The Metal Children

07 Some Things You Don't Know

Kerol picked a two seated round table by the window in Refill when he arrived, and from a distance he could see the owner Bea greeting him with a pleased smile. Lunch hour is fairly busy for Refill, and it was almost a full house. Despite being a coffee shop, their side menu of lunch meals are sufficiently satisfying. He especially loved their shrimp olio spaghetti.

He thought of ordering one, that afternoon, but the thought was dismissed by his loss of appetite. His head had been aching for a few hours, and his palms had been sweating uncontrollably. He thank Refill for being sufficiently air-conditioned. He was wiping the palms of his hands onto his pants for the fifth time now, hoping that they would stop sweating.

His hands were shaky as he set them on the table, and he glanced at his mobile phone, which was buzzing through the vibration that it made from the incoming call. On the screen was a name he had despised - Hadri - and he quickly tapped his shaky finger on the 'reject' button. He wondered if it was something important, but nothing was ever pleasant when it comes to his father. He hated his father ever since he was a little boy, and his childhood was often felt by the reminder that he will someday replace him as the President of Republic of Sarcurs. The position was up for election a few times, and his father seemed to win every time - Kerol knew it was always dirty politics that kept his father on top, and he wished to stay away from it. He wished to stay away from any sort of politics.

The one thing he had received from his father, as the President, though, was what he was right now - the President of Contre Elementum Squad, the secret anti-bending force funded by the government. The C.E.S. was built from his bare hands, assisted by his trusty friends and subordinates, the four Juteks. It wasn't like the establishing of C.E.S. was entirely an order issued by his father to him, but rather, it was initially - and still is - influenced by desires of seeking revenge, from both him and his father. He knew the cause wasn't the most noble, but he couldn't help it.

Now, he began to wonder if it was right after all - capturing and annihilating Benders for a so-called 'safer' country to live in. Not after what happened last night. He gulped nervously, breathing through his cracked, dry lips.

"Ke-poop!"

Kerol heard Claire's voice cracking into his walls of thoughts, and realized that she was already sitting at his table. She had her jet black hair down, and they looked like a bundle of fine silk threads of black as she tossed them over her shoulder. She was dressed in a white hooded sweater and a navy green tank top underneath. A golden pendant, the shape of a number '3' in an upside down triangle, was hung from her neck, and it glistened as she turned to pass him the menu. "Is that new?" Kerol asked, pointing towards the pendant.

"This? No, I've always had this on, but under my t-shirt," Claire replied.

"Did someone special gave it to you?" Kerol teased, in an effort to wipe away his nervousness.

Claire let out a crooked smile, and leaned forward as she folded her arms in front of her on the table. "Why, are you jealous?"

Kerol let out a laugh that sounded like a snort. "As if!" He snatched the menu from her, and studied the menu one by one. He still had no appetite yet, but he could feel his stomach rumble. He finally decided on something light, a chicken pie, and a glass of iced coffee.

"Oh, you're not ordering shrimp spaghetti?" Claire said, as soon as Faith hurried away with their orders. Claire had ordered iced mocha and chicken salad - Kerol was not entirely sure what a 'chicken salad' looks like, but he was certain Claire was wise enough with her food choices as a gym instructor.