Eunice's POV
"Don't you have any shame?" Arcus asked, annoyed. "Everyone, be quiet and fix your activity, or I'll tear apart what you're doing so you won't have anything to submit," he threatened us before turning back to Lily, who was now sitting with her knees hugged to her chest.
I think she tripped and hit her knee on the leg of the table, which must have hurt a lot, especially since we all clearly heard the sound earlier.
"Such a drama queen," I heard Mildred whisper, but I ignored her and rested my head on the table, tears streaming down my face.
I waited a few more minutes for our class to end, and I felt Arcus return to the teacher's table. I couldn't bring myself to look at him because I was still hurting.
"Ms. Welsh, face forward and don't fall asleep in class," I heard him say. I lifted my head from the table, but I didn't look at him.
"Face me," he said. But I couldn't meet his gaze; I was afraid I'd start crying in front of him, and it would be embarrassing if my classmates saw.
"Are you going to face me, or I won't accept any of your papers?" I heard my classmates whispering that I was being dramatic. So, I faced him, fearing their anger more than my own embarrassment.
I saw concern on Arcus's face, but it quickly turned serious again; he didn't say anything else and simply collected everyone's papers.
"Goodbye," he said and left us. I heard the murmurs of my classmates as they approached Lily; she didn't want to go to the clinic, so they just let her be.
I walked out to go to the cafeteria and eat, feeling lazy as I walked until I bumped into a guy.
"Sorry," he said to me. I looked up to meet his gaze; he was probably around Arcus's height and had a similar build.
"It's fine," I said briefly, planning to leave for the cafeteria. He grabbed my arm and stopped me, "Uh…" he said.
"D-do you need something?" I asked nervously, and he shook his head and let me go.
His face was unfamiliar to me; he must be from another section since I didn't recognize him.
"Miss, wait!" he called after me. I turned to look at him and noticed the hesitation on his face. "Do you need something?" I asked again.
He scratched his neck and smiled slightly at me, "I'm new here, and I don't know where the dean's office is. I need to get my section and schedule."
I smiled back because I found his shyness endearing, and he wasn't teasing me about my weight.
"Okay, I'll help you, but let's eat first because I'm really hungry," I said, smiling. I saw him stop and smile back at me. "Alright."
We headed inside the cafeteria and sat down at a somewhat distant table near the restrooms. My companion didn't question why we chose that spot.
"What's your name?" he suddenly asked. "Eunice," I replied. "I'm Leo, I'm from New Jersey, but we moved here because of my parents' jobs," he said. I nodded in response and stood up.
"Leo, I'll just order. What do you want?" I asked. He stood up and shook his head. "No, I'll do it. Don't the crew usually come to the customers?" he asked me.
"It's just that we might be too far for them to see us, so let's order ourselves. Besides, it'll help you know what's available too," I explained.
We started walking but I stopped when I saw Lily and Arcus coming in. Lily was holding Arcus's arm and looking around as if she was searching for something.
"Let's go," I said to Leo, not acknowledging what I saw.
"What's your order, ma'am?" the crew member asked us. I told him my order and waited for Leo to speak.
"One chocolate cake and a chocolate shake for me," he said. I glanced at him as I remembered Arcus. "Do you like chocolate?" I asked, and he nodded while smiling at me.
"I know someone who also loves chocolate," I continued.
"Who?" he asked.
"Me." We were surprised when someone suddenly spoke behind me. Leo and I turned to see Arcus looking at us seriously.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. I noticed his eyebrow raise as he stared directly at me, "What do you care? Why are you two so slow? This isn't a park where you can just hang out," he said, rolling his eyes.
I looked around and saw Lily sitting at our table. I was about to approach her when the crew arrived.
"Your order is ready, ma'am and sir. We'll just prepare it for you to hand it over. You may sit down and one of our crew members will come to you," he said with a smile. I simply nodded and nudged Leo toward our table.
"What are you doing there?" I asked Lily, who was on her phone.
She turned to us and quickly hid her phone. "Eunice, I've been looking for you," she said sadly. I didn't respond and grabbed my bag from the chair next to her.
We saw that there were no available seats around us, making us hesitate to move.
"Just leave, sit with your friends," I said. I could see the pain in Lily's eyes, but I ignored it.
"Why should we leave? There are no names written on the seats," I heard Arcus say from behind me.
"But we got here first," Leo replied.
I saw Arcus clench his fist and look at me seriously, as if he disapproved of what I was doing.
"Whether you got here first or not, there's still no name on the seat. Feel free to leave or share with us," Arcus replied.
Leo looked at me, so I smiled at him and nodded. He was about to sit next to me in the empty chair, but Arcus beat him to it.
I glanced at Arcus, but he just raised an eyebrow at me, "What?" he whispered.
Leo had no choice but to sit next to Lily. I noticed Lily give me a reserved smile, as if she felt shy.
None of us spoke, and soon the crew arrived with our order.
While we were eating, the four of us remained silent; only the sounds of the surroundings could be heard. "Eunice," I heard Leo say, prompting me to look over.
He was reaching out to wipe my mouth when Arcus stopped him and shot him a glare.