Now, as we know, I am a socially awkward person.
Me hanging out with Leena shouldn't impact much because from what I see; she is quite an energetic person. However, since the Vice-Principal Keeper scolds her, she is feeling very down.
The result, you can imagine, is a temporary, very awkward silence between an introvert and a depressed extrovert.
"Hey… you want to grab a bite to eat at the cafe?" I suddenly ask, not confident in what I am saying.
If Justus wants us to talk, it must be for something important. Despite needing to work on his harsh phrasing, he is not a stupid person.
"Sure, why not?" Leena says while smiling at me.
However, her smile this time seems fake. How can I tell? It's just a good feeling that she is trying to recover from it. She probably feels overshadowed by her brother, I think to myself as we walk down the steps to head toward the cafe.
From what I remember of my past, I have no siblings. The feeling of not being good enough and not being able to be the best version of yourself, I understand a lot. The feeling of seeing someone else close to you that always seems better than you can hurt your self-esteem a lot.
Even though I don't know Leena too much, I still want her to feel okay.
We arrive at the cafe and order some food. Since I order first, I grab a table for us. As I sit down, I notice a familiar person on the other side of the cafe sitting down with some people. It's not Ivy, sadly. Instead, it's former water prodigy Colin West, who turns away when he sees me.
I say former because, well; I beat him.
Leena sits down across from me with two trays of food. Without me knowing, Leena picks up my order for me, which is very nice. Sometimes my awareness isn't great if I'm hyper-focused on something. In this case, I am hyper-focused on seeing Colin's face because I want to know if I've humbled him or not.
"Hey, are you okay, dude?" Leena asks me, snapping me out of my focus on Colin.
"Yeah, I'm alright. Are you-" I stop myself. I was about to repeat the same question back to her.
Instead, I say: "I mean, you didn't seem okay back there. I'm sorry he treated you like that. Are you alright? Don't feel pressured to say much if you don't want to," I say to her as I put my full focus on her.
Of course, things don't go my way. She yaps. Though I understand why she talks to me.
"You want the truth? Lately, I haven't been doing so great. I'm sorry if this sounds like a lot, but like, it seems like you understand a bit. I have always lived in my brother's shadow. Since birth, my brother has always been given priority because he is going to be the next head of the house."
"He is truly amazing, though. I may be a prodigy in terms of being given so much mana, but I do not know how to control it. My brother is the exact opposite. He does still have a significant amount of mana, but he can control it to perfection," Leena says right before she aggressively takes a sip of soda.
"It's just not fair! Of course, he gets all the praise and fans. He was even able to get placed into the noble class without doing the exam because he got sponsored. The Keepers love him because he seems perfect in their vision. They value strength above all else."
"All they see in me is wasted potential," Leena says aggressively as she eats her food voraciously like Kirby, which is impressive, honestly.
"I understand that... I wish people would look upon me in a better light. Not as an outcast or as a weakling, but as just a normal human being. When people see me, all they think of is look at that freak. It's like I'm famous in this academy for all the wrong reasons," I say, while I stuff my face with food.
There's a good solid ten seconds of just us stuffing our faces with food, which would be funny if it weren't for the fact we're doing it to cope with our negative feelings.
Leena pauses being Kirby and takes a long sip from her soda.
After she's finished, taking a sip, she says, "Since I admitted how much of a goody two-shoes my brother is to everyone, I might as well admit the other reason my life hasn't exactly been great."
I don't know the right words to say back, so I just nod for her to continue speaking.
"This isn't a secret anyway, but everyone here knows besides you, as you're a newbie, that the family I'm a part of is disgraced nobility. The House of Grey used to be the most renowned noble family known for its grace and fire magic. Our father was a famous Duke who was loved by the people. Once the Keepers took over the Kingdom, nobles had to choose between fighting against them or joining them."
"Our father resisted the Keepers, and as a result, lost his noble status. Our father, named Aurelius Grey, surrendered to the King and begged for forgiveness."
"By sheer luck, he was allowed to survive. My older brother, ever since he was a kid, has been training extremely hard. Yes, he's a genius, and yes, I'm sad that he overshadows me a lot, but sometimes, he has that right. That's because his dedication is so fierce to becoming like our father before the Keepers took over: powerful and respected."
"My brother, named Ignis, is the sole reason the House of Grey may return to nobility and attend Keeper Academy in Tarondar. His actions and reputation are restoring the family's status," Leena tells me.
"I do not know what his true motivations are at all. All I know is that by graduating from Keeper Academy, it will open up more opportunities for myself. I know the Keepers are renowned for their light magic."
"Some people welcome them into the kingdom, some hate them, and there are even some cults around them, the most famous one being The Cult of Light," Leena says while making a disgusted look.
"I'll tell you more about that stuff later if you want to learn about it. Everyone here hates me as well, just not as much. Some of the current nobles want the House of Grey to perish, so I fear for my brother's safety. I know he's more than capable of handling himself, but will you look out for him for me, please?" Leena says unexpectedly while reaching out and grabbing my arm, surprising me.
I didn't know Leena can be this serious or this emotional. I thought she was a very optimistic, trigger-happy type of person.
"Yeah… sure. I'll do my best. Just don't expect me to always be there for him or do it successfully because I don't think I'm powerful enough to stop the Keepers," I say to her in response.
Leena widens her eyes and, for the first time since we left Justus's office, smiles at me. It makes me feel good to see her happy again.
Leena stands up from the table and says, "Yay! Then it's settled. I have my full trust in you. Even though others were hating on you, I overheard people say you kicked that guy named Dustin's butt off right before the entrance ceremony!"
I laugh in response as I stand up as well. "It was nice having lunch with you. Go easy on me at the duel tomorrow, okay?" I say to her as we get set to part ways.
"It was nice talking to ya too! Thank you for listening to my problems. I can't guarantee I'll go easy!" Leena winks at me and says before walking out of the cafe. I wave goodbye to her as I see her figure disappear behind the corner.
I sigh and start walking back to my dorm. For the rest of the day, I read my copy of Magic and Emotions and studied it hard. I also think about how it's interesting to listen to Leena and understand her better. I can tell why she acts the way she does: to rebel against her brother and be different from others.
Leena, the other students, and I all want validation, whether that's in popularity or just having a few close friends. If I want to build close friendships with my peers, I need to survive the duel first.
I shut my book with a soft thud and head to sleep. Tomorrow is a real test of my abilities.