"I'm gonna ask her to sign it…" he looked with big bright eyes at his hand plastered with gauze. Under the healers advise he was to cover it for another day which game him the big idea to suck up his feelings and take a leap.
He stood in front of the desk mirror on his table and patted his clothes down, flattening any wrinkles present. While he tended to his outfit, his gaze fell upon his injured hand, and with it followed a sense of powerlessness. 'Not yet….' He winced at the attempt to grip it.
The past few days had been nothing short of a nightmare for him. From almost getting killed and rejected by Hexora to getting brutally trashed and humiliated, the intensity had just been too consistent. The only possibly positive thing he found was that his roommate turned out to be his life benefactor.
'I should get some food before class….' He thought as he glanced over at his sleeping roommate. John quietly exited the room, making sure not to wake Dio up. The canteen or the food hall was open throughout the day, the food served differed depending on the time. While it may seem simple and straightforward, Hexora's kitchen was not to be looked down upon. It was the ideal setting for the mixture of magic and culinary. Food that was rich in mana or assisted in some sort of a way.
Moreover, they were thorough. They had a schedule for each week and had to plan ahead what dishes they would be serving through the days. Energy filling and strength providing food to begin the day, and satiety and nutritional focused food for the rest of it.
'I wonder if Jin is okay...' he thought to himself as the spoon full of hot chicken soup entered his mouth, burning his tongue a little bit. It was, without a doubt, true that John disliked interacting with the Godfreys. However, John was…..well let's just say he was way too nice for his own good.
He was considerate for his enemies, worried about their safety and well-being, regardless of whether he would cross wands with them one day. John didn't belong to any rich family. Rather, his relationship with his parents was extremely rocky; his father remained absent for most of his life, and his mother supported her husband and made excuses on his behalf.
"Don't be mad at your father. He puts the food on the table for us...every now and then when work stresses him out…you have to be understanding about his behavior.." She would say this with a heartbreaking smile, eyes that had no spark behind them. Her soul seemingly shattered with every passing moment she suffered.
His eyes wandered around with every piece of bread he dipped into the soup, moving from the different sets of people with him in that hall. Students in groups, people alone, some asleep, some with unwavering focus. Some students laughed and made such a big fuss that they were told off by the workers.
'What kind of life must they be leading?' he pondered in amusement, the enormity of the institution slowly settling within him as he headed over towards his classroom. He was hoping Dio would show up, although the latter did give off the complacent vibes.
Under normal conditions, he wouldn't insist on Dio's presence, however, this class was…special? Even John, the naive and kind fool that he was, knew that this was a bad idea. The mixture of people was too unforgiving.
Dio's entrance was like a firm hand on the shoulder, his uneasy heart rate was regaining stability as he smiled and slightly waved to his friend. John was quick to pick up signs and social cues, he could sense there was some unexpressed frustration between Dio and Alex. Unfortunately, this only made John feel guiltier. He really wanted Alex to sign his cast, but Dio clearly wasn't on the best terms with her, and the worst of all was that John was at the center of all this.
There was tension in the back rows, John simply wondered if it was obvious to those around them. The Professor, Felix Sinclair, seemed to have noticed something, since the beginning she'd been throwing looks towards them. He grew cautious and wondered if it was Dio or Jin that caught her attention.
"You," she pointed to John, who was far too consumed in his own thoughts. His vision split into three; on both sides, everything seemed to be spaghettified, while the center of his vision remained clear. Nevertheless, he was convinced of his perception as the churning in his stomach grew stronger.
"…..Huh…" John grunted in disbelief. The next coherent moment he had was after the class had ended; everything in between seemed fuzzy, almost distant. 'That was….kinda cool…' he didn't really know how shocking the experience truly was; convenient repression.
He gathered his things and anxiously left the room, wondering whether or not Dio would return to the room. At this point, conflicting thoughts of placing Dio on a pedestal overwhelmed his mind. A willful individual like him, who didn't have much to do in a day, decided that it would be best to sit down and think about it.
John walked a few paces to the right of the entrance and sat down by the ledge with his head leaning against a pillar. A few minutes later, John sat up when he remembered the day's goal. Which was to get Alex to sign his cast. Coincidentally, on the left-hand side of the entrance was Alex leaning against a wall looking at some of the wall decor.
"Should…I.." His eyes were open but glued to the ground. There was no reason to be this nervous; the worst she could say was no. After all, everybody would say no to John. Or so he told himself in an attempt to shut down these futile actions.
'Here goes..' He mustered all his strength and closed his eyes; however, a single second before he took his step, Dio's voice abruptly cut off anything John had planned. In a moment of panic, he shrunk back and hid behind the pillar.
It wasn't his intention. John had learned it the hard way that eavesdropping was wrong and never helpful, no matter the circumstance. But what could he do here? No matter what, it would look suspicious.
Unfortunately, they were right. Eavesdropping was never right. He could no longer unhear what he heard. Alex had a crush on Jin. Was it because it was Jin that it stung him so much? Is that what made him feel worse, a sickening wrenching feeling in his gut? He gripped his fists and left quietly.
"I'm pathetic...."