"Thanks for lunch, Mr. Hamilton," Kristine shot Drew a grateful look.
"Don't mention it, Kristine."
Jonathan whispered something to Kristine just as Drew whispered something to me.
"Ready for a game?"
I stared at him. "What game?"
"Prank." He smiled conceitedly.
"W-what---"
"Hey Drei, I think we have to go now. The twins and I have something important to do. Will you be okay if I leave you here?"
Before I could take in why he was such in a rush to leave, Drew spoke up, "Sure Jonathan.
We're fine."
My best friend stood up from his seat, along with Kristine who was smiling happily at him.
Whatever it was that they were talking about, it sure amused her. Kris stood up too, but had a
confused look on his face. I assumed he was just forced to come with Jonathan and Kristine.
"Uhh. Bye Drei, Mr. Hamilton. Thanks again!" Kris muttered as he passed by us, following
Jonathan and Kristine's tail. Jonathan shot us one meaningful look before finally disappearing
from the door.
"What is happening, Drew?" I almost glared at him.
"I told you, we're playing a game," he said as he took my hand in his and stood up. Reluctantly, I stood up too. He was looking at the direction of Anthony's table. I followed his gaze, and was
surprised to see that they were still here. How long were they planning to stay here?
Drew and I were standing awkwardly before we finally moved out.
"What was that about, Drew? Wanted to gain attention?" I asked him as soon as we left the restaurant. He finally let go of my hand.
"Didn't you see his face?"
I huffed, rolling my eyes. "Near-sighted Drew."
"Oh. Right," he scratched the back of his head in realization. "He stared at us. Suspiciously."
I blinked. "So?"
"So, he's in the game too."
"Okay," I muttered, tired of asking him what game this actually was. "What role does he play then?" I pushed on.
"The victim," he answered absentmindedly, his eyes lingering on an item we passed by. I
winced at the word. Just like his uncle. I shoved the thought away.
"Of course. The reward I get by the end of the game is the priceless look on his face," he teased.
I stared at him in disbelief. "You really are mischievous."
"Sure am," he snickered.
We strolled the mall for a few minutes. Sensing that my uncle was bored, I suggested that we
go see a movie.
Checking his watch, he muttered "Just in time."
He pulled me toward the direction of the cinema. I had to keep up with his long strides to avoid
from tripping. He was oblivious to my struggle. At last, we reached the cinema. He secured our
tickets and I went to get our food. Though we just had lunch, I knew Drew too well. He didn't
want to miss out the chance to eat while watching a movie. I was so engrossed with my
thoughts that I didn't notice someone already joined the line beside me.
"Drei?"
I turned to the voice and almost froze to the spot when I saw Anthony looking down at me.
"Oh. Hi," I mumbled.
"Where's the others?" he scanned the place quickly.
"Uhh. They left," I replied uncertainly.
"To?"
"I really don't know," I spoke, as if talking to myself.
"Who're you wi---"
"Done Drei!" I heard Drew chirp behind me. "Anthony?"
Anthony turned, and I saw his face flash with uncertainty.
"Hi, Mr. Hamilton."
"Good to see you again," Drew responded politely.
Before I could join their unusually polite exchange, it was my turn to order for food, so I turned
my back on them instead. Anthony ordered for his food too, and Drew moved to the end of the
line to wait for me.
When the cashier handed me the items, I turned to face Drew, with a what's-going-on look. He
shrugged almost imperceptibly.
I glared at him before turning to Anthony again. What I was about to say died in my throat when
I saw a girl take the food Anthony just bought. She was inches taller than me, and had beautiful,
shiny shoulder length hair. I was star struck. She was so beautiful.
"I-We're going Anthony," I muttered, then spun on my heel. Just as I was about to take a step away, he took a hold of my arm. "Wait."
Reluctantly, I turned to face them. Drew was still on my side and he too, faced them again.
"Mr. Hamilton, Drei, this is Carley. Carley, this is Drei and---"
"Andrew Hamilton," Drew extended his hand. She took it, smiling politely at him.
"Nice to meet you," she said.
"Same here."
After letting go of his hand, she stuck it out to me.
I hesitated for a moment, then held out my hand too. I gave her a courteous shake. "Pleased to meet you," I tried my best not to stutter.
"Why don't we all go inside now? The movie's about to start. I see we're on the same movie,"
Drew broke the awkward silence and gestured to the ticket on Carley's hand.
Before my hand landed on my side after the handshake, I felt Drew take it in his again. I stared
at him and he squeezed my hand, "Let's go."
I followed my uncle inside and in the corner of my eye, I saw Anthony and Carley start toward
the cinema too. I think I saw her whisper something to Anthony but I didn't take a second look to
see if I was right. The awkwardness was getting too much to handle, and staring at them would
only double it.
I didn't realize I was staring at the floor the whole time until we reached the door leading to the cinema. Luckily, Drew held it out for me. He noticed my expression. "Smile," he whispered cheerfully. "Right," I smiled wryly.
I thought Anthony and Carley weren't following us, but to my dismay, Anthony suddenly spoke
behind us. "I saw empty seats there, we could sit together." He was towing Carley beside him, and Drew and I followed suit. Luckily, the movie hadn't started yet, and the lights were still on.
The free seats were on the aisle. All the other seats around it were occupied. The guy seated on
the fifth seat looked like a frustrated rock star. Wearing a muscle-sleeved shirt, the tattoo on his arm was more than visible.
