On the ride back to the hotel, Juniper rested with her eyes closed while Tucker sat stiffly beside her, barely daring to breathe. As soon as the car stopped, Juniper pushed the door open without a word and strode away, leaving him behind.


    "Master..." Tucker sat in the car, clutching the doorframe and staring pitifully at Juniper''s retreating back.


    Why was she ignoring him? Was she really angry?


    "Master?" Panicked, Tucker abandoned his trophy and prize money, scrambling out of the car and chasing after her.


    "Master, what will I do without you? Master!" he wailed dramatically. "Master!!!"


    Inside the hotel room, Juniper emerged from the bathroom. She had been holding it the entire ride and had made a beeline for the restroom as soon as they arrived.


    "Where''s Tucker?" she murmured, frowning when she didn''t see him. Just as she was about to call him, she heard his desperate cries from the hallway.


    "Master, please don''t ignore me! I know I was wrong!"


    "Master, I didn''t mean to give you a hard time!"


    "Master, please say something!"


    "Master!"


    With a sharp tug, Juniper yanked the door open to find the man slumped half- kneeling against the doorframe, his hands still gripping the handle. Her brow furrowed. "What on earth are you doing?"


    "Master, are you mad at me?" Tucker scrambled to his feet, craning his neck to look at her cautiously. “You just left as soon as the car stopped. Did you not want to see me?"


    "No," Juniper replied with a slight frown, her tone casual. "I was in a hurry to use the restroom."


    Tucker froze. Did that mean she wasn''t angry? Had he just made a fool of himself in the hallway for nothing?


    "Come in," Juniper said, guessing the reason for his meltdown. She stepped aside to let him in and poured him a ss of water.


    "I couldn''t possibly!" Tucker leaped up from the sofa as if shocked, epting the ss with trembling hands. "Master, how did you...?"


    "Oh," Juniper said, sitting down next to him. She guiltily ran a hand through her hair and offered a vague exnation, "It''s all a


    misunderstanding. It doesn''t matter if I was dead before; what''s


    important is that I''m alive none


    Tucker held his ss, thinking her words sounded a bit strange. "Master when heard you had passed away, I cried for days, he said with a sigh, his brow rxing. "I''m just d you''re not dead."


    Juniper''s mouth twitched. That sounded strange, too.


    "Master, you''re so brilliant atputer science. Why are you even in our major?” Tucker asked curiously.


    "I was bored," Juniper said simply, ying with her phone. "Since I had to pick a major to kill time in college, I figured I might as well choose something useful."


    Bored? Killing time? Tucker swallowed hard and gave a bitter smile. "How could I possibly dare to teach you now?"


    “Just act as you normally would," Juniper said with a faint smile. “You''re still the professor, and I''m still the student."


    Tucker bit his lip, looking like he was about to cry. He couldn''t do it. He really couldn''t. Maybe... they could switch roles? Juniper could be his teacher. He''d even call her Your Majesty'' if she wanted.