Crimson and Furs

At Her Table

Around 11:45am, the bell rang for lunchtime. Students who had begun yawning due to hunger (and boredom) immediately trooped out of the class like ants without being told to do so. At least, this was the only thing they could do without being told to do.

Daniel stared at Felicia, looking up from the novel he had been reading. He saw the hot noble girl wink at him with her left eye, a warm smile appearing on her face.

"I'm off to eat," Felicia told Daniel as she stood up. "Aren't you coming?"

"Uh, not right now," Daniel stammered. "I need to finish at least three chapters of this."

Felicia stared at him for some moments before saying, "Never knew you were such a bookworm."

She then walked out from her seat towards the door. As she reached the door, she added, "And a scaredy cat."

"..."

She saw through my timidness? Daniel was momentarily at loss. He had actually been afraid to go out with Felicia and it was because of two reasons. The first reason was because of her mean looking and domineering bouncers. He didn't want to end up looking like a fool in front of everyone. The second reason was because of Walter and his four friends. The jerk had promised to deal with him and he didn't want to cross paths with him till further notice. He would have reported but no one would believe him. Who would believe him if he said that Walter who actually behaved like a calm person in front of every adult threatened to kill him? Absolutely no one!

After some minutes of sitting down, Daniel finally closed his novel and stood up. He walked out of the class, headed for the school cafeteria which was at the furthest side of the classroom buildings, standing alone in the midst of tall pine trees. The location of the school cafeteria was so natural and beautiful, making one appreciate the beauty of trees. Daniel even felt this could as well pass out as a love garden and not a cafeteria. Who would want to waste so much trees on beautifying the exterior of a school cafeteria? What was the use?

As expected of the best school in Crimson Springs, Daniel muttered as he quickened his pace lest Walter and his bully friends caught up with him. He saw the black limousine which belonged to Felicia standing at the distance. Right now there were no bouncers or maids so he felt they had probably escorted her to the cafeteria.

Rich kid, he couldn't help but lampoon as he wished to be rich. If only I could get such an entourage. He couldn't help but let his thoughts drift.

"Well I'm gonna be definitely rich in the future," Daniel said with a wry smile. He couldn't help but add a dark humour, "That's if you have a future."

He arrived at the school cafeteria and saw many students already there. Some were alone at the table while others were in groups, chatting happily as they ate. He was about walking towards the counter to buy his lunch when he saw Felicia. She was seated alone at a table eating slowly under the watch of five bouncers and two maids. They were attending to her every needs.

"..."

Daniel stopped in his tracks immediately. No sense of privacy at all!

At that time Felicia saw him and beckoned for him to come. One of the maids wanted to say something but was stopped by her.

"Do you want me to tell my dad how disrespectful you are?" Felicia asked.

"No, Lady Felicia," the maid quickly bowed. She didn't want her job as a maid to be terminated, not when she was been paid very well and was given food and shelter.

Daniel swallowed hard as he walked towards the table under the watch of the bouncers and the other students. They even began muttering to themselves as they pointed at gossip. Daniel was sure that a gossip would spread about his secret affairs with a noble's daughter. He didn't know how Felicia's father would view him. He knew rich men like that wouldn't want any whimsical looking boy like him to be near their daughter (even for someone as handsome as him).

He got to Felicia's table and made to greet the bouncers and maids but Felicia told him it was not necessary. And she said that with a smile.

Miss, isn't this too disrespectful? Daniel couldn't help but mumble inwardly. Does your etiquette as a noble require you to do that?

He was still thinking when the aroma of food drilled into his nostrils, wetting his taste buds. He was awoken by the ethereal sensation brought about by the smell, his eyes opening to see the food laid in front of Felicia. There was a plate of ice cream and meat burgers. The ice cream was yellow in colour and covered in thin shreds of bananas which gave it a more appetizing look. A sweet fragrance of milk and vanilla spread from the ice cream, making Daniel's throat to bob. The meat burgers were something else. They transcended the concept of being snacks, going beyond what one could call food. The hotness and redness made Daniel almost reach out his hands to grab the food while saying, "Give me all! Give me all!"

He mustered all his will to stop himself from doing that as he faked a smile, "You're doing good, Lady Licia."

The five bouncers turned to look at him, giving him a cold look. He felt his heart palpitate as he knew what was on their minds. How dare a simple boy like him address the noble lady by her nickname? It was an unruly behaviour.

Seeing his expression, Felicia chuckled lightly as she told the bouncers and maids to give them some space.

"But your father warned us to never leave your side," one of the bouncers said. He had a thick moustache and beard, his eyes as brown as nutmeg. Daniel didn't know whether it was sprayed or not but the moustache and beard were red.

What a great taste of fashion, Daniel mocked inwardly as his eyes secretly darted across the figures of all the bouncers and maids.

"Owen, how would you feel if when you get a call the only thing you'd hear is the news of you being fired?" Felicia asked as she scooped a spoon of ice cream into her mouth. The content of the ice cream in the spoon was so small that Daniel couldn't help but wonder if she was eating or merely tasting the ice cream.

Owen immediately cowered in fear and told the other bouncers and maids to give Daniel and Felicia some space. What was their business with Felicia's matters? As long as they could still see her, there was nothing wrong with a boy staying alone with her. It wasn't as if he would suddenly vanish with her into thin air.

"Do you mind?" Felicia said with a smile. "Actually I already prepared two spoons beforehand. I knew you'd be coming."

Such a generous lady, Daniel appreciated inwardly as he said, "If it comes from the cutest girl down here, I won't mind."

"You couldn't say that some hours ago," Felicia said as she watched Daniel take the spoon. His grip was very tight as if he was fighting with the spoon. She couldn't help but chuckle inwardly as she thought, Such a foodie.

Daniel observed the table for some time and nodded slowly. The whole place was very tidy and it was a relief for him.

He scooped a spoonful of ice cream and stuffed it into his mouth, the ice cream melting slowly. He slowly ate the ice cream, appreciating the sweet taste of milk, sugar and vanilla. He also couldn't forget the sweetness of the shreds of bananas which made him salivate. He almost wanted to rush down everything on the table.

Trying hard to eat slow, huh? Felicia almost laughed as she observed Daniel. She didn't disturb him as she continued eating.

Daniel reached out for one of the meat burgers and chewed a large amount of it. The spiciness and hint of saltiness didn't allow him to stop chewing till he finished the meat burger. He had never eating something as delicious as this in his entire life. Wait, that was a little exaggeration down there. Mum's food is the best no matter what!

"Uh, Dan?" Felicia called as she placed down her spoon.

"Mhmm?" Daniel answered with a piece of meat burger in his mouth. He silently chewed on the piece as he waited for Felicia to say what she wanted to say.

"I wanted to ask you a question," Felicia said.

"You can always ask me," Daniel flaunted. "I'm always ready to answer."

At that time Felicia's expression turned serious. She stared at Daniel for some time as if she was making up her mind. She took a deep breathe and asked, "How would you view someone you love if he isn't always with you?"

"..."

At that time Daniel felt that Felicia was talking about her boyfriend. That made his heart feel heavy.

"No, no, no," Felicia knew his thoughts and laughed. "It's not what you're thinking."

Daniel chuckled as he said, "How do you know what I'm thinking? I wasn't thinking anything."

"I know what you're thinking," at that time Felicia's expression became serious again. This made Daniel's heart to cringe.

"Just kidding," Felicia said. "I was talking about my dad. He isn't always around. He's always busy with work and has little time to spend with me."

"What about your mum?" Daniel asked. "Isn't she always around?"

"My mum died when I was born," Felicia's tone didn't contain the tiniest bit of sadness. It was if she had long gotten over the issue of her mum's death. Then she added, "I never even knew her. Dad refused to put her pictures around."

"I'm very sorry, Licia," Daniel comforted, feeling very sad even though he didn't even know Felicia's mother.

"It's okay," Felicia sighed as she dropped her spoon. Then she said, "I don't know how to view my dad. Sometimes I think he doesn't love me and he's just keeping me just to save his face. You know, nobles follow strict standards. Sometimes I feel that even though he loves me, he loves his work more. I rarely see him these days. Only the bunch of house helps keep me company. I don't know what to feel about my dad any more. I don't even know how to view him. Should I love him because he's still my dad or hate him because of this?"

Daniel who had read many novels observed Felicia's reaction for some time. As a keyboard warrior, he knew several stuffs like that and knew how to deal with them. Even though he couldn't offer a permanent solution, he could still make some suggestions which were good enough. Felicia had never spoken this much ever since he knew her so he knew how severe the matter was. She was very lonely and yearned for the love of her father and that was it.

"Give yourself more time," Daniel said tersely.

Felicia frowned for some time before her expression became normal. She then smiled, "You're absolutely right, Daniel. I really need to give myself time to mature mentally. Most of these thoughts come as a result of me being naive and all."

"..."

Daniel was momentarily speechless. He had only made that sentence without prior consideration. Actually he wanted to tell her to give herself time to spend with people she loved. And those people revolved around only him. Who knew she could draw out a sensible meaning from a selfish sentence he gave? He couldn't help but become ashamed of himself.

"Thank you," Felicia said with a warm smile. "One of these days I'd invite you to my house."

Daniel's heart melted immediately. Hearing that made him want to go to heaven immediately. First he was thanked by his crush and second, she even had the thoughts of inviting her in the future to her house. That way he would get to know her family. He couldn't help but think about how the future would be.

Let's see how things develope, Daniel couldn't help but smile secretly. I hope things turn out well for both of us and develope according to our tastes.