CHAPTER 18
There were some students who were loudly passing by the corridor that made the two people inside distanced from each other. And before they could turn around at the door, Aurora joined the surge of the students going on their way. It was not her intention to spy on them. It was clearly not her business. She shrugged off the malicious thoughts on her mind, and she resumed looking for her classroom.
She was at the very end of the hallway, and there it was finally. She stepped inside and went ahead to find a seat. There were still a lot of vacant seats, and she chose to sit near the door. She doesn't want to walk more across the room. She plopped her shades on the top of her head and pulled a book from inside her bag.
When their classes ended, Aurora and Ade met outside the school cafeteria. They could eat off campus, at the restaurant near the area, but they want to try the food in their school. It was already 2:00 pm. It was the usual lunchtime for the students, and they considered that there could be a lot of students inside, but they would still try if there was any vacant table.
They entered the cafeteria, and Aurora hadn't taken off her shades yet. She likes wearing it, for it could conceal her emotions at times. It was like a barrier between her and other people. So that people couldn't read her that easily.
She looked up directly across the other side, where the food counter was displayed. Ade was in front of her while they were walking when she suddenly halted and turned around to face her. Aurora cocked a brow at her. Ade knew that reaction. She was asking her, 'What's up?' without a need to verbalize it.
"Diba friends yun ni Max, Signorina?" (Aren't those Max's friends, Signorina?) She pointed her lips at the far-right side. A few tables away from where they were standing. Aurora followed Ade's gaze, and she was right. They all looked familiar in their faces and figures even though she was seeing them with color-filtered lenses through her sunglasses.
"Hmm." The sides of her lips curved into a smirk. "It's about time. Let's go meet them." And she was the one who led the way in their direction. Max was not with them, though, but there wasn't any problem with that.
As they made their way to their table, eyes followed the Fontalva maiden. Maybe because of how she walked confidently. There was that intimidating air around her. Aurora removed her sunglasses. One of the group noticed her approaching and tapped his other friends, which made all of them look in her direction.
Aurora stopped in front of their table, and she flashed them a warm smile. They were all paused in silence as they gazed up on her. "Buon mezzogiorno. Ciao a tutti. Spero che non sia troppo tardi per una presentazione. E mi scuso per ieri. È stato un po' scortese da parte mia. Ancora una volta, mi scuso sinceramente per questo." (Good noon. Hello, everyone. I hope it's not too late for an introduction. And I do apologize about yesterday. It was a bit rude of me. Again, I sincerely apologize about it.) She pleasantly stated.
She looked at them one by one, and they were all stunned in her greetings. Her eyes lingered a little longer on the only Filipina in the group, wearing a sweatshirt. Her eyebrow automatically raised in recognition from what she had caught earlier.
"Sono Aurora," (I'm Aurora.) She put a hand to her chest and turned her attention to her friend. "E questa è la mia cara amica Adelina." (And this is my dear friend, Adelina.)
Ade stepped forward to Aurora's side. "Ade in breve." (Ade for short.) She waved at them. Ade was a bit surprised by what her signorina said.
"È un piacere conoscervi, tutti quanti." (It's nice to meet you, everyone.) Aurora added.
One of the two guys instantly recovered from what happened, and he stood up, getting out of his chair. "Mi chiamo Niko." (I'm called Niko.) He offered a hand to shake, and she accepted it. And she was surprised when he stepped closer and bent his head down to the side of her face. "Spero di non essere scortese, ma voglio solo confermare che mi sembri familiare. Sei tu la principessa Stellare?" (I hope I'm not being rude, but I just want to confirm. You look familiar. Are you the Stellare princess?) He asked in a low voice.
To the people who knew her, she was called the Stellare princess or Stellare heiress because of their renowned company. Stellare Creations. So, she was thinking that this one could also be a son from the Elite Circle. Top wealthy families in the entire country. But he wasn't familiar to her. Every year, there was an annual Elite Ball. Maybe he hadn't attended any of it. He looked the part, though. From his stance, he was highly pleasant to the eyes.
Or maybe he was just a normal citizen but was actively reading business tabloids because some of the elite families were featured with their businesses.
Though she was stunned by how he acted, it made her smile. He did it for no one to hear his curious question. She nodded. "Il solo e unica." (The one and only.) She answered, almost whispering. They looked like they were exchanging secrets.
He distanced his face away from her but still holding her hand. He stepped back and gentlemanly stated, "È un grande piacere conoscerla, signorina Aurora." (It's a great pleasure to meet you, signorina Aurora.) And he bent his waist, lifting the hand he was holding and slightly grazed his lips to the back of her hand.
Her eyebrows shot up from what he did. More and more people were looking at them. She felt a but awkward but genuinely appreciated his princely gesture.
Obviously, everyone was curious why he acted like it but it seemed like he didn't mind the questioning eyes. She like his boldness of doing something like that.
"What's this about?" Max suddenly appeared beside her. His face was in total confusion and curiosity in their exchange.