focus on myself.
Last loop had made one thing clear, more than anything else: she needed to figure herself out.
I need time to come to terms with the Alex situation and time to deal with my own issues. That should be priority number one before I even think about looking at more endings.
Fortunately, time was one thing she had in spades.
As she exited the room with toothbrush and other toiletries in hand, her foot caught on something. Cursing as she stumbled forward, she looked down to find something sitting in the doorway.
What the–
Kneeling down with a frown, she examined the object. It was a brown cardboard box, plain except for a white shipping label affixed to the top. It sat slightly askew from where her toe had impacted it.
Hefting the thing, she looked it over. Sure enough, it was addressed to her.
Weird. No one does deliveries directly to dorms - not that I ever saw, at least. Where did this come from?
This had never been here before. Except… she vaguely remembered tripping on something at the start of the last loop as well. With how much of a panic she was in though, she hadn’t looked down at all.
Shrugging, she brought it inside. Slicing the tape open with a pair of scissors revealed…
… A toaster oven?
She lifted the appliance and looked it over. That’s exactly what it is. No question. It’s not even branded or anything though. What the…?
Thinking for a moment, she closed her eyes and pulled up her Progress Report.
Progress Report
Endings (6/20):
Alex (3/3 - Complete!)
Dinner Date
Comfort Food
Rotten to the Core
Ian (1/3)
???
A Winding Path
???
Philip (0/3)
???
???
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
???
Vinny (1/3)
???
???
Party Crasher
Elliot (0/3)
???
???
???
Other (1/5)
???
Under the Radar
???
???
???
Achievements (7):
The First of Many - Unlock your first ending
What Friends are For - Unlock a friendly ending for any male lead
Walking Red Flag - Unlock a bad ending for any male lead
Happily Ever After - Unlock a romance ending for any male lead
From Every Angle - Unlock all endings for a single male lead
Wingman - Complete the “Rachel and Cedric” easter egg
A Solid Start - Unlock 5 unique endings
There was only one real possibility she could imagine. If this had really been here last loop as well, then perhaps it was also related to earning Alex’s romance ending. It would fit with both the name - Dinner Date - and the central role of cooking in the whole thing.
A wry smile came to her lips. Thanks, game. Guess you don’t have it completely out for me, huh? Y’know, aside from the whole “making Alex forget about me” thing.
The oven was a nice surprise. They were expensive enough that she usually didn’t want to spend the money to buy one herself. But if it came free every loop? That just meant she was starting with an even better kitchen setup.
Not that it should matter. Her smile turned devious. I’m finally going to start taking full advantage of this timeloop. If I play my cards right, then maybe soon I’ll be able to buy anything I want. All it’ll take is a bit of creativity and foreknowledge abuse.
Setting the appliance on her desk for the moment, Kaitlyn headed toward the bathroom to wash up. If she was going to embark on a journey of self improvement and time travel abuse, then she needed to plan.
***
The next day, Kaitlyn found herself approaching the familiar horseshoe shape of Cappy’s Cafe. The sun gleamed off of the dining hall’s tall glass walls and white roof. All around, a dense mob of students rushed toward the entrance. Given that it was lunchtime, she couldn’t blame them. But for now, she wasn’t here to eat.
Kaitlyn stepped toward one of the many outdoor tables, making a beeline for one near the perimeter. As she approached, its lone occupant glanced up from his book.
Beneath the metallic red umbrella sat a familiar olive skinned boy with dark hair swept to the side. Despite the relative warmth of the day, he still wore an overly formal dark blue dress shirt and black vest. His gaze was focused intently on an open book held in one hand as he waited.
“Hello, Philip.”
The book snapped shut with a sharp motion. Cold grey eyes met hers with what she could only describe as impassive contempt. “You are Kaitlyn, I presume?”
“Yes. Nice to meet you.” She met his expression with a steady gaze. She’d become more accustomed to his look and demeanor from their time working together at Chella’s. That didn’t mean she felt much fondness for the guy though. Still, I lived with Vinny for a whole loop. I can deal with this guy silently judging me or whatever.
“You as well.” The raven-haired student stowed the book inside a dingy yellow backpack, trading it for a notebook and a stack of flashcards. “Let’s begin then.”
He began laying out a lesson plan for the tutoring session with as much exacting detail as she’d come to expect.
“You indicated that you’d like to focus on Algebra and its foundations, from the very beginning. Due to the quantity of material that encompasses, this session will prioritize the core concepts from the start of the course and work from there. We will form a solid understanding of those before proceeding to practice problems.” His long finger tapped at the bulleted list between them, highlighted in various colors.
“For today, I’ve set out a lesson plan to cover these topics. Should you choose to book additional sessions, we will continue down this list at your preferred pace and learning ability. If there are any topics that you would like to particularly focus on or address out of order, then that can be arranged. If that is agreeable, then we can begin.” At her nod, the stoic tutor launched into his first lesson.
There were many things Kaitlyn wanted to work on in the coming loops. Among them, actually learning her class material was high on the list. Up to this point, she’d gotten by through a combination of memorized answers and brute force. For some like Genetics, she’d actually picked up some level of understanding from simply sitting through the classes enough times. But for others, that sadly wasn’t the case.
From the start, Kaitlyn had to push down the urge to grimace and dismiss the lessons outright. Philip was a great teacher as much as she hated to admit it, which made the session more bearable than it might have been. Still, the reality of what she was doing rankled.
I don’t care about this. But I should. She scribbled down a practice problem. I have to start somewhere. And I very obviously lack the fundamentals I need to take on that class as is.
Despite what she had told Philip, Algebra wasn’t even the class she was enrolled in. The game had decided to stick her in Calculus, of all things. Relatively advanced Calculus too, from how far above her head everything seemed.
No. With an effort, she focused on Philip’s words again. No more passing for the sake of passing. No more shortcuts. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right. Isn’t that the cardinal rule of timeloops, anyway? Master everything?
And what better way to start than with her archenemy - math.
After an hour of grueling lessons, the tutoring session finally came to a close. Philip passed a set of study materials towards her. “That’s all we have time for today. To reinforce this lesson on your own time, I recommend going through this set of practice problems. I’ve also provided a notebook with the information we just covered.”
She nodded her thanks, mentally exhausted. “I appreciate it. Will you still be available on Saturday as well?”
“Of course. I will provide at least 24 hours advance notice if any scheduling conflicts should arise.”
After a stiff goodbye and an agreed upon payment, Philip turned to leave. She watched him go impassively.
With how much she sought to avoid thinking about endings, she’d been almost worried about actively seeking out a male lead like this. Fortunately, Philip was just as standoffish as he always had been.
No risk of accidentally getting myself tangled up there. It’s just business between us.
A grumbling sound drew her attention away from Philip’s retreating figure. It was finally time for her to grab her own lunch, now that the crowds had thinned. With a tired sigh, she headed into Cappy’s.