When the two left the building, Lianey started the conversation. She seemed bothered by something.
"Ahm, Max? Can I call you that?" Lianey queried while her face was blushing.
"Sure. Call me anything you want," Maxene replied.
"Yay! Then you can continue calling me Lian," Lianey happily responded. "Oh, and by the way…" she paused and looked around to make sure that no one was around them.
"I heard them talking about you…"
Maxene looked at her as if she wasn't surprised. "Them? You mean our blockmates?" she questioned while looking around. They are heading to some canteens outside the main campus since the main cafeteria is quite far from their building.
"Yeah, earlier in the class," Lianey added.
"Hmm, I see," Maxene responded nonchalantly.
"Aren't you curious about what they said?"
"Not really. I don't know them after all so why would I be bothered?" It's true. Why would she be bothered? They aren't the reason why she's here. Besides, she didn't attend class to get involved with any petty college dramas.
"Well, you should be!" Lianey firmly stated. "It's not good to have enemies in college, you know?"
Maxene looked at her with her brow raised. "Why? What did they say?"
"I think someone's spreading rumors about you," Lianey seriously responded.
"What? That fast?" she uttered in surprise.
Lianey nodded and said, "Yeah, they said you ignored Rosie."
Maxene chuckled because of what she heard. It's really not a rumor but it's overstated. She didn't really ignore Rosie, she just rejected her invitation. And how did they know about this instantly? Meanwhile, Lianey's eyes widened.
"Why are you laughing? Is it true then?"
Maxene shrugged and answered, "I didn't know rejecting someone's invitation would cause this much commotion." It must be Melinda trying to get sympathy. Maxene is amazed because it's just her first day but she can already see their influence.
"Oh my! I think we're meant to be!" Lianey said and laughed.
"What do you mean?" Maxene asked while grinning at her.
"Let's save it for later. Let's choose where we'll eat first." Lianey turned and looked around and Maxene followed her. "There are several canteens and food stalls in this part of the university but they are quite far from each other," she explained and then pointed to the one in front of them. "This one is near but I don't really recommend the food. Plus, it's too crowded."
"Then what do you suggest?"
"We'll have to walk for 3 minutes if it's fine with you. But I assure you that the food is worth it and cheaper. Most importantly, only a few students eat there," Linaye happily responded.
Confused, Maxene replied, "You seemed pretty rich yourself but you want to eat in a cheap place?"
"The cheap price is just a bonus. What I really go there for is the food and peace," Lianey told her and chuckled.
"I see, you don't like being surrounded by people."
"Yeah, It's too much work."
Lianey led the way to her favorite canteen as they walked under the shades of the trees.
Maxene glanced at her and said, "You don't like people?"
"No. Not like that. I just want to eat my meal peacefully. And it seemed like we would get along that's why I approached you," Lianey answered.
"And… you don't think you would get along with the others?" Maxene queried while referring to their blockmates.
It seems like Lianey was taken aback by what she said so it took her a few seconds to respond.
"Well… I just… I can't–"
"You don't have to answer that. We can choose whoever we don't want and want to hang out with," Maxene cut her off.
Lianey smiled because of what Maxene said. She's happy to meet someone who doesn't judge her for being the loner type.
"So where is that place you're talking to?" Maxene uttered to break the silence. She didn't want the smile Lianey was making despite the fact that it was actually giving her an advantage.
"Oh right! This way."
Meanwhile, from a distance, a man is staring in their direction with his brows knitted. He remained in his position as he watched Lianey and Maxene walk away.
"Hey, Raffy. Isn't that your sister?" a woman who seemed to be his friend said when she saw where he was looking at.
"Yeah," the man replied although he felt weirded out when he heard her call him 'Raffy' "And please don't call me that. Just Ridger is fine," he added.
"But it's cute though!" the girl uttered while looking at him with puppy eyes. Ridger thought that she was too old to act cute but tried his best not to speak it out loud.
At the same time, his friends beside him laughed because of what they overheard. Raffy is his childhood name and they were the reason why people started calling him that after they spread it out.
Ridger glared at his two friends who were trying their best not to burst out laughing. "This is all your fault," Ridger mouthed.
"It was Nathan, not me," the guy with blonde hair said. He seemed like the carefree guy who always caused trouble. Ridger can't trust whatever comes out of his mouth anyway.
Meanwhile, Nathan just chuckled and didn't even try to explain himself. Both of them knew who likes to play around.
"Dave, you're commuting your way home," Ridger stated and went towards the canteen first.
"Wait, bro! I was just playing around!" Dave is grounded because he caused trouble last time. He's not allowed to use his car for a month so he would have Ridger pick him up and drive him home. Nathan on the other hand uses his motorbike and wouldn't take Dave home.
"But seriously, who's that girl your sister is with? She's pretty!" Dave tried to change the subject when they entered the canteen so Ridger would forget about it later.
"Prettier than Ysabel to be exact," Nathan mumbled but the girl they were with seemed to have heard what he said.
"Who's Ysabel?" she queried taking their attention especially Ridger's.
Shocked, Dave immediately held the girl's shoulder and gently pushed her towards the canteen door. "Didn't you say you and your friends were having lunch together? They must be looking for you!" he uttered and chuckled trying to get rid of her.
"Yeah, but I'm supposed to come with you guys!" she stated and pouted at him.
Dave's face turned sour because of what she did and said, "Aren't you too old to be acting cute?" When Ridger and Nathan heard that, they couldn't help but burst out laughing. It turns out they were all thinking the same.
Meanwhile, the girl's face turned red and she immediately ran away. Dave on the other hand doesn't seem to understand what he did wrong because, in his eyes, he was just stating what's on his mind.
"Why? Am I wrong?" Dave queried with his usual innocent face.
Ridger just shook his head while chuckling and left to take his order. On the other hand, Nathan heaved a deep sigh as if he just got out of a bad situation.
"You actually did something right today. You saved my ass. I'll pay for your meal," Nathan stated and rested his arms around Dave's shoulder.
At the same time, Ridger's face seemed serious as he remembered what he saw earlier. He has a lot of questions in mind and one of them is why is his sister with that new girl?
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End of Chapter 5