loping along through the cosmos

37: HIRAYA'S COMMITTEE

Jade could swear that the woman in front of them looked familiar.

Emma.

She doesn't know many people before she entered Sinclair Academy. She remained heavily guarded by her parents, giving her 2 same-aged friends, and her bodyguards to talk to. So, names and faces of people don't really have a big storage in her brain. She knows a minimal number of people, she's sure she's at least remember their names or faces even if she'd seen them at least thrice. After all, she grew up being skeptical of the people around her. Being gatekept for years does that.

Emma, the cafe staff, nodded with a smile but not before she turned to the people gathered. "But the others don't look like they'll study, though?"

"Oh, these guys?" Alistair turned to Fino and Kieran. "They're just here as their sister's chaperone." He covered the side of his mouth, acting like he's about to whisper. "Their sister has two admirers over here. They have to keep the boys in check."

Theodore and Justin exchanged looks, understanding right away that they were the ones who needed to be kept in check.

Emma nodded slowly, still processing what Alistair just said. Nonetheless, she fished her apron's pocket and gave Nazaire a key. "Leave it in the drawer once your group study is done. Your shift will be in another hour, ok? My aunt will be here later as well before I leave."

"Got it. Thank you, Emma."

"No problem. Bring a copy of our menu in the room so you can just give me a list of your orders once you're all settled inside." Nazaire nodded.

Everyone stood up with their bags, and thanked Emma before following Nazaire to the extra room the cafe has.

Since the cafe was in the basement of the building, the extra room was located further down the hallway of the same floor.

The cafe wasn't that big like a whole Starbucks but it was big enough to accommodate at least 40 customers at once. Connected to the cafe was a hallway which leads to 3 small meeting rooms for groups of students or office workers who want to do their tasks privately. Then, further down the hallway was the big extra meeting room that Emma doesn't use unless she's with her college friends for a meeting. And with the cafe owner being fond of Nazaire, she offered him the room for his own study group as well. The offer was initially her teasing him since she has never seen him with a friend other than Lilith. Today, Nazaire just proved her wrong.

Nazaire led the way confidently, finally feeling like he was in his forte with his knowledge of the building.

One by one, they went inside the extra meeting room.

It was nothing special. It looked just like a typical conference room. It has a huge long table in the middle with at least 10 swivel chairs on the side. There was also a big whiteboard in front, and two whiteboard markers and an eraser on the small table beside the board.

Behind the room were small boxes filled with new cups for the drinks, tissues, and plastic utensils in different wrappings.

"Can we redecorate the place a little?" Reverie asked Nazaire.

"Redecorate how?"

Reverie looked at him in all seriousness. "Bring a computer set or something?"

"I'll have to ask Emma about it. She uses the room sometimes."

"Okay, thanks," she replied.

The bodyguards roamed around the room as soon as they entered, checking every detail to ensure the security and privacy of the room before their meeting.