Finding Stardust (Princess Of Akkadia)

Chapter 9 - New Friends

After a few weeks of attending school, Emma had already managed to familiarize herself with her surroundings. However, because she was reclusive and didn't want to stand out, she never went to the cafeteria for lunch during recess.

She had always brought lunch from home and ate in her classroom while studying for the next subject. Sometimes, she would eat while preparing the tutorial materials for her five students. Emma didn't want to accept charity by taking money from Haoran and his friends without doing her work well. Therefore, she was trying her best.

Mary and Nadya were two of her closest classmates because they sat next to her. They had noticed that Emma never left the classroom during breaks and wondered why she wasn't interested in socializing. Nadya even suspected that Emma didn't have money to buy lunch in the cafeteria, so she tried to approach the girl and invite her.

"Hi Emma, ​​do you want to have lunch with us at the cafeteria?" Nadya asked carefully. "Today's my birthday, and I want to treat you and Mary to a meal."

Nadya and Mary exchanged glances, trying to assess Emma's expression, whether Emma was offended or not by the offer.

Emma was stunned by Nadya's invitation. She looked at her lunch box before looking at Nadya. Emma saw her sincerity and felt moved by it. She slowly nodded. "Thank you. I'll be happy to go with you."

"That's good, then! Come, I'll show you around on the way to the cafeteria." Nadya became excited as she pulled Emma by the hand out of the classroom. Mary immediately followed them from behind.

Over the past few weeks, Emma and her classmates' interactions had been limited to good mornings and good afternoons; a few group discussions about school assignments but nothing more. Emma wasn't accustomed to having friends because all this time, she had been isolated from the other children in the orphanage by Ms. Mabel's orders. Hence, she didn't know how to approach people or make friends. She eventually found comfort in being alone and minding her own business.

However, as these two classmates were friendly to her, her shunned heart slowly melted away. She tried to pay attention to Nadya's babble and occasionally smiled in response.

When they arrived in the large cafeteria, there were several food counters and dozens of chairs and tables scattered around, Emma immediately felt many pairs of eyes staring at her. She was beginning to attract the attention of the people eating and waiting in line for food. She didn't like this feeling.

All this time, Emma had always tried to arrive early at school and hurried home without attracting attention. She moved fast every time so not many students had seen her up to date. She didn't like being the center of attention, and that's one of the reasons why she avoided crowded places like the schoolyard and the cafeteria. Today, however, because Nadya had kindly invited her to lunch, she'd felt bad if she had said no.

"This is our school cafeteria. You can order anything. My treat," Nadya said happily.

Emma nodded. She tried to ignore the watchful eyes coming from different directions. "I'll have what you have," she said with a smile. "You must know better which one is good."

"Okay then." Nadya ordered a delicious chicken steak for herself and Emma, ​​while Mary ordered chicken rice. They brought their order cards over the counter and searched for an empty table to sit while waiting for their food to be delivered.

"You're beautiful, do you know that?" commented Mary, who had realized the many pairs of eyes were looking at them. "You look unique. If I may ask, where did you come from?"

Emma said, "France."

"Oh, so do you often go to Paris? No wonder you want to go on a study trip to Paris," Nadya said. She nudged Mary, who was sitting next to her. "Hey, you chose to go on that study trip to China, leaving me to travel to Paris alone. Fortunately, Emma is going too. I now have someone to go around with in Paris. Later, I'll take Emma to go shopping with me."