Chapter 3: Treacherous Royals

"Oh hi um— actually. . . " I stuttered and struggled to speak properly. "I forgot my pen." I ran my hand at the back of my neck sheepishly.

He chuckled, tugging a smile. I took the pen out of his hand and mouthed thank you.

"Have we met before?" he asked, eyebrows drawn together. He had a thick and rough accent which undeniably sounded nice.

"Not quite sure but thanks for this." I smiled, raising the pen in gratitude.

I heaved a sigh of relief, and I couldn't help but curl my lips into a smile.

"I think I'm having a deja vu." He chuckled and ran his hand through his curls. "What's your name?"

He smiled again, flashing his pearly white teeth. He seemed bright though, as crinkles started to form by his eyes.

"Lala. Lala Preston." I extended my hand forward for a handshake and sheepishly smiled in return.

He clasped my hand with his large, warm one, and I couldn't help the tingles starting to form in my stomach

"Lala," he noted. "Miguel Dela Fuente. You can call me Miguel," he proudly added, giving me a handshake.

I could tell he's Hispanic. The way he spoke and pronounced his name with that accent sounded Latino to me. His facial features and tanned skin looked incredibly attractive. At first sight, I could absolutely tell by his appearance that he wasn't white.

"Where 'you from? If it's not weird to know," I asked and fidgeted my fingers.

"Mexico. But I live in California with my mom," he answered, minimizing down his voice so Ms. Fervings wouldn't hear our conversation. She was pacing back and forth on the platform placed below the blackboard.

I couldn't shake off the familiarity he gave me. Like I had met him before, but my mind was too cloudy to remember.

~*~

I had finished my first two periods before break time, and I was already halfway through the last one before lunch break. I was currently in Psychology class, trying to learn the Endocrine System which I barely understood. I was getting kind of bored, as I tapped my pen on the table and rested my chin on my palm.

For the entire Psychology class, I was busy focusing on the ticking clock and waited for the lunch break. My notebook was blank, and my laziness convinced me to not write anything on it since the PowerPoint just kept on moving to the other slide, and I could barely catch up.

The time went by and the piercing sound of the bell rang, making the students to rush out of the room and marched towards the door. I went along with them, not feeling the urge to haste and respectively moved my way out. The teacher stared at me, as I was strolling down the aisle but quickly looked away when I glanced at him. Then my paranoia hit me and assumed that he probably noticed my boredom for the entire class. Does that count as an offense?

Shaking it off, I walked down the hall to grab myself a lunch at the cafeteria. Since I was new, I didn't know which way to go. But as soon as I saw a grouo of three girls, I didn't hesitate to follow them.

I trailed behind them, composing myself to not look obvious. Not entirely sure if they were heading the right way, I followed anyways.

Then my realization struck me. They didn't go to the cafeteria, rather they went to a discreet spot. Even though I wasn't supposed to peer through the slightly opened door, my nosy self convinced me to take a peek. So I averted my gaze to the room and studied the place.

It was luxurious, appearing like a lounge for special people. It was lit with a dazzling chandelier hanging above the center table. There weren't a lot of students there, only a few. There was a long curved couch, seated by three guys I couldn't recognize (obviously) except the one with dark brown curly hair. Miguel was sitting there and he was laughing along with them. When he flitted his eyes, it landed in my direction and plastered a smile.

I quickly looked away and stopped eavesdropping. I scrunched my face in regret and moved away out of their vicinity. There wasn't a big deal, hopefully. Because I just embarrassed myself for being too curious.

I continued walking down the never-ending hallways to find the cafeteria. And lucky enough, when I spotted two massive glass doors, I quickly moved my way to it and swung it open.

I was surprised by the luxurious aura of the cafeteria. Everything was well-organized: clean wooden tables with cushioned white chairs, bright lights hanging above the ceiling that accentuated the place, and gleaming white tiles that were too shiny it almost seemed slippery. The wide variety of foods seemed appetizing-- put in a stainless containers that looked like a fancy buffet. I didn't know what to expect, and I was astonished. Kingsley was quite impressive.

I strolled down the aisle and wandered around the place. Making my way to get some foods, I fell in a line and grabbed a white glass plate.

Just when I was about to reach the counter, someone spoke through the speaker of the café and appeared on the huge screen placed on the post. All the attention was drawn to the screen, as everybody froze from walking.

"Attention students, this is Lindsey Devaraux speaking, the student council's president," the girl spoke.

She had a fair skin, doll-like hazel eyes, brown wavy hair and features that looked like Audrey Hepburn. She was absolutely pretty with an angelic face and petite physique.

"I would like to announce that we'll be having a fundraising activity next week which means everyone should participate. We will be selling tickets at the SC room so all of you should grab your tickets now. For more details, we set up posters on every bulletin board in the campus, might as well check that out. Available time for tickets at twelve noon to one. Have a nice day." Then the screen went off and students began to scatter.

I was completely clueless and confused right now. My mind hung in the air, as I tried to comprehend what the girl said. Shrugging, I grabbed some foods and made my way to find a seat.

It was really easy to find a vacant table in the café from its humungous size. They also had outdoor tables filled with flowers and bushes that appeared to be like a garden. But I chose to sit inside beside the glass pane that separated the two area of the café.

The air condition was pretty chilly, as coldness started to hit my skin that caused goosebumps. Heaving a sigh, I stabbed a carrot with my fork and brought it in my mouth.

"Hey there mate," the English guy that I met a while ago startled me from my thought. He brought his tray with him with a plate of fillet.

"Hey, Nick. Nice to see you again," I sheepishly said, munching the food inside my mouth.

"You seem alone and I figured to join you," he responded and slid his tray on the table. "I just got out of the misery of Chemistry. That rhymed well didn't it?" He raised his eyebrows, snorting out a chuckle.

"Well that was soppy," I mumbled, awkwardly.

He just shrugged it off and sat on the chair in front of me.

"Got myself these fish-and-chips, do you want some?" he offered, curling his lips.

I nodded in response and picked a fry from his plate. I didn't realize how hot it was until I tucked it in my mouth. It almost burned my tongue that I had to gasp for cold air.

Nick chuckled at my sudden reaction then sliced his fillet in a sophisticated manner.

"How was everything?" he asked.

"Not the best but it was pretty epic." I nodded, placing the fork at the edge of my plate. "How was the meeting?"

"We had some crafting, nothing special. By the way." Then he shifted his hand inside his bag and pulled out a strip of paper out of it. "Since you're a newbie, I got you a free ticket." He stuck out the paper, clipping it with his two fingers.

"Thanks, Nick." I smiled and extended my hand to grab the ticket.

The entire lunchtime with Nick was full of knowledge. He told me a lot of stuff about the school's history and all. Then after we ate our meals we went to our last two classes.

It took so long before the school dismissed us, and I was really glad I survived the day. In my honest thoughts, the school wasn't that fun, but I considered it as pleasing because there was so much to learn.

I was heading to the parking lot, clasping the keys in my hand. There were a lot of cars parked in every area of the lot, and it kind of freaked me out because I would have a hard time searching for mine.

I crossed the border between the two sections of the lot, and I was completely startled by the hooting noise, coming from the motorcycle that was about to bump me. I looked beside to where I was standing and saw a guy with a black Harley Davidson motorcycle.

He took off his helmet, revealing his stoic face. He had a dirty blonde hair, ocean blue eyes, well-defined jawline, and broad shoulders. His face looked beyond annoyed as he ran his fingers through his tousled hair.

"Are you just gonna stand there and stare at my being or are you gonna move?" his raspy voice asked, hinting a bit of annoyance.

I moved to the other section and let him passed by, but he stared at me. He was with Miguel at the couch awhile ago how could I almost forget.

" 'You new here?" he asked, furrowing his thick brows.

"Yeah, why?" I responded, feeling uncomfortably antsy. He studied me with his curious gaze, but showed a stoic face instead.

"You shouldn't be too absent-minded here. Also figure out people you're talking with, Kingsley's full of treacherous people," he advised, putting on his helmet before gripping the handle and drove off.

I was surprised. I thought he was going to burst out in annoyance— like a stereotypic guy from a movie— but he was rather calm.

When I got to my car, I immediately drove off. Until all of a sudden, my phone rang. What a perfect time to make phone calls. It might be William trying to reach on me so I answered it.

"Hello?"

"Araulla, this is Hansel. I need you in the office right now. This storage room was a mess," he commanded with authority, but the tone sounded hesitant.

Didn't they have janitors and officers who work for them? I just finished school and supposedly, I should be heading to William and do my job.

"Perfect. I just finished school so I'll be on my way. I'll just drop home to change and I'll be there in thirty minutes," I forcefully responded.

He hung up the phone, as my hands tightly gripped the steering wheel in annoyance. I hate running errands for them, but I got to pretend that I was genuine.

~*~