Let the World Burn

Chapter Three: Lunch Encounter

Present day

            Ester ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook and wrote 'Sorry I didn't know you were talking to me. I'm deaf so I can't hear. My name is Ester what's yours?' before sitting it on his desk. She looked towards Layne being ready in case he said something so she could read his lips. Layne looked at the paper confused at first, but then read the note. 'Oh...' He thought before grabbing a pen from his bag. He wrote, 'Sorry about that, and my name is Layne.' he folded the paper and handed it back to Ester making sure to do it at a time when the teacher wasn't looking. Ester took the note, opened it, and read what it said. She smiled at him before facing the front so she can see what the teacher was doing. Layne smiled at her when she looked away. He also faced forward, but not paying attention like Ester was. He was thinking of ways to get to know her better. He thought she was interesting, the way she did not turn her back at his appearance. Also with the information he just learned he wanted to know more.

            Time passed by and the bell rang signaling it was lunch time. Ester got up and tapped Layne. "Do you wanna have lunch together?" Ester said. She had trained herself to talk normally and at a normal volume though you can tell it was slightly off. She knew how to speak before she lost her hearing, so she remembered how to produce most sounds. However, as she got older her vocal pitch changed making it slightly difficult to produce every word. Layne yawned and looked up at Ester. "You buying?" He asked with a small smirk. He noted to himself that she could speak pretty much normally. This made him figure that she could read lips as well. Ester smiled at him. "Sure." She didn't really mind since came from a rich family. She walked out of the classroom making sure Layne was following her. They walked side by side and made it to the cafeteria. She walked to the place to get a tray where she then got in line. Layne followed her copying what she was doing. He didn't know exactly what to do, since today was his first day, but he wasn't about to ask for help. Instead he just inferred from what is around him.

            Everything was going well, the nice lunch lady gave her food and Layne their food. Ester paid the cashier for the meals. Layne smiled at Ester as a thanks then followed her to find a place to sit. She walking towards her table she usually sat at. A group of delinquents walked up to her and surround Layne and Ester. The guy who was the leader of the group knocked her tray out of hands. "What's up rich bitch? Where's our daily paycheck?" The guy said with a cocky tone. Layne looked at the guy with furrowed eyebrows getting angry at the way he spoke to her. It reminded him of Brendan. "Wow there really is assholes everywhere huh? Even assholes that will pick on a small frail girl when their triple her size!" Layne laughed. But it wasn't a normal laugh. More like a laugh a serial killer would do before murdering someone. The guy looked at Layne with an angered glare. "What did you say new kid?! You wanna go?!" He said as he walked up to Layne puffing his chest out.

            Layne stepped in front of Ester to protect her. "Maybe I do? You don't know exactly who you are fucking with." Layne said with her smirk. His mind flashes back to his fight with Brendan. He knows he shouldn't repeat his past mistakes, but something was making him want to hurt this kid. He looked back at Ester who was staring forward with a small sense of fear on her face. He then looked back towards the guy staring him down. Layne knew one thing for sure. He wasn't going to let something happen to someone who showed him kindness right away. Ester pulled on to Layne's sleeve. "Don't waste your time on these losers." Layne looked at Ester over his shoulder. His face softened at the sight of her. The guy looked at Ester then at Layne. "I'm going to ignore the fact that she called us losers, but you better listen to her or you're going to experience a world of pain." He said as he cracked his fist.

            Layne was ready to call it quitsuntil he heard the male speak again. He snapped his head back towards therandom guy. "That's it!" Layne lunged forward slamming his fist into the sideof the guys face. The guy went down like a light.