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 Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 5:39 pm
Luke caught up with Julian right before the lunch room and gently nudged shoulders with him before grabbing a tray. “Hey! How was class?” He was glad that they had the opportunity to have lunch together, it was nice. The school itself was nice, and though there were times that he kind of missed parts of Hillworth…he was a lot happier to be at Azure.
Lunch was always busy, but it was a good time to chill, the best that you could while eating. And the food wasn’t bad here either.
“You had a math quiz today, yeah? Did you do okay, you think?”
He knew that he had done his best on his Chemistry test but…his best wasn’t…the best. Still…he wanted to support his friend and find out what was going on.
He had a few other questions…concerns really, and he wasn’t sure if he should bring them up now or somewhere more private. Honestly, the lunch room could be chaotic but…it was also a good place to have a private conversation with nobody to overhear.
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Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 5:51 pm
Julian might not have noticed that it was Luke trying to get his attention; the boys at Azure were much less aggressive than at Hillworth but they were still rowdy and energetic enough that he never made a scene when someone bumped into him. And in the cafeteria? They were hungry!
He’d packed his lunch, which was very common since Evan was always insisting he help finish off the leftovers–and homemade meals were almost always better than cafeteria food. Even if Azure was ritzy and had good food, Julian could taste the care that went into the home cooked meals. He was only in line today because he needed to grab an extra drink.
A smile blossomed on his face when he realized it wasn’t some hungry classmate brushing shoulders. “Oh, I think I did okay. I finished it but I’m not sure if I did the whole process correctly. I guess I’ll know soon, but I did my best.” He’d studied a lot of this one but he knew he kept fumbling with some of the new math concepts.
“How was chemistry?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 5:58 pm
Luke felt giddy with Julian’s smile, and he grinned in response, and in response to the fact that Julian finished the math test. Math and Chemistry…they weren’t Luke’s favorites, but, he shook his head and rolled his eyes, giving an over exaggerated sigh. “I tried. I’m…I’m really bad at it, but hopefully I passed at least. I’ll never end up a chemist, or anything like that. I’m more suited to…”
He thought for a moment and laughed. “To flowery things. Writing and music and the artsy things…not…chemicals and equations and…”
Luke shrugged. “It’s always fun to do the labs though, I will admit…but again, hopefully I passed. Hopefully we both passed. Do you want to sit with me at lunch today?” He was hopeful, and showed it, reaching out and grabbing a foil wrapped chicken sandwich and a small boat of fries from the hot line. “Also, can I get you any snacks or anything?”
He knew Julian had food, but people could always use more!
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Posted: Mon Dec 16, 2024 6:02 pm
“Oh, I’m okay,” Julian insisted. “Thank you, though! I’m just going to get this drink.” He held it up for emphasis. “I have a full lunchbox, I don’t even think I can finish all of it. We can share,” he offered. Even if he was only getting a drink, he still stayed by Luke while he filled up his plate.
“If we hurry, I bet we can get one of the back booths.” He stood on his tiptoes to peer across the room and was glad to see that there were still several open seats that would allow them to sit together. There wasn’t much in the way of privacy in the cafeteria, but Julian did prefer to be tucked away in a corner whenever possible.
“Do you think you’re going to pursue a career in one of those flowery things?” he asked, always interested in Luke’s aspirations. “After high school, I mean. Or is it still too soon for you to know?” he asked. Julian’s voice was soft, sometimes lost in the din of chatter, but he did his best to stay audible.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 1:42 pm
Luke nodded and hurried, getting everything purchased and leading them to an empty back booth before he answered. “I’m not really sure. Like…back before? Like, before moving here I had dreams of like…some kind of big orchestra, but those were always hazy so…eh?”
He took hold of three fries and shoved them into his mouth to stop the gurgle coming from his stomach. He was starving.
“Since moving here and…you know. All the…” Luke wrinkled his nose. “....Magical horse things. That go on.” That…was a good code word for being a Knight, he was sure…maybe. Kind of.
“I really have no idea what I wanna do or be! I’m hoping something comes up that interests me…what about you? Any plans?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 2:38 pm
Julian listened intently, nodding along as Luke spoke. He placed his backpack down and pushed it to the inside of the booth before he started to unload his lunchbox. As expected, he had an array of food, but everything he laid out on the table he offered to share. It was just in his nature; he had more than enough for himself, and whether or not his life was plentiful he was always willing to share with his friends.
Luke seemed particularly famished today.
“I don’t have any plans,” he admitted. “I’m starting to panic a little bit but I’m hoping something will click. I want to make sure I can get into college but I don’t really know what to do, um, once I get there. I know I should probably start applying to internships or something, but, um. Oh, I don’t know. It makes me a little dizzy to think about! There are so many options. I’m a little afraid of making the wrong one. But I really do need to sit down and think about things. I’ll probably have to talk to a guidance counselor or something about it to figure out how to get started.”
He smiled a little sheepishly but he didn’t seem embarrassed about it. Planning your future was a big decision! Sometimes he still had a hard time dealing with the present so the future sometimes seemed so far out of reach.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 4:02 pm
Luke nodded, sympathetic and absolutely understanding where Julian was coming from. “It’s a whole lot of expectations, that we should know what we want to do and just…jump into it. Go to college, get a degree, profit. But like…I totally understand the too many choices. And if you make the wrong one, it’s not like you can’t change things, but there are so many like…stigmas out there of adults who simply don’t have a real…path? I guess?”
He put a few more fries in his mouth. “And those that are okay at lots of things are scorned, like, ‘jack of all trades, master of none,’ so it’s just…it’s rough. And people really expect a lot, and I don’t know. It needs to be normalized that it’s okay to not know.”
Luke smiled at Julian, hand halfway to his mouth with another few fries. “I do hope you know that something that’s absolutely guaranteed is that I’ll be your friend no matter what happens.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 4:19 pm
Julian blinked but smiled quickly. “I know, I wasn’t worried about that, Luke.” He took a small bite, but Julian was always a bit of a peckish eater. He’d eat everything! Just in his own, unique way. It was like he took as long as possible, just in case someone else decided they were hungry at the last minute.
“I can’t imagine having a falling out with you.” What would they fight about? Julian was too easy going to get upset about anything and Luke had always been kind and understanding. He didn’t think there was much reason to think much conflict could blossom in their friendship.
“Thank you, though.” He didn’t want to think about the future too much, he had to be in the right mind frame to think about the crushing pressure of choosing whatever path he’d follow for the rest of his life. Lunch, in the middle of his day, when he had more school to worry about was too much for him!
“I’ll be your friend through anything, too!” He didn’t think it needed to be said, but maybe Luke needed the reassurance too.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:53 pm
Luke smiled and fell quiet as he opened his chicken sandwich, taking a bite and chewing, allowing for Julian to get through some of his own food.
Finally, he put the sandwich down and rested his elbows on the table, his chin cradled in his hands, expression going to on of some worry. “Speaking of friends, I do have a question? Is Riker okay? I haven’t seen him in class for a bit, and I’ve been a little worried…do you know anything?”
He figured that Julain would. He was very well connected, despite his shy demeanor. He hoped that Riker was okay, and that he just…had a cold or something but.
In this city? Anything could happen, and Luke worried.
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:55 pm
Julian’s mouth was full so it bought him a few seconds to process the question.
“Riker? He’s okay.” He was a bit surprised that Luke had noticed his absence. He had a story he was supposed to tell everyone but he wasn’t exactly eager to skirt around the truth. It just wasn’t his story to tell! He had to respect that!
He didn’t think the Negaverse would have bugged Azure Academy but there was only so much he could say in public, anyway. There was plenty of chatter in the cafeteria but there were people moving around constantly.
“I mean, he’s still working on getting better but he should be back soon. He’s been telling me how restless he’s getting. But, um, I guess being stuck in bed does that to you. He’s working on feeling better. Do you want me to let him know you were thinking about him?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:56 pm
“Would you?” Luke gave a smile and nodded. “We did a project together and he was super prickly but…I want to be friends with him. Do you know if there’s anything I can get to help him feel better? Do you know what he likes to eat?”
Sure he hadn’t accepted any of his snacks the last time they interacted, but when a person was sick…treats were always welcome…weren’t they?
“Oh! I can make like…rice krispy treats? Would you be able to get them to him if I did?”
He liked making those a lot…and Riker would never have to know that a few were missing. Yum.
“And tell him that I hope he feels better soon, and I’ll keep track of the notes he missed for class, if he needs them!”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:57 pm
Julian considered this for a few seconds but then nodded. “I’ve been sharing my notes with him but you might be taking better than I have. We could compare notes, though.” He needed to get more serious about studying; it wasn’t always easy being a Knight and juggling school duties. The more they could look after each other, the better off they’d all be.
“Um, Riker is a little picky about his food though. There are some things he can’t eat. I’m not sure what exactly goes into rice krispy treats. I can take them to him if you want me to! But I don’t know if he’ll be able to eat them. And I can definitely tell him that you wanted to wish him well.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:58 pm
“That sounds good to me! Sharing notes is always good. Ah, what can’t he eat, if I might ask? I didn’t know he had restrictions, I’ll make sure that I’m careful with that…I guess that makes sense as to why he avoided my snacks last time…”
He hadn’t said anything, but…why would he have? He had made it clear that he didn’t want to be friends.
For a moment, Luke’s smile dimmed but he sighed and took another bite of his sandwich. “I’ll do my best! I’m glad he has you helping him. And I hope he gets well soon…you make sure you’re keeping healthy too, okay? I don’t want you to get sick if you’re sticking too close to him…do you take vitamins?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 5:58 pm
What if the Negaverse had bugged Azure? What if someone who didn’t get along with Riker was eavesdropping, trying to get dirt on him?
Julian glanced around; a kid he didn’t recognize was leaning against the booth, too close for comfort but clearly engaged in conversation with a group sitting next to them.
The hum of the cafeteria was so loud. He scooted into the booth a little more and flashed Luke a quick smile. Sometimes it could get a little overwhelming and he was already a little frazzled. “Sorry, what? Oh–no, I take vitamins. Sometimes. I don’t know if I need to, I have lots of healthy food.”
He gestured to his lunch, again making sure it was all out in case Luke was interested in any of it.
“I haven’t gotten sick in a long time.” Oh, he probably shouldn’t get too confident; it was getting colder. It was the perfect time to start catching bugs.
“I can ask Riker if there’s anything special that he might like, I’ll text you when I know? …Were you just hoping for a reason to make rice krispy treats?” he asked with a small smile, because he knew Luke liked them. He’d talked about them often. Julian knew how much he loved them; it was sweet that he wanted to share. “Can I make you some sometime?”
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Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 6:01 pm
LAh…Luke nodded and took another bite of his chicken. Clearly RIker really didn’t want to be friends if Julian was outright ignoring questions. Forcing the disappointment down and chuckled. “I just don’t want you getting sick too, that’s all. If he’s super sick, I don’t want you to get it. That’s how plagues start, don’t you think?”
He gave another laugh and shrugged. “Yeah I do like them a lot, and I was going to steal a few, I won’t lie…if you wanted to make some I wouldn’t be upset, that’s for sure! But you don’t have to go to any trouble.”
Taking another bite of his sandwich, he let his eyes wander just a bit.
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