Chapter 42 - Boxed Lunch
"Exactly."
Someone chimed in. "Nobody begged you to treat us. If you can't afford it, don't. And if you do, don't complain about it after."
Chloe went pale, trying to defend herself. "I didn't..."
"Everyone heard you."
...
The commotion next door caught Luna and Ryder's attention.
They exchanged a look, both stood up, pulled open the door, and craned their necks to watch like it was a show.
Leo happened to walk out. He grabbed one of each by the arm. "Stop staring. Let's eat."
"Don't interrupt." Luna smacked his hand away. "If you won't look, I will."
Ryder had been following obediently, but hearing this, his courage swelled. "I want to watch too."
Leo: "..."
He turned and went back into the private room.
Luna whispered to Ryder, "He's definitely cracked."
Ryder nodded emphatically. "That's what I think too."
Chloe was teetering. "You've got it all wrong. I was just joking with Leo."
"Chloe." Ethan raised a hand to adjust his glasses. "Whether it was a joke or not, we all heard it. No need to explain."
He stepped forward and held out the necklace box. "This necklace might not cost as much as your dinner, but it's from the whole class."
Chloe pressed her lips together, eyes reddening. She just kept repeating, "That's not what I meant," and didn't take the gift box.
Ethan set it down on the table instead.
"I'm leaving first."
Once he left, the rest followed.
Luna looked regretful. "Missed it. Let's go."
Ryder nodded vigorously.
-
After the meal, everyone went home.
In the cab on the way back, Luna seemed to be in a bad mood. She leaned against the window, hands shoved in her pockets.
The window was rolled halfway down. The wind was strong, blowing hard into the car.
Luna's loose strands of hair were whipped into a mess by the wind.
The driver glanced back several times, hesitating each time, until they hit a red light and the car stopped.
The driver turned around. "Miss, it's pretty windy today. Dust is blowing in. Could you roll the window up?"
Luna said nothing and rolled the window up.
The driver turned back, satisfied.
Leo noticed she was acting strange. He wanted to say something but swallowed it.
Until the cab pulled up in front of No. 11, Crescent Bay.
They got out of the car. The sky was still dim.
Leo watched Luna walking ahead in silence, caught up in a few strides. "What's wrong?"
Luna stopped and turned to look at him.
His face showed obvious concern, but the awkwardness in his nature made it hard to get the words out.
"I..." Luna thought about it, unsure how to explain.
She was just thinking about Leo in her previous life. How he'd sold a kidney to buy Chloe a bag, then died young from an infection.
Luna brought it up casually, as if it were nothing. "I just had a dream last night. Dreamt you sold a kidney at some underground market to buy Chloe a bag, and died young."
"..."
Leo was silent for a long time. He seemed genuinely shocked by this dream.
"I'm... not so broke I can't afford a bag." Leo clicked his tongue.
Luna said, "Our family went bankrupt. We were drowning in debt."
Leo shot her a glance. "Wouldn't have guessed."
"Wouldn't have guessed what?"
"Wouldn't have guessed you'd dream about our family going bankrupt."
Luna's mouth twitched. "Don't change the subject! I'm serious! I was so angry. How could you be that stupid?"
Leo played along with the dream, thought about it, and offered an explanation. "If I really did sell a kidney, it was probably to pay off debt, not to buy her a bag."
Luna froze.
She suddenly thought of the last day she saw Leo in her previous life.
That day was a lot like today. An overcast sky without a single cloud, but the light was dim, and the wind was fierce. The kind of weather that dragged your mood down.
Leo was carrying a boxed lunch he'd bought at the gate of an apartment complex for ten bucks. He knocked on her door.
Luna lived in a basement, so it was even darker. She hadn't turned on the lights. Just lay on the mattress, staring into space.
When she heard the knock, she thought it was debt collectors. Her heart jumped. She grabbed the baseball bat by the bed and crept toward the door on cautious feet.
She peered through the peephole for a long time, barely making out the boy's thin silhouette, then carefully opened the door.
Leo frowned. When his gaze landed on the baseball bat in her hand, whatever he'd been about to say died on his lips.
Luna asked, "Why are you here?"
"Checking on you." His answer was gruff. He lifted the boxed lunch and held it out to her.
Luna had been eating nothing but steamed buns for nearly a month. At the sight of a boxed lunch she once wouldn't have touched, she was salivating.
She turned on the light.
The room was tiny. Aside from a tiny attached bathroom, the only space was enough for a mattress, a small folding table, and a bean bag chair she'd bought for ten bucks off the previous tenant. Barely enough room for two people to sit.
Luna was so hungry she didn't have the energy for small talk. She tore the wrapper off the disposable chopsticks, popped the lid, and devoured the food.
Leo frowned, his gaze moving from her little mattress to the blackened walls, to the half-eaten steamed buns and the cheap spicy snacks on the floor.
He didn't say a word.
Luna didn't ask questions either. She finished every grain of rice and every bite of food, wiped her mouth, and said, "Do you have any money?"
Leo startled. His blue-gray eyes took on an almost glassy quality in the dark basement. He looked down, dug into his pocket, pulled out a fifty, and held it out to Luna.
Luna quickly pushed it away and pulled two hundred-dollar bills from under her pillow, holding them out to him.
"..."
Leo stared at the two hundred-dollar bills in her hand for a good thirty seconds. Then he asked, "For me?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Luna's tone was breezy. "Your sister's got skills. I've got money."
She'd found a part-time job, but the debt collectors tracked her down. She'd slunk off and quit, hiding out for a month.
In the silence, Leo's phone rang.
He frowned, glanced at the caller, and answered.
Whatever the other person said, Leo replied, "I don't have money to buy you a bag right now."
Then he hung up on his own.
Luna asked, "The girl you like?"
Leo seemed to want to say something, then swallowed it and nodded.
"If you don't buy her a bag, won't she be mad?"
"That bag costs twenty thousand. What, am I supposed to sell a kidney for it?" Leo's voice was tight with irritation.
Luna said, "Oh."
She pushed the bills toward him again.
Leo said, "I don't want it."
Luna said, "Oh, come on. I'm great at making money. I'm just taking a break right now."
Leo stared at her. The boy's eyes carried a probing quality that made Luna's heart race with unease.
"What?"
Leo asked, voice flat, "Did those people come after you again?"
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