It was as if the music in the rehearsal hall had screeched to a halt . Victor's arms went rigid , and he almost dropped her . Andrea's face exploded in a supernova of red . She scrambled to get down , desperately wishing the floor would open up and swall- ow her whole . The air hung thick with an indescribable , suffocating awkwardness . Victor silently let go , took two steps back , his face a nauseous shade of green . He managed to choke out , " Let's ... let's call it a day . " He didn't even look at her as he turned to grab his jacket . The other dancers were , whispering amongst themselves . Andrea , burning with shame and fury , saw me standing outside and stormed over . " You did that on purpose ! You just wanted to embarrass me ! " I looked at her , the picture of innocence . " Now , that's a serious accusation . Everyone ate the sweet potatoes . How come you're the only one with a problem ? I told you not to be greedy . " Andrea opened her mouth to argue , but Victor cut her off , his brow furrowed in irritation . " Will you stop ? Everyone is watching . Do you really want to make this more humiliating ? " Her face contorted with rage , Andrea turned and fled . 【 SYSTEM NOTIFICATION : VICT AFFECTION FOR ANDREA HAS DROPPED TO 20 % . ] Later that night , Victor sent me a private message apologizing . He also told me he'd convinced Andrea to drop out of the dance club . That was an unexpected bonus . He explained that ever since she joined , she'd been unable to keep up , a complete reversal from her audition . The other members were getting fed up . I knew why , of course . It was because his affection for her had dropped . If it had been rising , he would have spent all his free time giving her extra practice . Her lack of skill wouldn't have been an issue at all . Without the dance club , Andrea's opportunities to get close to Victor were basically shot . But I hadn't expected her to pivot so quickly to Ethan .