Keep Your Head ↠ IANOWT ² [O.H.]

vi. detective barber and novak-miller

CHAPTER SIX
❛ detective barber and novak-miller. ❜

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H A L L I E
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THEMES:
habanera — george bizet
one way or another — blondie

THE CAFETERIA WAS teeming with students and their normal lunchtime chatter, an irritating white noise constantly in the background. Lukewarm cooked meals from the counter laced the air, screaming for ventilation to all the shut windows. But instead of paying attention to all of that, I was saving a table for Calvin, Stanley and I while trying to drown it all out with my classical music playlist.

The main thing on my mind? Finding Sydney's diary.

     Of course, Calvin didn't know a thing about all of this. But in secret, Detectives Barber and Novak-Miller were at work, figuring out a way to keep Syd's cover and find her without arousing suspicion. It was still such a strange scenario — because who would automatically assume she blew his head up with her mind? Unless they're high out of their minds, I would assume no one. Stanley and I were to formulate a plan this lunch, when Calvin wasn't here. We just had to keep our inner circle as stranger-free as possible...

     And for the most part, I was doing that. I was quite content with my headphones, stabbing swirls of pasta and shovelling them into my mouth as the classical music drowned out all the... noise. Not a single unwelcome person was in sight.

     Or so I thought.

     It was on the shift between the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's album to the dark tones of 'Habanera' that I noticed I wasn't alone. I was staring down at my food, but on the edge of my periphery, I could see someone had sat down opposite me. They weren't budging either. Very slowly, I drew my gaze up to look at the stranger...

A pair of unfamiliar opal eyes were staring at me, unblinking, from across the table. His hands were clasped together, thumbs drumming against the skin of his hands with a slight impatience or occupation otherwise. Had I seen the white snowboarding t-shirt over the charcoal long-sleeved one underneath before? Or the shaggy mop of dirty blonde hair? Definitely not. I liked to think I could notice these things. Either way, the guy was staring into my soul, glancing at my headphones too. His pupils shifted from one to the other, like he was waiting for me to stop.

I cautiously removed one side, my left ear still enjoying the layers of violin coming in. This had become a staring contest all of a sudden. Staring at the boy, I made it clear that I wasn't capable or sure on how to make the first move.