The bell rings, and the last school period for this morning ends. My professor gently told the whole class for dismissal and leaves after asking if any questions or other interruptions should be tackled and related to the discussion. Jaime is outside, watching the professor while he leaves and letting themselves feel welcomed in my classroom.
"Kaiden!" Jaime happily said, smiling and waves before going to my seat.
"Hello Jaime, so are we going to eat our lunch here? Or at the cafeteria?" I asked politely.
"Why not the cafeteria?" Jaime asked before answering my question.
"Since the famous student came here, maybe the cafeteria is a little bit more crowded, I think?" I explained with a doubting expression.
"Don't worry, Kaiden, the cafeteria is enormous. Even the elephant can fit in. So there's no possible way for the cafeteria to get occupied." Jaime answered my question with a metaphor.
I nod and smile in tightly lipped, "You're right. Let's go to the cafeteria then." I pack my stuff after, and we move out of the classroom.
While moving to the cafeteria, Jaime asks a question, "Kaiden, can I ask you something?"
"Sure thing, what is it?" I spoke with joy.
"Have you and Zion met before already?" Jaime asked slowly.
I stop walking, and my face falls with a suspicious look after hearing that question. "Why'd you asked?" I look at them with a neutral expression.
"Hmm... Well, I get to see Zion closest as possible finally, and even I get to talk to him personally." Jaime explained, smiling.
"Oh, I'm so impressed, Jaime!" I complimented Jaime with a smile.
Jaime begins staring at me suspiciously, "It happened because of you, Kaiden." Jaime said slowly and thoughtfully.
I shock as both eyebrows raise for a few seconds. "What?" I asked softly.
"Well... As I found out that you are already gone, I shouted with your name because I thought that you're also joining the crowd." Jaime told me.
"You know that I don't like that kind of stuff, Jaime. Then?" I said, knowing that I want to hear more from them.
"Oh yeah, I forgot." Jaime heads down, grimacing. "Then Zion overheard me and came to talk and ask me for something, something about you." Jaime looks at me in the way they wanted to hear from me, especially my secrets.
"Maybe he meant the other Kaiden, Jaime." I falsely told Jaime.
Jaime touches their chin and starts thinking, "Oh really? He even told me that he saw you from the exact last spot where I left you." So Jaime told me, staring at me afterward.
I avoided our eye contact and also the topic we are talking about, "Probably you're just daydreaming about Zion. Come on. I'm starving." I continue moving, and Jaime comes along.
"Wait, but that does not answer my question Kaiden," Jaime told me while catching me up. I hum excessively and pretend that I missed hearing their statement.
As we have arrived at the cafeteria, and it turns out that I didn't expect that there are only a few students around, eating and buying their lunch. However, I can't see Zion from here, so that explains it.
"How about that seat over there." I tried to suggest and pointed out the table at the bottommost left.
Jaime nods, "Splendid in terms of the atmosphere, Kaiden," Jaime said, feeling impressed.
"Okay then." We commence ourselves to move at the suggested table. As Jaime and I finally seated right next to each other in the opposite-facing direction from the entrance, we start eating our lunch peacefully with a bit of conversation. We talk several minutes about our class during our lunch. Then I begin to notice the noise from outside that seems to be rising gradually in its volume.
"Do you hear that, Jaime?" I asked if I am the only one.
"Hear what?" Jaime spoke, eating with their chips, crunching every bite with their mouths full.
"Oh, sorry, maybe it's just me," I told Jaime and faced down, staring at my food and continue eating.
We mind our business, but the noise keeps rising and rising, which keeps me distracted, and Jaime finally has noticed it. So they stop eating for a moment and start listening.
Jaime looks at me," Is that what you mean, Kaiden?" Jaime said, pointing their finger to the entrance.
I nod, "Probably Zion and his fans... will be eating here in the cafeteria." I guessed confidently. Surprisingly, both my eyebrows raise as I didn't expect to think of him first than anyone else in my mind.
We turn on our backs to face the entrance and see who else is coming to the cafeteria. As I've guessed it right, Zion appears and enters the diner, alongside his fans, cheering, admiring, and taking pictures of him where he gets the highest of the full privilege I once wanted since I was a freshman in high school.
Jaime and I look into each other, "As a matter of fact, it's Zion." Jaime told me, smiling then screams in excitement.
"You already have talked to him. What's so exciting about?" I asked from my curiosity.
"Kaiden! You seem a little odd." Jaime is concerned. "What's wrong?" Jaime asked, leaning very close to my face. "Hmmph?! Do tell me." Jaime seriously told me to tell, narrowing their eyes while staring at me.
Zion spotted our table and starts walking towards our spot, I didn't notice him until he finally gets on our table, and I'm just staring at him steadily with his fierce expression that creeps me out. Then Jaime starts to notice from my eyes that it's staring in a different direction, so Jaime looks back and sees Zion standing there.
Jaime leans back from me and sits appropriately, "Oh Zion?" Jaime is surprised while they spoke.
Zion sighs heavily for no reason, from my point of view. He walks and takes his hand off out of his pocket without saying any word as he sits beside me and picks his fancy lunch to the table. While people in the cafeteria, including us both, begin to confuse, silent as the dead except inside the kitchen.
Jaime nudges my left arm then leans closer to my left ear, "Did I missed something about you two?" Jaime whispered.
"N-none... I didn't even know what he is capable of." I whispered back with a genuine answer.
"Maybe, this is his property. So we should transfer without being told." Jaime spoke
My face reacts as it makes sense from what Jaime said. "Indeed, I don't even like being surrounded." I agreed, as I told Jaime.
Still, his fans have gone shocked, and they start talking to each other in an undisciplined manner, as I can see with both my eyes, wide open from judging them. The disgust clouded their gaze toward us, which also shows the sign of jealousy.
I slowly stand up, lacking confidence. "I'm sorry for the misunderstanding, and we didn't know that this is Zion's property, so we'll just gonna leave from here." I bashfully said.
Some of them are getting relieved, and the others mumbled angrily, saying to leave the table, as I can still read their mouths. Good thing their negative emotions start ebbing. Jaime and I pick up our lunch and tries standing up to remove ourselves from the table.
During the attempt to escape, Zion quickly grabs my right hand firmly, "No!" Zion said, staring at me fiercely, "You are the one who's being misunderstood here."
I look back at him. "Wh... what?" I stuttered softly.
"I need to eat with you." Still, he stares at me, desperately and fiercely simultaneously. "Please... sit down," Zion told me in a severe tone, which means my senses not to say no.
The fans couldn't resist themselves to open up a topic between Zion and me. Still, They are murmuring, which some of it is worth criticizing and judging from their words towards me by just looking at their foul mouths. My friend Jaime couldn't see me because the fans are blocking their view and are already at the other table, waiting for me.
I face down, "But...the crowd." I bashfully said.
"Is that so?" Then Zion slowly stands up, inserting his hands into his pocket, and leans his upper body to my right ear. "I'll deal with them in the next day, so don't mind them for now." He whispered, leaning himself back with a smirk in the end after.
What's with the whisper? Now the fans think that we are hiding something.
"So..." He stares at me, smiling. "Let's eat, shall we?" He happily said in a deep tone, then he goes back to the table and starts eating first.
"Jaime! Come over here!" I told Jaime, staring at them as I needed Jaime to eat with me, and Jaime readily agreed without saying a word. Then Jaime comes along with their lunch and starts eating awkwardly because his fans surround us.
In less than a minute, and we are still eating, Zion and I coincidentally look into each other, he smiles after, and I just immediately turned back, thinking that it's the wrong timing. His unusual smile from his serious look makes me think that he doesn't care about his fans at all. What's important to him is he gets to eat with us, probably.