The Black Swan Behind (Beauty of Fire)

Chapter 34

Chapter 34: Meeting In The Cafetaria

“But he was helped by Jita Kyoei.” Said the guy in a white t-shirt, who stood leaning in the doorway without intending to enter the room full of cigarette smoke.

Pablo shrugged, “Jita Kyoei doesn’t like to get into trouble. They only care about judo, judo, and judo. Maybe, it turns out that Troy Roner is friends with Calvin Lee.” He answered easily. Then he got up from his comfy chair and walked over to the large window which had the colourful lights reflecting on his face. He looked at the scene of a busy street full of immorality.

“I’m not seeing them as a big problem yet to worry about. I’ve known Tobias Ian for a long time, what Jita Kyoei’s mindset is, their goals. Dragger never had any problem with Jita Kyoei all this time, because we never nudged them. If there’s a reason that makes them attack the other group out of the blue, it must be something very important to them. And I don’t see any important thing.” Pablo continued.

“Oh,” said the guy.

Pablo turned his back and looked at the guy who was still standing casually, “Calm down, Markus. You just need to search for information as usual. Our business is still running smoothly as usual.” He grinned widely and spread his arms in front of the glittering window.

***

Emma sat alone in the campus cafeteria. The food in front of her looked bad because of the way she eats reluctantly. She is playing with her food many times, before putting a single bite in her mouth.

.....

Lately, Emma was in a dilemma over her feelings. After spending a whole day practising Kung Fu and Karate, she found that she really missed those activities. Even so, Emma did not lose the slightest interest in ballet.

“If you can have two, why should choose one?” Emma said in her heart. It’s not an affair, is it? She only has two hobbies. Why should it be so sacredly considered?

Suddenly, those shady eyes caught the figure she had been looking for weeks. A small skinny girl was walking with a tray of lunch and sitting at a table alone. Emma then smiled widely at the sight.

She immediately stood up with all her lunch and her sling bag. Then, she stepped closer to the girl’s table, but one more sight made her stop. A guy seemed to have just arrived with his lunch. The guy was looking for an empty table to sit at.

Emma smiled even more. What coincidence is this?

“Roger!” Called her. Then she pointed at Poppy’s desk with a glance.

Roger, who was surprised by Emma’s sudden appearance in front of him, then shook his head after seeing the table that she pointed to. More specifically, to the person sitting at the table.

“Poppy, Can we sit here?” Emma went straight to the girl who had just put her ass on the chair. As usual, Poppy looks very cute in a pastel-coloured dress and jacket.

“Huh?” Poppy looked at a beautiful girl in fashionable clothes. She glanced at a guy who was standing stiffly behind the girl in an uncomfortable gesture, “Um.. sure.” she answered.

Emma smiled happily, “Come on Roger, have a seat.” she said as she sat in front of Poppy.

Roger still stood there. He glanced at Poppy while she was still staring at him. Roger saw no empty table left in the cafeteria. The last table that had been left by Emma, was immediately filled with a group of noisy girls who liked to gossip.

“Roger?” Called Emma.

The guy glanced at her with a long sigh. But he ended up sitting at the table.

Stupid Emma, ??she forgot that she was not the holder of the socialization championship medal. Now, the atmosphere at the table had become very awkward because the three people in it were not good at opening conversations.

“Eum.. I haven’t seen you in the ballet class in a long time.” Emma said before clearing her throat.

Poppy glanced at her briefly before returning to focus on her lunch, “Ah, Yes. I have a business so I can’t go to ballet class.”

“I see.. But after the last regular class today, will you join? There are a lot of new moves that are quite difficult. Maybe you want to practice..” Emma smiled.

Poppy looked at her with friendly eyes then nodded, “I will attend today. Thanks for thinking about me.”

After that, the atmosphere was awkward again. But all was saved when a girl suddenly came to join in their table.

“Wow.. Today’s lunch is delicious, right? Luckily, I met you guys. If not, I might end sitting with them,” Kathy said carelessly while pointing at the table with a group of gossiping girls with her chin.

“I thought you didn’t come today?” asked Emma. Her face looked very happy because she can gather with her favourite friends.

“I know.. But suddenly, I felt healthy and decided to go to college. It turned out that I wasn’t wrong, because today’s menu was very good.” she laughed. “Oh, by the way, Who are you?” she looked at the guy sitting next to Emma.

“I-I’m Roger Timothy.”

“I’m Kathania Dusk, majoring in IT. You can call me Kathy. I took ballet classes with Emma and Poppy. Anyway, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you. Are you a new guy, like Emma?”

Roger shook his head, “I’m not. I’ve been here a quiet long time.”

“Really? Hmm.. That means I’m still not getting around enough.” Kathy muttered, looking thoughtful.

“Roger is in the same course as mine. We usually sit together in the class.” Added Emma. She felt a responsibility to introduce Roger further. Of course, Kathy had never seen Roger, because he was like an invisible shadow on campus.

“Oh,” Nodded the girl with the ponytail. Then she seemed to remember something and looked directly at Poppy with her baggy eyes, “Oh, Poppy! Where have you been lately? I could beat you in dance now because you never came to class.”

“I have some business to attend to.” Poppy replied with a stiff smile.

“Business? It’s that important that you can’t show up for ballet class, huh?”

Poppy chuckled, “Y-yeah.. They are quite important. It’s just a family matter.”

Emma looked at Poppy with a lot of thoughts in her head. She knows a little about the problems Poppy is facing, based on the story from Ms Diana. But it looks like she’s trying to cover it up.

Poppy immediately looked down to continue eating when she realized Roger was focusing on her too.

Even the guy was shocked by what she did. He reflexively returned to eating in silence.

“Poppy!”

The four people immediately turned their heads as a large voice resounded beside them. Except for Kathy who just looked around confusedly, they all widened their eyes when they saw the three tall guys who smiled faintly with a characteristic look that seemed disparage.

“Hey, Emma!” Said Brian with a big annoying smile.

“You guys have lunch here together? Can we join?” Donny asked a looking at Poppy.

The girl with two big, innocent clear eyes didn’t answer. She just looked at Donny while gulping.

“Maybe we shouldn’t ask Poppy, since she’s your girlfriend. We should ask her friends.” Larry said.

“Oh? You’re Poppy’s boyfriend?” Kathy shocked. Then she shifted her seat, “Of course you can join. You’re in management class too, right? That means you’re friends with Emma and Roger too.” she said.

Larry smiled kindly, “You’re right. I think you know us, don’t you?” he continued to sit next to the curly-haired girl.

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Cursed Together With Mr.Vampire; I need to drink his blood!