15 A bad feeling

The moment the lunch bell rang, Juin ran out of the classroom and went straight to the cafeteria to get his food. After he had gotten his food, he went to stand in line to pay for it.

"Hey, Juin," said the lunch lady as she took his card and swiped it. Juin was under a program that provided food for underprivileged kids, and he usually paid by swiping a card that was provided by the program. "I always give you extra food, but why are you still that size?" The lunch lady tutted as she looked at him.

Juin grinned awkwardly. "Well, without your food, I might even be smaller than now. Thanks, mam."

He then picked up his card and tray and went to sit in a corner. As he ate, he scanned the cafeteria, worried that there might be another person like Luca Rockefeller that was here to look for trouble with him.

"Your Majesty, I have a bad feeling about that Luca person… He kept staring at me as if he wanted to eat me up!" Juin complained in a low voice as he continued to eat.

Still no reply.

"You know, if he actually kills me, that won't be good for you as well. So, are you just going to let it be?"

Still no reply.

Juin groaned as he stuffed his food into his mouth. Patrick and John would often hassle him during lunchtime, so he had to be quick!

He was still eating when Max joined him, along with her boyfriend, Thomas, who did not seem too happy about being dragged over when he could have joined his friends.

"Erm… Hi, Thomas," Juin said as he looked at him.

"Hey," Thomas replied grudgingly as he sat down.

Max frowned and lightly slapped him on the shoulder. "Behave."

"I don't get why you insist on sitting here. It's more fun sitting with my friends," Thomas complained as he took a bite of his sandwich.

"You can go if you want to. I want to speak to Juin."

"If you say so!" Thomas quickly got up and took his tray before going to his friend.

Watching him leave, Max could only sigh and shake her head. She then looked at Juin and said, "Are you alright?"

Juin looked up at her and smiled. "I don't know what to say when you always ask 'Are you alright' whenever you see me…"

"What's there to say?" Max grinned as she reached over to steal his fries. "We are friends."

Juin placed his tray closer to her so that she could take his fries more easily. Even when they were younger, she would never order her own fries because she was afraid of getting fat. So she would just eat from his or Ashton's tray… The problem was that she would always eat more than half of their servings.

Juin could still remember Ashton complaining about her stealing all their nutrients, but Juin never minded it. He liked having Max around.

"I'd have sat with you more often if not because of Thomas…"

"It's fine. I understand. You guys just got together not long, so it's better if you guys spend more time together," Juin said with a sad smile. Of course he did not mean that, but what was he to say. As a man, he was not strong enough to protect her, nor smart enough. And Thomas had everything that a woman looked for in a partner. "Why are you here today? You don't have to worry about me all the time, you know."

Max shrugged. "Actually… It's because of that Luca Rockefeller. He was staring at you constantly during class, and you were obviously uncomfortable by it. Have you met him before?"

Juin was about to take a bite of his bacon sandwich when he heard her words. He thought for a moment as he slowly put down his sandwich. He then looked at her and shook his head. "No. I only saw him today."

"But he seemed to recognize you. And he kept asking me about you."

"What?!" Juin snapped and jumped up. When he realized what he was doing, and saw that people were staring at him, he quickly sat down and whispered, "What did he ask?"

"What you were doing at the museum, where you live, is there any changes with you ever since the field trip…" Max told him.

"Did you tell him anything?"

Max shook her head. "No. I don't know him, and I don't feel comfortable telling him those things about you when he was staring at you like that."

Juin sighed in relief. "Good. Don't tell him anything."

He was getting even more worried now. If Luca Rockefeller was really here to target him, Juin wouldn't mind that much if it was only him, but if he was targetting Max, then Juin had to do something about it.

"But what can I do?" Juin thought as he finished up his sandwich. When he was done, he got up and said to Max, "I had to clean up the basketball court before their practice later."

Upon hearing that, Max frowned. "It's stupid that they are making you do it. Why didn't you protest? You aren't even on the basketball team!"

Juin merely shrugged as he picked up his empty tray and walked away. Seeing him, Max quickly picked up her tray and followed behind him.

"What are you doing?" Juin asked when he saw her following him.

"I'll help you," Max said with a smile. "It's been a while since we hung out… Ever since you and Ashton moved away and…"

Her heart felt heavy at the mention of Ashton. She had been happy for them when they were fostered together, but then not long after, she got the news that Ashton was in an accident. Then they declared him dead.

And when Juin came back, he was a completely different person. To her, he was never this cowardly before. She believed that it was Ashton's death that caused him to change.

Juin looked at her, and after a while, he sighed and nodded. "Let's go…"

...