Beyond The Crash

CHAPTER 13 | [FUTURE WISE ACADEMY <PT V>]

They both got their food and went to join Axel and Nicky at the table.
"Good day, fellas," Dina greeted as she sat next to Nicky, making Lilley sit next to her but closer to Axel.

"Nice choice of preferences," Axel commented, but his eyes still on his food

"Thanks," Lilley responded, though not sure if he was talking to her.

"So, I know it's like, your first day and all, but how are you liking the school?" She turned to Lilley. Now, all eyes were on her, even Axel stared at her.
She cleared her throat a bit, "It's going good, I guess," she replied. "Like an actual school." She mumbled the last part to herself.

"An actual school?" Axel raised a brow at her.

"Pardon?" She blinked a few times. How did he hear her? She glanced at Dina, but she and Nicky were talking about something else as they continued to eat. She was much closer to Dina than she was to Axel, so how did he hear her?

She smiled her most innocent smile as she stared at him. Hoping for him to dismiss whatever she said, she tried her best to look as clueless as possible. His gaze slowly diverted from her and back on his tray, shaking it. "Never mind."

She let out an unnoticeable sigh of relief as she turned back to her food.
"So, you're going to make it, right?" She heard Nicky ask.

"Well, yeah," Dina smile puffed her cheeks. "It's today, isn't it?"
Nicky nodded.

Lilley stared at them, lost. Her eyes bounced from one person to the other, trying to gain the context of what was going on. And it soon locked with Nicky. He smiled.
"Would you like a tour of the school?"

She tore her gaze of him as she glanced around the cafeteria. This school was huge, she acknowledged. For one to tour, the entire place would take days. She looked back at Nicky. "It's okay. It's all too much," she continued her meal.

"What do you mean?" He asked, a smile still on his face.

"Well, it's a big school, and it sure will be stressful showing me around it,"

"But I'm the one that offered," she heard him chuckled at the end. When she looked up, his sky blue eyes held hers. His face didn't have his usual brightness. It was calmer and cool as he gave a little grin. Something she had never seen on him before, to which she was taken aback.

"Um," she cleared her throat. "Yeah, if you insist. Thanks."
Despite looking everywhere but him, she still felt his gaze on her. She used her hands to fan herself as she felt the cool room turn hot. Or was it just her? She glanced at Axel and saw him giving her a weird look. She knew she was acting pretty weird at the moment.

The rest of what they talked about or even how the food tasted was a blur to her. Everything just went by really fast. The bell rang, signalling their lunch time was over.
"What do you have next?" Nicky asked Lilley.

She blinked a few times before she replied, "I'm not sure,"

Dina stood up and quickly packed her things. "Sorry guys, I gotta run," she turned to Lilley with a smile before glancing at Axel and Nicky, "I'll see you later."

As they were standing to put their tray away, Nicky said, "After school, today. Is that fine with you?"

She paused to face him. "Sure, thanks."
His smile brightened.

"Shall we?" Axel said, calling back Nicky's attention. He was about to nod before he added, "Why don't we walk her to her class?"

Axel glanced at the girl in question, who stared back at him, waiting for his response. He shrugged. "Why not."

*●|●*

Hours later.
The bell rang, signalling to all that school for that day had ended.
Lilley packed her things and headed for the door a bit later after most students had rushed out. As soon as she came out, she spotted Nicky resting on the wall opposite the class door on his phone. She walked out and just stared at him. He wasn't smiling, and he was awfully focused on what he was doing. He let out a little sigh before his eyes landed on her.

His eyes widened a bit before he maintained his composure and smiled.
"Did you wait long?" She asked, and he shook his head. Her lips curved up in a little smile as she gave a look of resignation. She had a feeling that he'd waited long.

"I was in the cafeteria then I remembered I didn't tell you where we should meet, so I just hurried here, not wanting to miss you," he caught her stare as he waved his phone. "I don't have your contact."

She nodded. "Right, right. It sure would be stressful if we kept missing each other."

He took a step closer. "Are you ready?"

"Excuse me," a student said as Lilley realised she hadn't completely left the entrance of the class. She quickly moved front and stood beside Nicky. "My bad," she muttered to herself, but he heard and chuckled a little.

"Are you ready now?" He asked again as they watched other students walk out of the classroom. "That is if you don't have anything doing," he quickly added as he stole a glance from her.

"Nope, I don't have anything doing," she turned to him. "We can go ahead and start."