The cold wind blew leaves over them as Jecca pushed herself up from the ground.
"Good thing you had that on you…"
Jecca then immediately realized the severity of what just happened and turned her head towards Orei.
"HEY! Why do you have a knife?! Give me that."
Snatching up Orei's kitchen knife and stashing it somewhere safe she glanced over towards the boy on the ground.
Walking over towards Leto who was visibly shaken she asked him if he was alright.
A hesitant look grew on Leto's face as his eyes dropped to the ground.
"C'mon here, get up."
Jecca reached out her hand as a kind gesture to Leto. Reluctantly his hand moved towards hers and finally made contact which made her immediately pull him up.
Back onto his feet, Leto had the same old type of clothing style. The typical green and brown sweater and the shorts he always wore.
His blonde hair was all messy due to being roughed up by Abby and her gang. Jecca brushed off some dust and pebbles off his hair.
Leto stood there holding onto his arm.
"Thanks… for helping me."
"No problem! I know it has been over 3 years since we all hung out, but we are still friends!"
"I guess so…"
Jecca decided to pull Orei over towards Leto and started flexing her as if she were some rare antique treasure.
"Orei is finally back with us! We can all hang out again!" She said confidently.
As words left Leto's mouth they grew more timid and quiet.
"I'm sorry, but I won't be able today. Maybe another time?"
"Then how about we walk you home then?"
Leto paused for a moment before giving a smile filled with doubt and concern.
"Sure, alright…"
Jecca and Orei followed Leto as they walked back towards the neighbourhood.
Some small talk was made during the walk but still, it was pretty quiet as Orei and Leto didn't talk with each other. A few glances at each other were all the communication they needed to understand what the other was conveying.
Leto's house was located around one block away from Orei's so it didn't take long for the gang to reach his house. Upon arrival, they saw how overgrown the place was. It was similar to one of those overgrown haunted houses but it still seemed fresh. Flowers and vegetables were growing in his backyard and a lot of them were near his window.
Vines and moss covered the walls and roof. As Leto neared his front door, his body started to tremble and he stopped in his tracks.
He quickly turned back his small body and faced them.
"There is actually something I need to say! My photo album got taken by Abby… and I really need it back."
"Abby did what?!"
Orei's eyes slowly shifted their gaze towards Jecca saying "Here we go again."
"Don't worry Leto! We will get your photo album back! Right Orei?"
Not saying anything Orei just stared at Jecca with her brazen attitude.
"Alright then we will be back with your photos don't worry!"
A genuine smile finally embraced Leto as he nodded and thanked Jecca before entering his house.
"Well then Orei, let's go get it back!… but maybe we should eat something before that."
They returned to the park, went through a shortcut and finally reached the plaza. There was a water fountain filled with rusty coins. Orei sat down next to the fountain in exhaustion before looking at all the different stores.
Jecca waved her hand, signalling for Orei to follow her. A deep tired sigh came out of Orei as she pushed herself up from the stone fountain.
"Look! A burger place! Want sum?"
Without hesitation, Orei hastily walked in. Jecca followed her closely.
It wasn't busy with only a few people inside the store. Jecca went up towards the cashier and started ordering.
"One of those royal chicken burgers with fries, I will also take 4 of those bags of chicken wings and gimme 2 milkshakes, banana and strawberry… and… one of those Oreo ice creams. What about you Orei?"
Orei's hungry eyes stared at the pictures above the cashier. Jecca noticing her gaze ordered a cheeseburger with some fries.
"Will that be your order?"
Thinking for a moment Jecca happily nodded and told her that she was done ordering.
"Alright, that will be 30 dollars."
Jecca tapped on her pockets trying to find her wallet. It was like watching a businessman forget his ID for work.
With her hands clasped together, she turned towards Orei.
"Can you pleaseee cover this… I promise to pay you back!"
Another melodramatic sigh came out of Orei as she pulled out her wallet. Inside was allowance money she had gotten from her mom. She handed a 100-dollar bill to Jecca who took it and handed it to the cashier.
"Your order will be out shortly!"
Jecca returned Orei the 70-dollar change which she stashed back into her wallet.
They found a quiet corner with a nice view and sat down waiting for their food. Sounds of beeping and the cashier calling out orders continued until Jecca finally heard their order number. She vanished in an instant and brought back a tray with all of their food.
Orei couldn't contain her hunger anymore and started to drool as the food approached her table.
"Here ya go, enjoy!"
Orei took small bites of her food, savouring every bite as if she hadn't had food in weeks. Lifting her gaze from her food she saw how Jecca was inhaling the food. She had already finished her burger whilst Orei had only taken a single bite of hers.
Trying to understand every ounce of flavor, Orei closed her eyes, it was flavors that she hadn't tasted in years. For her, it was like a gift from angels, a gift that almost made her remember the joy in food. She looked at Jecca again, who was sipping on her milkshakes, alternating from one to another. She looked down onto the table seeing all the chicken wings gone… just the bones left.
As Orei finished the last bite, finally enjoying life a little bit more she opened her eyes and saw Jecca sitting there eyeing her fries like a hawk.
A mischievous grin grew on Jecca's face as she slowly with her hand reached out towards Orei's food.
Seeing this, Orei decided to push her fries closer to Jecca and poured all of them on the tray so both of them could eat.
Thanking her generosity Jecca started to munch on Orei's fries but as they were eating they heard a beep. Someone had entered the store. They turned their heads and saw it was two of the hooligans from Abby's gang.