Chapter 52 - It Hurts a Little
Luna looked away and clicked her tongue in annoyance. "You dared to hit me?"
Leo apologized with zero sincerity. "Sorry. My bad."
When the elevator stopped on the first floor, Luna walked out first. Leo carried his uniform jacket, following behind.
Xander lagged a step, staring at their backs. A flicker of envy crossed his eyes before he could stop it.
The click of high heels stopped.
Lily stood beside him, puzzled. "What are you spacing out about?"
The boy's green hair was blown into a mess by the wind.
He sighed. "Mom, you should've had one more. Any sibling would do. A brother, a sister, older, younger."
A brief unnaturalness crossed Lily's face.
She reached out and patted Xander's shoulder, scolding playfully. "One is enough to love. Two and I'd have died on the operating table."
Xander paused, then rubbed his nose sheepishly.
-
After steak, the siblings went home.
Luna slung her bag off the couch and went to her room to do homework.
The temperature had dropped sharply these past few days. In the blink of an eye, all the leaves on campus had fallen. But the class buzzed with a New Year's Eve energy, thanks to the upcoming sports meet.
Morning exercises were suspended. During that slot, the school let athletes train freely.
Friday morning, after Luna finished her referee meeting, she carried her notebook to the track.
Mila was out on the field, sweating.
The wind was strong today. Luna had tied her hair in a ponytail, and it was whipped into a mess.
Good thing she didn't have bangs. Otherwise the wind would've wrecked her whole look.
Kingsley Prep's track had just been renovated over the summer. It was packed with people running.
Luna squinted for a long time but couldn't find Mila. Instead, she spotted Jax.
He wasn't in uniform. He wore a sports jacket and Bluetooth earbuds.
His height alone made him a pleasure to watch run.
He wasn't going fast, so Luna easily called out to him.
The boy seemed unsure he'd heard right. He pulled out an earbud, looked around blankly, and finally spotted Luna.
"Something wrong?"
His breathing was uneven.
Luna jogged over to him. "Have you seen Mila?"
Jax shook his head. "No."
Luna said, "Oh." Since this guy was a good teacher and a kind person, she added a bit of concern. "What event did you sign up for?"
Jax: "The five thousand."
Luna: "......"
Her expression must have been too shocked.
He thought about it and explained. "Nobody signed up. The sports rep came to me."
"Oh..." Luna drew it out. "You're a good guy."
Jax paused. "Is that actually a compliment?"
Luna couldn't hold back a laugh. "It is."
Their conversation was like two robots chatting.
But from a distance, it looked like they were laughing and talking, thoroughly enjoying themselves.
Hayes's face was dark as he strapped a wrist guard onto his wrist.
Grayson grinned, wearing the look of someone who loved watching drama. "No wonder the heiress hasn't come looking for you lately. She's got a new flame."
Hayes gave a cold scoff. "Like I care."
He started running again. As he passed Jax, he bumped into him, seemingly by accident.
"Sorry."
Hayes stopped, spat out the word coldly, swept his gaze over Luna, and ran off.
"Tch..."
Jax clutched his right arm with one hand.
Luna rolled her eyes at Hayes's back, then looked at Jax. After a moment's hesitation, she asked, "You okay?"
The boy lowered his head, his lashes casting shadows on his eyelids. He looked almost fragile. "It hurts a little."