Project: Socialize (Chapters 1-197)

54. Intermission

When I returned home, night time had already befallen the metropolis of Palisia. However, even then, the home that I returned to was dark and empty, with no sign of my guardian Loriana. It was an eerie silence mixed with darkness that I was welcomed with, so I turned on the lights using the control app on my phone. From there on, I retreated to my bedroom in order to change into indoor clothing.                 

I quickly made my way over to the kitchen, knowing that, since it was a Friday, Loriana will definitely be home. Therefore, I began making dinner, hoping that it will be finished before Loriana returned home. As I cooked, I listened to music on my phone through my wireless earbuds, thus allowing myself to focus on the task at hand.

About ten minutes after I had returned home, I heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. I let out a sigh, knowing that I wasn't able to finish making dinner on time.

"You started later than usual today?" she asked when she emerged from the entrance.

"I had to do something for my club after school," I explained to her.

In response to my excuse, she merely stared at me with a blank yet surprised countenance. She then chuckled in an amused manner,crossed her arms, and approached the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen counter.

"Get dressed," she said with an oddly joyful smile on her face. "We're going out for dinner tonight."

"You sure?" I then asked. "Don't tell me that we'll be driving all the way to Azavak like last time just to eat."

"Don't worry," she smiled. "It's gonna be in Lumina."

"If you say so." I reluctantly placed the cutting board and the ingredients I had taken out of the refrigerator away. Then, I started heading back to my room to change into clothing suited for heading out at night.

It was 8:15 PM when I followed Loriana to her car in the underground parking lot. I boarded the familiar vehicle and was once again greeted with the scent of Loriana that filled its interior. The car pulled out of the underground parking lot and onto the nighttime streets of Palisia. Since the night was still young, the streets were extremely lively and filled with people. There were families that were out to dine as well as couples out on a dates.

I gazed out the window and at the lively nighttime streets outside, taking in the bright lights and the lively atmosphere of the city. Everywhere I looked, the only thing I could see was prosperity and smiles on the pedestrians. I was intrigued by the thought that although everybody appeared to have no worries at the moment, they all had their own problems. For example, that young man over there with his girlfriend might have family members that suffer from some disease at the moment. Therefore, everybody has their own issues no matter how normal they appear on the outside.

An example of that is Irina. She appeared fine on the surface, but she's quite broken underneath. It is only when someone attempts to pry away at the protective mask that she wore to conceal her sadness that one can truly see what it was that bothered her. If one put in the effort to tear away the mask, then... they should be expected to try and dispel the evils located underneath the mask. If one put in the effort to gain someone's friendship, then that person would probably do whatever is possible to help the person. This is because if one is willing to befriend someone, then they'll most likely see them as someone that they want to help from the start. So... what about me? Although I was forced to pry open the protective mask of Irina's, does that mean I see her as someone I want to protect? That's a question that I do not know the answer of.

The restaurant Loriana took me to was only ten minutes away from our residence when driving. It was a pretty well-known location that I've seen on many television shows where hosts visited to comment on the food. Therefore, I was quite excited to try it. It was quite packed when we entered through the front entrance of the restaurant, and there were many people waiting in the waiting area for an open table. Immediately, my enthusiasm disappeared as I realized the wait will take quite some time, but it would appear that Loriana didn't mind.

She walked in without any hesitation, drawing the attention of many men as she approached the sign-in list and wrote her name. While she did that, I found an open spot by the wall and leaned against it since all the available chairs in the waiting area were occupied. Loriana soon returned to my side, smiling as she leaned against the wall next to me.

Something that amused me was when some men intentionally walked by the sign-in paper in order to try and sneak a peek at her name. After a short while, a college-aged boy approached her with a shy smile on his face. In the back, I could see a group of other college-aged boys smiling as they looked in our direction. Immediately, I understood what was going on,

"You alone?" the boy that approached us attempted to say in a confident voice. It was easy for me to tell that he was extremely nervous and was probably forced to do so because of his group of friends behind him. However, it was also blatantly obvious to me that he is definitely interested in Loriana. "You wanna share a meal together? I can pay."

I contained my laughter at the cringe his dialogue brought and remained silent. I glanced over in Loriana's direction, curious as to what her reaction would be.

Loriana simply smiled and hooked her arms around mine, which surprised me somewhat. She hugged onto my arm tightly against her chest, making it so that my arm made contact with her soft breasts. This gesture surprised the young man as well as his group of friends behind him.

"I'm sorry, but I'm with someone already," Loriana calmly said.

"What? Isn't he in high school?" the young man muttered to himself. "Sorry to bother you then."

The young man then slowly walked back to his group of friends with a look of defeat on his face. For some reason, I believe this young man will probably have his drinks paid for by his friends after suffering an embarrassing defeat to a high school kid. At least that's what they'll think.

"Using me as a shield?" I glanced in Loriana's direction as she slowly released my arm.

"Sorry," she responded with a smile.

I was going to ask when she'll ever get a boyfriend, but I was then reminded of the fact that it was because of me that she broke up with her old boyfriend. Therefore, I decided to keep quiet and kill that thought inside my mind.

After about waiting for half an hour we were seated on the chairs in the waiting room, and I was quite hungry. However, Loriana seemed to be unaffected by it, almost as if hunger did not exist to her. She just merely sat elegantly next to me, like a goddess that's untouched by the mortality. Her eyes exhibited a glow of determination and hope, almost as if something good had happened to her recently. I had no idea as to what it could possibly be and even if I did try to guess it, I couldn't.

The waitress soon called out Loriana's name and the two of us were led to our seats. After being seated, we quickly ordered our desired meals, letting the wait commence once again. However, this time, we were provided with the beverages we had ordered earlier.

"You seem quite happy," I commented after seeing that faint expression of joy that was on her face.

"It's just that I still can't believe you would participate in a club," she responded as she moved the ice in her beverage using the straw.

"Is it really that weird?" I then asked.

She nodded. "When I first took you in, you gave me the impression as if the entire world was your enemy. At first I thought that was because of the death of your father and that you will recover soon, but... you never seemed to fully recover even as you slowly opened up to me."

I remained silent as she spoke and took a sip from my drink.

"But seeing that now you're slowly able to participate in these social events," she said as she tucked her hair behind her ear, "it makes me happy."

"You're not the most social person as well," I commented.

"But you still need some friends that you can trust," she said as she stared into empty space, probably thinking of those close friends that she trusted like Cheral and Yerith. "You'll come to realize that one day."

Her words echoed in my mind as that dreamy expression on her face concealed what I perceived to be remorse. I didn't quite understand the meaning behind her words that day, but gradually, I came to understand why she had said that to me.

Author's Note:

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Edited by TBasileEdits