«Shut up and go play with the others,» Old Larry said when Jude tried defending May. He had no time to deal with youngsters' sense of justice and friendship. He had a lot of work ahead, and Jude knew how to waste time the most among them.
Jude closed his mouth and widened his eyes, offended by that lack of concern. Since when would he be treated like a dog, being asked to play with the others? Oh, but May and Old Larry had a ton of secrets on their own. It was no surprise they wanted to be alone.
Jude squeezed May's shoulder as a sign of support, hoping he wouldn't get hit. But the girl next to him was relaxed as he had never seen her. Had she had a nice dream? Had an alien taken her place?
Oh, whatever. Chances were she survived the meeting with no scar.
«Understood,» Jude said. He walked out and closed the door on the way.
