Chapter 28

Coral was clearly dissatisfied with Nathan's casual response. Nathan smiled. With mock seriousness, he said, "Coral, I was just wondering how I could make such a silly mistake, mixing up the chemical symbol for zinc. I must have a zinc-credible brain freeze!" Another cheesy pun. Coral was stunned for a moment, but once the joke clicked, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Unlike most girls, who tended to be more reserved, Coral had a bold and lively personality. She quickly broke into her signature goose-honk laugh. "Nathan, you're too much! You really know how to flirt!" Cheryl watched from a distance, feeling a sharp pang of jealousy. Nathan had never joked around with her like that. For a while now, Cheryl had been trying to mend her relationship with him. Every few days, she would find an excuse to bring him something—breakfast, fruit, snacks, anything to reach out to him. Nine times out of ten, Nathan would politely refuse. On the rare occasion he accepted, he'd only ta