As she sat at her desk, waiting for the asinine ringing to stop beating upon her eardrum, despite it having long stopped, she noticed someone near her desk, one of bored features. It was Giulia, possibly there to comfort the downtrodden Victoria, in her minute of need. And, indeed, that was the reasoning, with much sympathy from Giulia, who had been thinking over the situations of the past days, as well.

“Hey, Victoria. I think . . . I know why you are so sad. Sincerely, so, I say,” empathized Giulia.

“You . . . do?”

“Yeah, I think I do. Look, I know what happened an hour ago or a few hours ago wasn’t the best first impression of me and the others. We’ve barely known each other . . . so, if it's any consolation, I’ve been pondering the same things as well. The James incident . . . I know, it was bad of Amalya to cheat on her partners, though I will hold the other parties accountable, too, in the fallout of that situation. Sorry for all the trouble she caused.”

“Why are you . . . speaking for her?” questioned Victoria, who didn’t quite understand the reasoning behind Giulia’s motives, especially as lurid lights beamed upon her shining face. She could only have thought of another possibility, that of Giulia’s simple benevolence, though, after the short, yet many events occurring in only a few days, it was needless to say that there was quite a large amount of apprehension with consuming Giulia’s statement.

“Look, I have to go soon, but we’ll see each other again at the Art Table, okay?”

“O-okay.”

“There, there, it’s all fine now. I know there was some beef between you and James, and I don’t want to pry, so . . . yeah. Thanks for being so open to discussion.”

“You . . . too,” warmly agreed Victoria, who was still in fits of violent sniffling, as her eyelids burned brightly with bloodshot tendencies. “Thanks for comforting me, and . . . being so patient.”

“Okay, I have to go now. See you later!”

“You too!” And as Giulia left the room, with only a few remaining people left within the steamy room that Victoria could recognize, with one of them being her best friend’s younger brother, of who was the same age as her; Erick Alvarez, or so she presumed, based on the basic knowledge of Andrew’s surname. With a good chunk of time remaining upon the figurative clock, and his presence near, she decided to have a quick chat with him, despite his vapid dialogue that even Victoria struggled to understand, for he had to pair with an odd accent that was rather anatopic, considering his origins.

“Hey, Erick!” greeted Victoria, though it was quite a facetious mask, though mostly faulty, as he had very likely overheard her breakdown, considering not only his position, but the words soon espoused from his mouth.

“Greetings, dear Victoria, I have both visually and aurally perceived that you have been stricken with a minor variant of quaint sadness. I question, what is the matter, precisely?” immediately questioned Erick, clearly not having been stricken with myopic symptoms, either, with Victoria’s poor attempt to hide her true feelings. Maybe if I am more honest, people might like me more . . .

“Oh, well, um . . . uh, I just had a moment of reflection, maybe a bit more literal than you realize!” exclaimed Victoria, though her answer had a double meaning that Erick didn’t seem to quite catch.

“I quite observed that, for I perceive that screen is far more pellucid than my previous catching of its melted exterior. I can discern, that, you appear to be quite wary of revealing your veridical feelings, so, apologies for my intense examination.”

“No, no, it’s okay! I just don’t feel comfortable talking about it . . . not here.”

“So, are you considering discussing this matter after our education is over?”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” considered Victoria, before attempting to reassure Erick, “I mean, if you are fine with it . . . so, are you?”

“Affirmative, I must confirm, though, I was quite wishing to bring alongside my elder sibling, Andrew, as well as his romantic partner.”

“Oh, uh,” stuttered Victoria, clearly confused by this newfound detail of Andrew’s life, that, once again, Andrew hadn’t told her about. Man, and I thought I was the opaque one. “Well, what’s her name? Or his name?”

“It’s a female individual, and her preferred designation is Y-” However, in a unpredicted arrival, though quite obvious, in hindsight, was the appearance of a eavesdropper that had already made his presence, known, with an unmistakable smell that was dragged along, as well as his platonic connection to Erick, who’s name was Kenneth.

Kenneth was freakishly lanky, to an unhealthy point, as his yellowed skin hugged his skeletal structure, and an iconic feature of showing bones, were all highly visible, even to Victoria’s bludgeoned eyesight. Along with an unfavorable fashion sense, that was loose upon his thinning body, though, however, his skin was similarly covered by a thin coat of charcoal, wavy hair, that of which matted itself in the thickest clumps upon his angular face, made more apparent with near conical cheekbones. His eye follicles decorated his multilayered eyelids in a stunning fashion, though its effect had been lessened by a milky gloss filtering a black pupil. Along with the most noticeable parts of his anatomy, however, was a distinctly personal warmth that permeated those who came near him, of which was both in the physical realm, in the form of a deadly odor that assaulted the senses, but also a kindred spirit that contrarily cooled down the inner heat of Victoria’s hellish mood. Aside from his slight smell, there was also his height, which made it far more difficult for his spying to work effectively, as, to Victoria’s perspective, it was quite obvious there was a figure nearby, listening intently. But, eventually, Kenneth decided to spoil the entire mystery, as he jumped in, conveniently as Erick was espousing his response to Victoria’s inquiry.

“Hey, dude!” cheerfully greeted Kenneth.

“Salutations, Kenneth,” responded Erick, with a stark difference in their tones, becoming more apparent to Victoria’s perky ears with every dialogue between the duo.

“So, um, I wanted to ask you, bro, about what you’re talking about!”

“It’s quite simple, Kenneth, we are just debating over options to choose after our time here has been concluded.”

“Oh, I see. So, Victoria’s coming along, right?”

“Correct.”

“How ‘bout your bro?”

“He’ll be notified shortly, if this is performed.”

“Yes,” interjected Victoria, who wanted to start a small conversation between her and Kenneth, considering their social networks intertwining, “Um, yeah, we'll be taking a short walk, discussing things.

“Oh, that sounds cool! Who are you, again?”

“Oh, well, my name is Victoria. I am a friend of Andrew’s.”

“Oh, Andrew?”

“Yeah? Do you know hi-”

“Of course I know him, he’s Erick’s bro-”

“Yes, yes,” interrupted Erick, “We needn’t announce that private information in our current circumstances.”

“What circumstances? We’re just in a classroom, and it’s not like anything will happen if this gets leaked.”

“Wel-”

“Okay,” snapped Victoria, being frustrated with the seemingly typical arguments the two seemed to spontaneously generate, “I just want to know this; where’s the meetup point?”

“It shall be around this edifice’s vicinity, specifically, nearby the greenhouse, of which is within its harvesting season. You may easily spot it, by way of the greenery’s takeover; it has been surrounded by grapevines, en masse.” answered Erick, as Victoria noticed a sneak of his eyes towards Kenneth’s direction, of which was in the least affable sense, though considering the preceding events, it wasn’t an extremely unnatural response, by any means. “Any more inquiries before the toll chimes its hollow tune?” Victoria stayed silent, and propelled herself back within her dull chair. With the bell ringing, once more, Victoria had a few thoughts swirling within her mind, though, by now, they had all but settled. Except for one. My next class . . . it’s . . . Art.