APEC ISLAND

2 - The Clouds Under the Sun

"Richelle?"

"Huh...?"

"Richelle, are you okay?" Trevor says louder.

I look at him before replying; "I'm alright."

He looks hesitant, before looking forward again.

"Aren't you gonna eat that?" Trevor asks.

"Huh? OH!" I noticed the food in my hands, I had forgotten them for a while. Without thinking of another thing I took a bite off the burger, savoring the free food. I look at Trevor and caught him looking at me eating. He immediately diverts his gaze.

"Heu froffly et a logh," I clumsily told him.

"Eat that food in your mouth, that's bad manners," Trevor says acting arrogant before giving a subtle smile.

"I said- you probably ate a lot!" I scold him.

"I wouldn't put free food to waste y'know?" Trevor says as he smiles. Bringing a familiar comfort in an unknown situation. We've been walking for quite some time now, someone has mentioned that we were near. I seem to have been quite lost in my thoughts, I didn't even notice that Angie and Zebby had gone even farther up ahead.

"We're here!" Hans announces firmly. I look further up ahead and see an open gate, the others were entering it. Trevor goes ahead to the front leaving me at the very back.

"How was it gal?" Zebby now approaching me as she talks.

"What do you mean?"

"Trevor, you guys chatted right?"

Oh, that. Unintentionally my blood rushed to my face.

"You're red," Angie teases.

"Oh come on, that didn't even occupy my head," I aggressively tell them.

"Is that so?" Zebby smiles teasingly.

It doesn't really bother me now, but I used to like Trevor back in our junior years. Things change though, I've been too busy with gaming that he didn't really become a priority. "Ridiculous, we all know that gaming takes up a bigger priority," I tell them.

"Well, true." Angie agrees. Once we entered the gates, an unfamiliar scene reveals itself before us. Bushes line up the perimeter, street lamps were arranged around the place.  A lion and eagle statue is in the middle. On the benches were some of the classmates I've only seen now. Approaching me, Zebby, and Angie were two others of my closest friends; Viana and luan. They waved and smiled at me.

"You guys are finally here, we've come upon a potentially important discovery," Viana tells us as she comes closer.

"What took you long, Richelle?" Luan asks me. Viana is the youngest of us 5, though she sometimes acts older than us. Meanwhile, Luan is reserved and cool. She's also kinda a bad girl. Viana wore blue and Luan; black. These two gals, along with Angie, Zebby, and me, make up my circle of friends. In our class, having circles weren't that uncommon.

"So what's happening here? Do you have some clues?" Angie asks the two.

"It was Charles' group, they found that," Luan points to something under the statue. The others were around it too, standing or sitting at the benches. The others were trying to inspect the base of the statue, though not touching it yet. At one area are the guys, Trevor, Hans, Elliot, Charles, and Mave. The latter three were explaining the situation to Trevor and Hans, obviously, they were the ones who were going to announce it.

"I'll go near them, I'm president after all," Angie tells us.

"But Angie-" I fail to stop her.

"She probably feels bad leaving the responsibilities to others," Zebby says. As Angie comes near them, the guys turn around and start their report. Angie stops in her steps. ashamed.