17

As the cafeteria burst with lively dynamics, our table was the black hole of voices. Only our chewing noises made up the soundless void as we began satiating our hunger.

Even Aly, who would always break thick silences, never bothered putting up a fight against it. While she was immersed in swallowing a forkful of her pasta, Edward was biting off a huge chunk of Mom's bread, while I continued munching on my chicken, zoning out into the empty space between the two. This can't get any more awkward...

I stole glances between my two friends, but of course, they were much more focused on finishing their food rather than sparing their attention at each other. And the fact that they used to be so talkative back in the day, it somewhat amplified the suspense.

The heavy air around them pushed me down, as if it was forcing me to be the one striking up at least a little interaction. But with all the pressure, I'll probably say something embarrassing... and I don't even know what's the perfect topic to talk about!

Reverting to the basketball team, my heart loosened as I perked up when Seb was present at last. As he was conversing with the guys, his usual placid expression had totally evaporated: his narrowed eyes peered intently at his teammates, his forehead creased and his brows scrunched.

Wow, it's been a while since Seb looked that annoyed. I blinked, swallowing the rest of my chicken down my throat. With him looking like that, it must have been something related to Edward. Clearly the bread-loving man right here played a huge role in their team, so I could not comprehend their decision of keeping him off. Aren't sports teams about supporting each other?

Unfortunately, I could not snoop into their discussion. Not only were they out of my hearing range, but the loud mumbles of the others were not helping at all. I have no idea why I instantly thought of sneaking up on them, so I shrugged traces of it off my mind and simply watched their negotiations.

Then, one of the teammates beckoned his head to our table, specifically at Edward. Instantly, Seb curled his lips in a sneer and shook his head, not even making the effort to sit on the chair they had pulled out for him. He lastly shot daggers at the guys, before marching off without further comment. Now that's one upset Seb.

When he approached our table, his frown dissipated as it had appeared earlier while he waved his hand at both Edward and I. Like I expected, his smile jerked at the sight of Aly among us, but she astonishingly shrugged him off without muttering some sort of vitriol. Come to think of it, so many unexpected things have been happening a lot today...

"So, what did those know-it-alls say?" Edward snapped, before his sharp teeth tore the bread effortlessly.

"Maaan, I hate listening to those seniors. They're throwing so many hissy fits, it seriously hurts my ears. It's either this and that, or this and that, part of me just thinks they're jealous of you..." Seb huffed, pulling out his lunch box of rolled omelettes and rice—I guess most of us brought their food today—and waved the back of his hand. "Like you even apologized, but they made it seem like you chucked them with the ball. Don't let them get to you, Ed."

"Heh, why should I care about them," he hissed.

Ah, so it really was about this morning... I found myself rearranging all of the remaining chicken slices in the box. Moreover, Seb's explanation also explained handful of those days where Edward chose to shun himself from his basket team too. And I've always wondered about it...

"Wait, wait... what? Chucked ball?" Aly loudly whispered, before she pushed herself towards me. "What happened? The hell did they do in PE?"

"Don't need to gossip, we can hear you," Seb snorted, but she ignored him.

"Oh um..." I began, tapping my finger on the table. "Edward saved me from a flying football and tried passing it back to Miguel, but..." I paused. "H-He got the wrong aim and it hit Jason right on his nose, so Mr. Thomas gave him detention."

"YO, OUCH! I'm glad you're fine... but damn, I can't imagine the pain. Those things are hard as rocks," Aly grimaced, before she set down her fork and folded her arms. "Well, Edward... Thanks for protecting Rena. Have to give you credit there," she said. "But well... guess I'll see you in that detention room."

Edward stopped midway while he was taking another loaf of bread. His glance fleetingly levitated towards her, but not even seconds later, he carried on with his lunch.

Meanwhile, his cheeks quickly puffed up with the bread he had forced in, and from there, I could not stop perving on him. Why, just why, did I find that so endearing at such an inappropriate time? Snap out of it!

"Whoa, Alyssa getting detention? Color me surprised!" Seb smirked as he rested his chin on his hand. "Be sure to reflect how intelligent you can be. Your one brain cell will thank you."

"Why, thank you for the helpful advice, Mr. Allington." A spasming smile breezed through her countenance as she raised her fist. "Anything else you wanna add before my hand greets you?"

Here we go again...

"Where's Lynn?" Before Seb could fire back, Edward chimed into their battle, already slamming the wheel into a different topic.

"Oh, her? Not joining today," he said. "She has practice."

Even without asking, Edward was all over Mom's homemade bread; he consumed all of them with gusto. One by one, the loaves rapidly disappeared into the confines of his mouth, and the next thing I saw was nothing but pieces of bread crumbs. I was really trying my best not to furiously clap my hands like a seal and do the Snoopy dance. Mom's gonna be so happy if she hears this!

As we all finished up with my food without issues, a gaze from Edward's direction drilled upon me. He broke it off as soon upon my observation, although he gave the now empty box back to me.

"Thank you," he murmured. "They were delicious."

"Yeah, n-no worries," I said.

As our break time was coming near the end, we cleaned and packed up all of our stuff. I might not share any classes with Aly and Seb until the end of the day, but if I remember correctly, as for Edward...

"Serena." That monotone voice halted me on my tracks. I didn't have to turn around, as he had appeared beside me. Even his presence near my space was enough to stiffen all of my muscles. "We're having the same classes together."

"S-Sure, let's go!" I agreed, before we strolled down through the hallway. Truly Fridays were the best time for me to get more in touch with him, given our roughly similar schedule. Finally, I really don't have to go through that continuous cycle of staring and looking away anymore.

As we arrived at the chemistry class, the back rows were already taken. A few spots were available, but Edward rested his bag and books on the second front row seat. While the typical me would have gotten way to the back without any thoughts, I rushed to the spot next to him.

And that was where some pointy object suddenly poked me from behind. Turning around, I came across a giggling and simpering Samantha. She wiggled her brows and grinning so widely, perhaps like the Cheshire cat that sent me tingles.

"I see you and Aly have been sitting with him at lunch, so we don't wanna disturb you guys." She pointed at Edward. "Now you're brave enough to sit with him. You go, girl!"

"S-Stop poking me!" I shushed her with a finger on my lips, as he could have eavesdropped in. Unfortunately my pleas did not shut her up; she stifled her snickers and nudged me with her elbow. She's following Naomi's footsteps...

"This is like a romance novel come true, eek!" She quietly squealed. Thank heavens, the blond-haired boy was completely oblivious; he seemed lost in his own reverie. Not wanting to interrupt him from his thoughts, I kept my mouth zipped shut and waited for the teacher to show up.

When Mr. Sturges—or Mr. Stooge, as most people dubbed him—sped in, he plowed all of his materials onto his desk, sending everyone scurrying for their seats. Pulling my chair forward, I folded my legs position as I was tidying up my notebooks.

"Well, why are you all staring at me like that? Get your books up!" He ordered, and I could hear all of the rustles as the others immediately pulled out their stuff. None of them answered him because, even a word would irk this guy to no end, especially when he was... in this sour mood.

"We're gonna learn seriously from now on." The teacher sighed in frustration. When was he never serious? "Mr. Carvellia, turn on the projector," he commanded.

While everyone wore their unnerved looks, Edward retained his expressionless face as he stood up. I watched as he smoothly punched the button of the projector without the need of a chair or even tiptoeing, before he backed down. He's slightly taller than most guys I have seen, so it makes sense why he's on the basketball team...

The same team who had snubbed him, all but Seb.

While the teacher was preparing his slides, a crumpled paper landed on a table, like someone had thrown it from behind. Then, I heard Samantha—of course it was her, who else could it be—trying to hold her laughter from spilling out. From my peripheral vision, she mouthed at me to open the paper. I breathed silently as I complied, and there was a bold handwriting.

ERENA IS SAILING <3<3<3

Sam!!! Why?! I mentally screamed, while heat bloomed inside of me. I didn't even want to describe what my pounding heart was going through right now. Erena?! Why is she combining my name and Edward's together?

While her face contorted, she clamped her mouth more tightly with both of her hands. Her neighbors leered at her like she was out of her mind—technically she was—but she never cared. Please don't get both of us in trouble...

But Erena... was not a bad nickname.