Stay Away (The Beocraftian Gambit - Book One)

CHAPTER SIX: A PAINFUL REMINDER

The other girl wasn't with them—what was her name again?

Of course. He finally remembered. Natasha

As he sat in silence, listening to them talk, he began to understand why she hadn't joined them, the numb expression on their faces. It had something to do with an assault of some sort, but then he berated himself not to concern himself with her—she was not his concern.

Landry noticed how frequently he looked in their direction. "Are you okay?"

He turned to look at him. "What?"

"Noticed you staring at those girls over there, and thought—"

"I only met them yesterday. In school." He brought his voice low. Just as he listened in on their conversation, the girls could also do the same.

"You know that's a bad idea, right?"

"The girls? Or school?"

"Both"

He didn't answer him.

Landry took his silence to mean that he agreed. "Imagine my surprise when Cedric told me you enrolled in a college? College? How could you be so unreasonable? You're a danger to everyone who gets close to you, including myself."

Just then, the girls stood up and walked past. He noticed how they kept avoiding his gaze.

"I'll be right back," he said, and went after them.

"Haven't you been listening to anything I've been saying?" he said, slightly raising his voice so that he could hear him. "You cannot be seen with anyone?" Then he noticed some people in the park staring at him, probably wondering what he meant.

"Hey, ladies," Kevin's voice came from behind, startling them. "I'm sorry if I scared you girl. It wasn't my intension," he apologised in what they took to be the most charming voice.

"It's okay." Madelia cracked a nervous smile at him. "You must be Kevin?"

He answered with a smile and an affirmative nod, and was a bit surprised at how they knew his name only a day after he met them.

"I'm Madelia," she said and motioned towards Dreda. "—and this is my friend, Dreda."

Unlike Madelia, Dreda was always on her guard whenever he was around. She gave what she hoped was a convincing half-smile when he turned to look at her, which quickly vanished after the introduction was over. "What do you want?" she asked.

Kevin was taken aback by her abruptness. "Umm. About yesterday—"

"Let's all put all of that behind us now, shall we? It's now in the past." She brought him short. "Any other thing you want to talk about?"

Kevin took a moment to look at Laundry, who sat looking at him with disapproval. Then he returned his gaze back on the girls. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next.

"Thought so too." Dreda turned away from him and continued towards the park exit. "Let's go, Madelia."

"Wait."

They stopped, but didn't turn to face him. He walked to where they stood. He understood that they were still mad about yesterday, and wanted to explain why he behaved the way he did, but stopped himself. Instead, he said, "I overheard you girls talking about your friend. Is she alright?"

"No. She's not." Dreda hesitated for a moment, as if contemplating whether to go into details. "Some thugs attacked her last night. She's presently at De Laurel hospital."

Kevin immediately regretted asking. He would have avoided the conversation and go join Landry on the park bench. It was too late for that now. He couldn't ignore what they'd just told him without further ruining his image. Distorting his face into a sufficiently concerned expression, he said, "I'm really sorry. How bad is it?"