Chapter 15 - You look like you’re about to murder someone

 

After collecting my thoughts, I turned around and decided to head back when-

"Argh!" I was startled by someone that was standing behind me.

 

"Costume looks nice noona." It was just Alastair. I could feel my heart plummet when I turned around, he really startled me.

 

"This kid-" I hooked my arm around his neck and messed with his hair. That's for scaring the cr*p out of me.

 

"What are you doing? stop." He pulled himself up and arranged his hair.

 

"What were you running from anyway, is someone taunting you?" He asked right after arranging his thick glasses.

 

"Oh~ why, are you going to protect me?" I said and teased him.

 

"But you’re getting thin too fast that it's scary, you should eat well so you can grow properly and protect me." I said. I know for a fact that Alastair hasn't been eating well, he wanted to grow thin, and he was successful but he was getting thin fast that it was scaring me. There were times that I would hear his stomach grumble, there were also many times that I see him feel faint for not eating lunch.

 

"What the hell am I going to do with a pile of bones? Use it to stab someone to protect myself?" I said teasingly, I wanted him to eat properly, he was very conscious about his weight, but he wasn't losing pounds the right way.

"I know that you're not eating properly Al, and it's honestly worrying me." I seriously said. I've mentioned it jokingly before but he's continuing it that I'm worried he'd develop an eating disorder.

"What, you think I don't notice?" Alastair looked at me and lowered his head.

"Instead of growing you're going to stunt your growth if you keep starving yourself."

“If you continue at it I might as well force feed you with my own hands.” I said jokingly. Alastair still had his head down as if he was some 5-year-old child being reprimanded for eating candy past his bedtime. He made me laugh at his expression, he looked so sullen that I found it funny.

 

“You know that what I’m saying is right Al, you just need to be patient and consistent with your diet instead of starving yourself everyday.” I raised my hand and patted his head.

I dragged him towards the cafeteria after talking to him sincerely, I know that he gets what I was just saying. And what else is better to do than go to the cafeteria and eat? But before that, I removed my hot costume and reported back to Julia who was instructing the other students on where to put the boards to dry it.

 

“Julia, it fits me perfectly.” I approached her and gave her the neatly hanged suit and the detachable straps.

 

“Good, since you’re done with your duties you can go now.” She took the clothes from me and turned around coldly. After that rejection incident, Julia doesn’t smile anymore like she usually did, to me that is. But I’m not mad at her sudden change in behavior, she still treats me properly and is considerate. I feel like she’s more embarrassed rather than mad.

I turned around and went towards the doorway to where Alastair was waiting for me. I walked confidently towards the cafeteria as I plan on spending my money on Alastair with the food he likes. I sure am a cheapskate but I throw that out the window the moment a friend needs it.

 

“I’m buying.” Before Alastair could even take his gold card from his wallet, I took out cash from mine and paid his and my food. Alastair was hesitant for a moment but I just smiled at him and grabbed my food.

 

“You use cash?” Alastair asked as we were walking towards a table, we decided not to sit outside as it was really cold, it might even snow this week.

 

“I… like using cash.” After a few seconds I answered. Well, if I could use a card I would, but Yvonne’s father took her assets when she was 10, I don’t know the exact scenario that happened since it wasn’t mentioned properly in the book. Yvonne liked this playset a lot, it was really expensive, a luxury playset and she hadn’t wanted anything more than to buy it and show her friends. His father, being a strict *sshole to a 10-year-old locked her assets. Michael planned on giving it back to her when she “learnt” her lesson, but Victor told his father that Yvonne would only spend it in useless stuff.

 

“It makes my wallet look thick and stacked you know?” I said as a reason to support why I use cash. Well, it’s not like I’m stacked right now. The money in my pocket isn’t Yvonne’s, It’s money that I earned myself from collecting orbs with Nova.

 

Demi and Alastair sat on a table farthest to the corner since it was less likely to get polluted with noise when other students come to eat. Alastair was alright with paying or not paying for their food. He doesn’t really spend his money on anything other than art related stuff. He hasn’t been eating properly because he wanted to lose more weight before the Christmas festival, he still has baby fat on his cheeks and his body is still plump, but compared to 2 months ago, he was almost unrecognizable.

 

‘Look thick and stacked?’ Alastair thought to himself, it’s already weird for Yvonne, coming from one of the richest families in the city, to use cash. No one, as in no one, used cash here. Alastair didn’t have a problem with her using cash, what bothered him particularly was how empty her wallet was. Before he could give his gold card to the lunch lady, he saw Yvonne counting 50 dollar bills to pay.

 

Her wallet wasn’t stacked at all, there weren’t even any 100 dollar bills inside. Alastair didn’t ponder over it for too long since it was Yvonne’s money after all, maybe she just has multiple wallets.

 

“Do you know a book called ‘to raise a Goldfish’?” Alastair was snapped out of his momentary thoughts and turned towards Yvonne.

 

“You’re interested in aquatic animals now?” He didn’t know what the book was, but only hearing it from its title, it must be a documentary or a “how-to” book.

 

“Nah, I just saw it somewhere and got curious.” Demi said.

 

“So it’s an animal book then?” Demi asked to clarify. She doesn’t know why but she remembers that green book for some reason. Demi doesn’t remember where she has seen it, but she felt like it was something important.

 

“I mean, based on the title, it must be.” Alastair said as he ate his food. He was a little hesitant since it was more than what he ate, but knowing Yvonne, she’ll only worry even more.

 

“Would you look at that, seems like you don’t know everything after all.” Demi said as she sipped the hot soup with her spoon.

 

“When did I say that I know *everything*?” Alastair said and ate another spoonful of rice.

 

‘Eh, look at this kid. He’s starving.’ Demi thought to herself. Alastair was eating like he has eaten a new dish with a taste that was beyond his imagination. Demi was right, he was starving himself. Demi and Alastair was enjoying their food when they heard footsteps and whispering from the halls.

 

‘Looks like the others are here.’ Demi thought. The cafeteria doors opened and the other students entered right after.

 

Demi and a certain guy’s eyes met. ‘F*ck’ Demi immediately avoided eye contact, it was none other than Lucas after all.

 

‘I still feel stupid after that incident earlier. Thank goodness I had a costume on.’ Demi cursed herself. She did understand why Lucas would always be in their side of the building since they had the same course, but he’s on a different class on a different floor.

 

Lucas, who saw Yvonne look away felt irked.

 

‘What’s with this woman now?’ He thought to himself. For some unknown reason, he felt somewhat annoyed by what Yvonne did. She avoided eye contact and focused on a man in front of her. Lucas went to get his food and sat down, his eyes always wandering towards Yvonne.

Demi, on the other side felt her hair on her arms stand up. She glanced behind Alastair for a split second just to see Lucas’s glare.

 

‘SH*T.’ She quickly reatracted her gaze back towards Alastair.

 

‘Did he know that it was me inside the mascot?’ Demi started wondering how he knew.

 

‘I’m dead meat. He’s mad that I listened to their conversation.’ Demi was holding herself together.

 

‘It’s not my fault I heard it! You were literally beside the restroom area!’ Demi rolled her eyes uncontrollably and tried her best not to look behind Alastair.

 

Back on the other side, Lucas was thinking about something different.

 

‘She can smile like that?’ Lucas thought to himself, he was somewhat pissed off by the vibe she was giving to others, she was completely different when she talks to him.

 

‘Snap out of it.’ Lucas whispered to himself. He felt weird, he felt something he didn’t want to feel. ‘It’s the same feeling I felt when I saw that guy in the parking lot’ he thought to himself. He doesn’t know what was happening to him anymore.

 

“Lucas!” Lucas was finally snapped from his semi-trance state by his friend.

 

“You look like you’re about to murder someone dude, what the hell?” Stanley was scared by Lucas’s gaze. The only time he saw that gaze was when Lucas’s father engaged him to Lydia when they were 14.

.

.

.

“Goldfish, goldfish.” I said to myself as I scroll down through the library records. I had to sweet talk the prof just to get access to the library log files. I was looking for the book title under the “current books” column but I wasn’t able to find it, I already spent an hour looking for it.

 

I opened the file named “discarded” and found no Goldfish except for a documentary. I was so focused on scanning the names of the titles that my eyes started to get strained. I was losing hope at that point.

 

‘Why the heck am I so eager to find it anyway?’ I thought to myself. Just because of a dream I’m getting so agitated over some green book. I’ve already opened 10 files so far and found nothing even close to the title of the green book.

 

‘How do I know that it’s a book in the first place?’ It might as well be some magazine or it might not even exist whatsoever! Why was I causing such a fuss over a godamn dream anyway? It’s just a dream! I don’t even remember half of it.

 

“This is hopeless~” I sighed to myself. I closed the library doors with my keys and headed out. It was already 6:00 pm and I still had to ride home. I walked down the barren hallways of the school while looking defeated and pissed off at the same time. I was walking through the hall like a kid who dropped her ice cream when I heard a whistling sound.

 

*WHISTLE*

 

I saw a janitor with headphones on whistling to a melody. I got to admit, he has whistling skills.

 

“Why do you look so devastated?” The old man noticed me and saw my defeated face. He raised his brow and put his headphones down.

 

“I can’t find the book I’m looking for.” I complained

 

“Hm, what book is it? Maybe I know it?” He rested his chin on his hands holding the mop and faced my way.

 

“How can you know it sir? Even the web didn’t have answers.” I replied. I just lost hope at this point, my eyes were strained already.

 

“Oh this brat, these kids always rely on the internet, not everythin’ in there is right!” The old man annoyingly said.

 

“How to raise a goldfish.” I said. How could this old man know that book anyway? Maybe it wasn’t even a book in the first place.

 

“Ah! A classic. The green book written by Henry Welsh? Ah, I remember that guy, I still feel sad about what happened to him.” The old janitor sighed as if he was at a loss.

 

 

 

{A: I forgot to put chap 14 before 15 T-T but here you go I hope u like it ^^

I might not be able to post until next week so I'm putting 2 chaps <3 }