Everyman—Chapter 3 (Patreon)

AN: Please let me know if you liked the attached MP3. I think it's pretty good.

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Giovanni’s third period was uneventful. He listened to the math teacher explain exponents with half an ear until the bell rang, signaling the start of recess. After putting his things in his backpack, he exited the class, heading toward the cafeteria. Today, his packed lunch wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him.

Before going there, he picked up Hugo, having learned the boy’s schedule earlier.

“Did you bring enough money?”

Currently, the two of them were walking side-by-side. Hugo posed the question, being familiar with Giovanni’s always-empty wallet.

The Romani boy halted, remembering he hadn’t brought anything. Normally, he didn’t buy from the cafeteria, since it was so expensive.

Hugo blandly watched him rummage around in his backpack. Giovanni was famously absentminded. Once, he showed up to school without his books, having left them on his desk. His negligence earned him two hours of detention and made him the butt of many jokes.

Eventually, the boy managed to scrape together a handful of coins and a ten Guilder note.

Hugo looked critically at the meagre sum.

“What are you going to buy with that, a piece of toast?”

He stuck his hand in his pocket, withdrawing a few coins.

“Take this.”

Without giving his friend a chance to refuse, Hugo dumped the money into his hands.

Giovanni wasn’t polite either, directly transferring it into his own pockets.

“Thanks, I’ll pay you back later.”

Hugo made a dismissive gesture. It was just some change, so he didn’t really care.

The two boys chatted amicably on their way to the cafeteria. They didn’t have much contact over winter vacation, so they had some catching-up to do.

Eventually, they arrived. The place was packed, more so than usual. Mainly, it was the fifth-graders, standing around looking lost. Not being familiar with the meal-ticket system, they were the main cause of congestion.

The two boys ignored the lot of kids, going over to the booth for orders. A twenty-something girl, wearing a bored expression, was manning it.

“Two cheese-grillers, please.”

Giovanni delivered his request, putting his money on the table.

Outside the school, this amount would buy him a full meal with a drink on the side, but Trivandrum was full of kids from wealthy families. They probably didn’t know the food was overpriced and if they did, they wouldn’t care.

After he and Hugo got their tickets, they went over to the kitchens. Rows of foodstuffs could be seen, stored behind heated glass counters. Unfortunately, there was a bit of a queue and they could only get in the back of the line.

While they were waiting, Giovanni spotted a familiar figure. Turning his head, his gaze landed on a boy walking toward the queue. It wasn’t just him—most of the nearby students were looking in the same direction.

Despite being only thirteen-years-old, the boy in question was already a head taller than his peers. If his growth continued, by the end of next year, he’d undoubtedly be taller than the male staff.

When their eyes met, Giovanni gestured for him to come over.

The dark-haired fellow accepted the invitation, directly bypassing the rest of the queue. Predictably, nobody called him out for it.

When his acquaintance arrived next to him, Giovanni extended a greeting.

“Hey, Silkworm. How have you been?”

Bong Silkworm, a person from Shenzhou, returned a nod. He was the second friend Giovanni made after enrolling in Trivandrum primary, around five years ago. Not sharing classes or interests, they rarely interacted, but maintained a lazy sort-of friendship.

“Fine.”

The tall boy gave a one-word answer before turning silent. He just stood there, with his hands in his pockets, waiting for the queue to move.

Giovanni didn’t take offense to his seemingly dismissive attitude. He was familiar with Bong Silkworm’s ways—he was the stereotypical strong, silent type.

It took a bit of effort, but Giovanni and Hugo soon resumed their conversation. The latter had no relationship with the Shenzhounese boy and always felt uncomfortable around him.

Eventually, the three of them arrived at the front of the queue and Giovanni let Bong Silkworm go first. After collecting his generously-portioned lunch, the tall fellow nodded his goodbye before turning and leaving.

With food in hand, the remaining two boys headed for the mess hall, grabbing an open table. When they were seated, Hugo spoke.

“You go out of your way to stay friends with that guy, but you won’t talk to Ha-Rin.”

Frowning, he took a bite of his toasted chicken-and-mayo sandwich.

Inwardly, Giovanni shook his head. He and Hugo had only known each other for a-year-and-a-half, so it wasn’t strange he didn’t understand the situation.

“Silkworm was always like this. He got too busy with martial arts and my parents wouldn’t let me practice, so we stopped hanging out after school. As for Ha-Rin, well… I guess I don’t really know.”

He spoke the words slowly, like he was thinking it over, but in fact, he knew. It wasn’t anything dramatic—as they got older, boys and girls naturally drifted apart. The fairer sex, during their teenage years, were more interested in playing dress-up than videogames.

For a moment, Hugo was silent. Then, he blinked a few times, evidently thinking of something.

“Maybe her parents told her to stay away from you…!”

His eyes lit up, like he discovered a big secret.

Giovanni huffed in amusement. He doubted that was the case, since most teens, when ordered by their parents, would do the exact opposite.

However, Hugo didn’t notice his attitude. He was staring off to the side, seemingly lost in his fantasies.

“Yeah, that’s probably it. They’re so posh and you’re well… kind of a gangster.”

He returned his attention to Giovanni, wearing a strange expression.

The Romani boy shook his head, incredulous.

“What are you talking about? I barely leave my house.”

Conspiratorially, Hugo leaned over the table before whispering something.

“Over winter vacation, Janet said she saw you smoking with a group of older kids. When I didn’t believe her, she got really upset. Tell the truth, John—did you do it?”

The blonde-haired boy waited expectantly for an answer. Janet was his girlfriend—a person from B-class. She was a shy girl with mousy, brown hair and freckles.

Giovanni’s eyebrows twitched. He’d have to be more careful next time—if that information reached the teachers, he’d be in big trouble.

Transferring to a different school wouldn’t bother him, but his parents really wanted him to study at Trivandrum. For that reason, they were always working away from home.

When his friend didn’t immediately deny it, Hugo turned pale.

“No way… Janet was telling the truth!”

He sounded appalled, as if the situation involved a murder instead of just some nicotine.

Giovanni swallowed a sigh. He was always a social smoker and cigarettes weren’t a big deal, anyways. However, in the minds of these strait-laced, private school kids, it occupied the same position as hard drugs.

“Keep your voice down.”

The Romani boy casually reprimanded his friend, seemingly unconcerned about his ‘secret’ getting out. While he was talking, he forked a cheese-griller and brought it to his mouth—his bacon-and-eggs were already finished.

Hugo’s eyes widened. Somehow, he seemed both frightened and disappointed.

“Why did you do it?”

As a model student from a religious family, he walked the straight-and-narrow his entire life. The boy was near-incapable of doing anything commonly considered ‘unsavory’.

Giovanni didn’t know what to tell him. They both enjoyed reading and videogames, but aside from that, their thinking didn’t intersect much.

“It’s not a big deal, dude.”

He could only drop a generic statement before returning to his overpriced lunch.

For a while, silence reigned between them. Hugo seemed to be thinking, but eventually he posed a question.

“Who were they?”

He was referring to the ‘older kids’ Janet saw, at that time.

Leisurely, Giovanni chewed and swallowed the last mouthful. When he was done, he answered.

“Just some high-school guys. I’ve known them for a few years.”

Hugo looked confused. As his friend said earlier, he barely left his house. When did he suddenly befriend a group of seniors?

“How…?”

The blonde-haired boy’s tone evidenced his consternation.

Giovanni pressed his lips together, not knowing how to explain. For some reason, the truth felt a bit embarrassing.

When he was younger, his parents organized a babysitter, given he was frequently home-alone. She was named Margaret, an older girl—not particularly pretty or likable.

However, one time, she brought some of her friends over, who he unexpectedly got along with. They even started hanging out without Margaret, agreeing she was too much of a drag.

“It’s a secret.”

Not wanting to explain, Giovanni gave a cryptic answer.

Hugo’s brows creased into a frown. He seemed concerned.

“…I don’t think you should hang out with them anymore.”

As he spoke, his voice gradually got quieter. Toward the end, he was barely audible.

Giovanni sighed into his scarf. Hugo correctly anticipated his refusal, but he wasn’t upset. Having parted with two friends already, his worry was understandable.

“Chill. As long as Janet doesn’t tell anyone, nothing will happen.”

He wasn’t on bad terms with Hugo’s girlfriend, so he didn’t think she’d snitch on him. However, she was thirteen, so he wasn’t that confident in her being sensible.

Giovanni’s lips curled into a smile.

“If rumors start floating around, I’ll know where they came from.”

Hugo wasn’t amused.

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell her to keep quiet.”

His tone was serious, like discussing a life-or-death matter.

In response, Giovanni reached over the table, patting him on the shoulder.

“Thanks, man. I’m depending on you.”

After that, their conversation turned to other things. Soon, the atmosphere lost its tension and they spent the rest of recess chatting about books.

Eventually, the bell rang, signaling the hour’s end. The two boys shouldered their packs and headed back to class. Three periods remained until the end of the school day.

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