The four of them are walking down a busy street, the sky painted in the soft orange hues of late afternoon.
They walked in a loose line, the streets humming with after-school chatter and the scent of grilled meat from a nearby stand.
A fluttering poster on a nearby brick wall catches their eyes; the bold letters read:
"Tournament of Richt, Regionals starting this weekend! "
Location: Westvale Arena – just 2 stops away from here.
Roy smirks and nudges Tanaka with his elbow.
Roy says, "Oh shit, it looks like the tournament is being held around Westvale this year."
"You know… you could enter. Be the underdog with a mysterious aura, and become an aura farmer like you are, a real crowd pleaser."
Tanaka gave him a sidelong glance, unimpressed. "There is no point in entering it."
"No confidence, eh? "
"No, I just don't have an interest." He adjusted his coat. "I don't want to join the Celestial Watch, not even a little. That's what this whole tournament feeds into, right? Future knights, officers and commanders."
Kieran's expression didn't change, but he shifted slightly at that.
Tanka shrugs. "Kieran's the one who actually gives a damn. Wants to be a commander or whatever.
Kieran doesn't deny. He grins, stretching his arms behind his head and moans from how good it felt.
"What can I say? I like to win, you know," Kieran replied.
"But, well… I wouldn't mind," Kieran said after a little pause. "If I had the chance, I would, of course, try."
Roy looked over.
"Are you serious?"
This was the first time for him to hear something about this; he thought that he and Kieran were always going to be doing the same thing. Actually, it turns out not to be the case.
"Yeah," Kieran scratched the back of his head. "I want to do something that matters, and for the matter that I'm not half bad with a blade."
Brock quietly adjusts his glasses, speaking lightly as if he were speaking to himself.
"Interesting. So the battlefield calls to you? "
They all glance at Brock, wondering who he was talking to.
Tanaka was slightly hesitant to say but came out with it anyway. "... You good, monologue man?"
Brock grinned as he said this, "I'm just cool like that, you know."
They all look disappointed at him and simultaneously say, "No, you're not, just sad."
Brock's grin slowly disappeared as he looked at their faces, with disappointment. As the 3 walked away, he gave a slightly painful sigh and carried on walking.
It wasn't the kind of place you'd seek out, more the kind you stumble into when your stomach overrides your standards. The 4 walk past a building. With the sign above the door flickering, "Fry Shack", some letters half dead, one slightly wonky, it's a prominent fast food place that has opened across the continent and is now one of the leading fast food places in the industry.
They all looked at each other and just walked inside.
The air smelt of fryer oil, pure soda syrup, and sticky sweat.
They took a booth near the back, a little cracked and sticky, but far enough from the noise. The red leather cushions wheezed as they dropped ontothe seats and budged into place.
Kieran sat on the inside, arms crossed, scanning the laminated menu like it held wisdom.
Brock, who was near the window, leaned against the cold window, eyes glazed.
Tanaka was already listing his combo out loud to no one in particular: "Burger, double patty, spicy fries, banana milkshake and no cherry. If they put a cherry on it, I swear – "
Roy just stared at the overhead menu, eyes half-lidded, half-sleepy, and one hand, and was thinking of his bed.
They ordered.
When the food came, in a plastic tray, the wrappers were soaked through to the bottom, and the drinks were sweating with water all over them. They all got quiet and started eating their food.
People usually talk while they eat with other people, but sometimes they need peace and quiet to simply enjoy the food they are eating. This group does both, and the best part is it's not commanded; it's all natural.
The sound of eating took over: fries crunching, slurping from a drink, and the occasional quiet sigh of contentment.
Then the conversation slowly sparked back to life, the way it always did when their stomachs were half full.
Kieran broke the silence first, unwrapping the second burger he bought.
"Do you think anyone from school is actually going to have a go at the tournament? "
Tanaka, mid-bite, shrugged.
Kieran carried on, "I meant in general, but thanks for the vote of confidence."
Roy leaned back with his drink, tapping the straw against his lips.
"You want to join, though. Don't you? "
Kieran didn't deny it. "I do… Well, I wouldn't mind becoming a commander. It's not about the power, but it's like… I don't know. Meaning. Like doing something that matters, you know."
Brock, finally finishing his mouthful, muttered. "You don't think this matters? "
Kieran paused. He gave it a thought before answering. The sound of ice shaking as he stirred the drink with the straw to his mouth.
"It does. But this…" He gestured around vaguely. To the school, the life he wants to live, his dream. "This feels like a chapter, you get me? I want the rest of the book."
No one said anything for a second.
Then Tanaka grinned. "I'd rather not get drafted into a war just to give my life meaning, cheers, bro."
"You're assuming there'll even be a war," Roy shot back.
Their conversation drifted on like that, half serious, then everyone fully laughing, until a voice cracked through the lull behind them.
"Then just go."
Soft. Breaking. A girl's voice, trying hard not to shake.
The four of them froze, like deer who'd wandered into a lion's den.
From the booth behind them came a boy's reply, lower and uncertain.
"I can't leave you here like this. She already said she is done with me."
"YOU IDIOT," the girl said loudly. "She meant she was done with this play between you and her; she wanted you to say it… Not to play around anymore."
"You have to," The girl's voice was firm now, too firm, like someone holding back tears and stuffing them down her throat. "You said she's leaving by plane. If you don't go now, you won't be able to reach the airport in time; you'll regret it forever."
A chair scraped. Footsteps. They rushed out in a panic, then the jingle of a bell rang from the door as the boy ran out.
The silence afterwards was louder than their argument.
Roy thought to himself that it would probably be better if no one got involved with her in any way. She probably want some time to herself, time alone to think.Roy glanced sideways without turning his head just out of curiosity. Just enough to see her, the girl that got left behind.
She sat alone. Hands clasped on her lap. Eyes fixed on the tray across from her.
The boy's tray. A half-eaten burger and fries that are getting cold.
She looked at the area where the boy bit in and started to blush a little as she extended her hands towards it and put it in front of her face.
The four boys watched in stunned silence, like it was a show to behold.
Brock was thinking to himself out loud, "Don't do this; you can't undo it. No, no, no. THAT'S PAINFULLY DESPERATE; DON'T DO THAT!"
She bites into the burger.
Tanaka, finally whispering, "Oh my god. She's a losing heroine. Just like in the manga I read."
Her head snapped. She turned. Mouthful. Eyes wide, tear-rimmed, and furious, and then she was horrified. She started to choke. COUGH COUGH COUGH. She might actually die from it; who knows?
"Did you… Were you just listening? "
Roy didn't even blink and slowly turned towards Tanaka. "You fucking idiot, you said all of that out loud."
Kieran was just generally disappointed. "But still though, he's got a point."
"Also... Don't try and change the fact that you tried to reach for his food. Can't unsee that."
Tanaka looked away from all of the eyes staring at him. "It was oddly romantic, slightly tragic and lonely, in the starving kind of way, you get me? "
She looked like she wanted to melt through the floor. Or throw the tray of food at their heads.
Instead, she stomped over and slid into the booth across from them like she'd known them for years.
"Fine. You know what? I'm sitting here. Budge up."
Tanaka budged up, meaning that Brock had less room for himself; he moved without any resistance.
No one stopped her. No one could, nor did they want to.
They wanted more lore.
She pointed at each of them, about to rapidly fire some sort of insult to 'make up' for their nosiness.
But one thing about boys everyone should know is that they remember compliments from a girl for years, or from anybody in general, and if they get insulted by a girl, it will stay with them for life.
So these insults that were about to be thrown from her mouth are going to be permanent.
"You…" she said as she pointed towards Kieran, then Tanaka, Brock and lastly Roy. But she didn't say anything, just let out a little sigh, leaned forward onto the table and stared through the window from her view.
"Annie. Annie Toler."
Tanaka was a bit confused as to why she is sitting next to him. "Ok?"
They didn't mean to let her stay.
But somehow, she did.
There was a pause, an uncomfortable one, like when you are talking about someone behind their back and they randomly come and sit next to you – that type of awkwardness.
Annie leaned forward even more, elbows on the table, chin resting in one hand like she owned the place all of a sudden, and no one on the table knew what the hell was going on.
"So", she said, glancing between the trays, "which one of you is buying me a milkshake to make up for the emotional damage you have caused me?"
Tanaka immediately raised a hand. "Me! I'll do it."
Roy looked at him flatly. "With what money? I had to pay for you."
Tanaka didn't miss a beat and replied with, "Emotionally, I have a lot to give, you know, and plus, the idea of suggesting it makes me an even better character."
Kieran sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "This is why no one takes us seriously. Like, look at this guy, goddamn."
Brock had resumed his window-gazing, and as he saw a little kid crying, he smirked. Honestly, I also found it funny.
He murmured.
"She weirdly fits; that's disturbing."
Annie smirked. "You know what, I'll take that as a compliment, window guy."
He murmured under his breath, saying it wasn't, but she didn't hear.
Roy watched her, not out of suspicion, more like someone watching a stray cat decide whether or not it lives here or not. She didn't ask permission; she just sat and declared herself and no one is arguing.
He didn't argue because he doesn't care, or at least he couldn't be asked to say anything.
Roy finally spoke to her, "You know you just became the side character in that guys love story, right?"
Annie let out a dry laugh. "That's the story of my life. I'm practically an extra in that guy's romance."
"You're being very calm about this." Tanaka said openly.
She shrugged. "Well, I did have a meltdownbefore I came here like 10 minutes ago."
All of them thought all at once, 'Damn'.
"You want the rest of my fries?" as Kieran pushed his tray forward at her.
She looked at him like he'd just handed her the keys to a bank vault.
"Yes. Oh god yes."
She started eating.
"So, what were you talking about before you eavesdropped on my personal conversation, huh?"
"Well, we were just talking about random stuff."
She wanted answers, not vague replies. "Like what?"
"I don't know?"
She just stared at him blankly and gave up; she went back at those fries.