Cassie was worn out after she finished the research, so she stretched her arms to gain some strength. She arranged her notes and then placed them back in her backpack.
She was grateful that Natasha was here to lend a hand. "I owe you a lot, Nat."
"Eh?" Natasha didn't expect to see something in the book as she turned the next page.
Cassie saw the reaction of Natasha and then got curious about what Natasha saw, so she had a look. "A school id?"
Natasha flipped the school id to see if she could contact the person who owned it. "Looks like all we need to do is to give this person a call and then return this school id," she found a phone number.
Cassie was relieved that it wouldn't be too complicated to find for the person. "Yeah, that'll do."
Natasha kept the school id in the pockets of her pants. "Since we're done about the research thing, shall we grab something to eat?"
Cassie smiled. "I was hoping you would ask that."
Natasha giggled. "I'll take that you're hungry and we should be heading out of here."
She closed the book where she found the school id and then stood up from her seat to return where the book was placed. She looked at the shelf one last time and then smiled, thinking of returning to the Great Library.
She didn't mind what to eat, but she couldn't decide exactly where to eat, so she relied on Cassie to decide. She didn't know where her best friend was leading her, but it would be revealed sooner or later.
Cassie paused her steps. "Here!"
Natasha looked where Cassie led her. "It's been a while since I ate here."
"Did I make a good choice?" Cassie asked.
"You did," Natasha answered. "Regardless of what you choose, remember I told you I don't mind where we will eat."
Both of them entered the Subway.
"What will you have, Nat?" Cassie asked when she accessed the menu through the kiosk.
Natasha browsed the menu. "I'll have a roasted chicken breast and..." she scrolled down to find the drinks section. "A bottled water, of course."
"As for me, I'll have an egg mayo, coca-cola drink, and extra cookies for our—" Cassie didn't manage to finish what she had to tell when she heard a loud voice just now that startled her.
"What the?" Natasha heard it as well, so she had a glimpse at the window to update herself on what was happening.
She saw a girl who wore a casual attire that looked like it was shopped from a fashion magazine that was encircled by two boys who wore casual attire as well. She didn't want the girl to experience the fear she suffered when Lawrence got aggressive towards her.
Cassie had a hunch that Natasha would step in. She didn't want Natasha to get involved with more trouble, so she should stop her as soon as possible. She held her left forearm to stop her.
"What are you doing, Nat?" Cassie asked.
"Let go, Cass," Natasha hoped that Cassie would, but she doubted that would happen.
"You should call the—" Cassie didn't have a chance to finish when Natasha succeeded in breaking out of her hold.
Natasha stepped out in haste.
Cassie huffed. "That girl— unbelievable!"
"How dare you spill your drink over us, you nasty bitch!" one of the boys snarled.
The girl glared. "You deserved to be trashed because you spoke ill of Brother!"
"You don't have the guts, Mari," one of the boys sneered. "Your brother's not here to defend in your stead!"
The girl was nauseated when she heard her nickname. "You shouldn't use Mari to regard me when we aren't close."
"We can do what we want, Ma—" one of the boys didn't manage to finish what he had to tell when Natasha stepped in.
She smiled. "Leave her alone, shitheads."
The girl didn't expect to hear a foul word from Natasha. "C-Cool..." she murmured.
"This is our business—" one of the boys groaned and almost lost her balance once Natasha used her right foot to strike his left ankle.
"Your business? So what?" Natasha couldn't care less. "I don't like your ways of business."
"W-We'll remember this!" one of the boys snarled and then withdrew, so did his companion.
Cassie was prepared to call for help once the situation got out of hand, but she was relieved it didn't escalate. She didn't like what Natasha did, so she would scold her for acting recklessly once Natasha went back to Subway.
The girl could defend herself, but she didn't know if that tactic would be effective, so she was grateful someone stepped in. "I don't know how to thank you enough, Miss!"
"You don't have to—" Natasha couldn't believe that the girl she defended looked like the person in the school id that she found in the book.
"No, no!" the girl shook her head. "I don't think thank you is enough, Miss."
Natasha smiled as she found how small the world was. "Looks like I don't have to call when I found you."