Jennifer and Darius got a table at the café and sat down. "Why did you want to meet me?" Darius asked Jennifer. Jennifer had requested to meet him on such a short notice and she didn't socialize much, not after what Winston and Abby did to her. That thing was famous in school, like forever. The incident spread like wild fire in a forest.
"Actually, I called you here because I had a few questions to ask you. Do you mind answering my questions?" Jennifer replied. "No. Please go ahead. I'll be more than happy to assist you in any way that I can." Darius hadn't been talked to with such politeness. He had almost forgotten what it meant to be called with decency in one's voice. Jennifer was the first person to talk to her like this since he came here. It touched his heart.
"Um…. Do you have any idea what's going on with Kurt right now?" Jennifer's voice was hesitant. She didn't to sound very enthusiastic and ruin her plan. "Kurt? Oh. He is been sulking. You would have heard about the fire in his family's casino. The rumor has it that one of the staff working there burnt it down to get revenge from Kurt. He had raised his voice on them. Before the things got fatal, Kurt escaped with a few injuries. That's all. They have even filed a case against the employee."
Jennifer was shocked to the extend Kurt would go to hide the truth from the world. Blaming an innocent! Legally suing a person who had no hand in this! Kurt was definitely worthy of whatever Adrian had done to him. But this gave rise to another question. Why hide the truth? He could very easily go off and tell the world what had happened. His family was influential. They were just as powerful as Adrian's family.
Agreed that Adrian Rains was the silent hunter who would circle you for hours, striking when you least expected it. A desolate panther. Wild, quiet, and slick. His eyes pale and cold. But Kurt was no better.
Judging from the look on Jennifer's face, Darius asked the question, "Why do you want to know what's up with Kurt?" Jennifer was sacred now. At this particular point, all her plan could come crashing down but Jennifer knew better than to trust somebody else in this matter. That is when, a sudden question arose in Jennifer's mind. "Will you please answer one more question of mine."
"Of course." Darius said. "Can you please tell why Adrian used to beat you up. "Um… What you are asking is a really private question but I will answer you nonetheless. What I am telling you now is a secret. Please respect that." Darius was scared. This was easily visible by his body language. Jennifer didn't even know she could read body language this good before this meeting.
"Darius, I assure you, your secrets are safe with me." Jennifer said. She was very close on her target and she could sense that. Adrenaline kicked in. This feeling that she was getting, this adventure, she knew she was using Darius but she wanted to do it. She knew she would have to manipulate him at one point of time but Jennifer was ready to do it for the greater good.
"The answer to your question belongs in my past." Darius began his tale on a very slow note. "When my parents dragged me into his town filled with rich kids and glorious families, I understood that I did not belong here. This town was filled with people who could do anything to hide their dirty secrets."
Dirty secrets…. That sounded familiar. "Go on." Jennifer prompted him. "Here every person, men in their impeccable suits and women in their designer garments, have buried in their hearts, a lot of bad deeds which maybe done by them or their families. Some of the most influential families like yours and Kurt's or Adrian's command the power to rule this town. People like me or James, we have to weasel our filthy way out of this town, under the shoes of your families." Darius spoke with such bitterness and hate in his voice that for a moment, even Jennifer started to think of herself as a villainess. A tyrant.
She wondered what the Smiths would have done to him to receive so much hate. Indeed, this town had places only for the privileged. All knew that. Jennifer herself had bowed down to the fact that in this town, only the rich and powerful could thrive, the rest shall perish. This fact was made clear to her a long time ago.
"But Adrian, he is different from all the other rich people." Darius's voice now had a hint of respect. A sense of gratitude and approval was visible in his voice. That was something new. Jennifer has supposed that Darius would hate Adrian for bullying him but he had seemed to worship him. This awoke Jennifer's interest more.
"At first, when I got to school, I didn't speak much. A precaution. But, soon he approached me himself. He tried to talk to me but then I found myself opening to him very easily. He was really easy to talk to." Jennifer could share that feeling. She and Adrian has become friends in just one evening. A party hosted by her family. The guy indeed had his way with words.
"But Kurt didn't seem to like this. He always thought of me as some property of his. He didn't like the idea of me being friends with Adrian. So, I shut him out. I always listened to Kurt. My family's life depended on his family. Adrian tried talking to me. He called me, many times. He even tried contacting me in school corridors but I always ignored him because I was scared of what Kurt might do to our family."