Ephemeral Echoes

Attempting To Be Accepting

Their widened eyes and shocked faces indicated that they didn't expect my arrival. However, despite their surprise, they didn't stop walking towards me.

As I was about to say something, Emma suddenly stood up, and before I could speak, she asked her friends, "Is Mary going to come?"

Our surprise shattered after Emma asked that. Emma didn't know that we had already met. "Yes," replied the short blond-haired man.

I also stood up when Emma asked them again, "And you or anyone didn't pick her up?"

"Yesterday Mary said she didn't want to be picked up, remember?" replied the blond-haired man.

When Emma remembered that, she responded to the blond-haired man with a gentle nod.

I accidentally glanced at the blond-haired man who was observing me. When our gazes met, he slightly nodded in greeting, and I did the same.

"Alright, um..." Emma looked at me. "Rae, this is George Gregory, Billy Bardolph, and Edward Deanway," Emma said, raising her hand to introduce her three friends from left to right.

It turned out that the brown-haired man in front of me, who had been refusing to look at me, was George Gregory.

I didn't pay much attention to his appearance, even though I was with him this morning. But now, because I saw him up close, I could also see the cunningness in his eyes.

I didn't know what was wrong with him. He looked cold, indifferent, mean, possibly a playboy, and potentially rough judging from his body posture and the veins bulging on his hands.

But I still wasn't sure because he helped me before. Now I wonder if he's genuinely kind inside and just wants to appear cool on the outside, or if he's actually mean, and before was just my luck?

Next to George was Billy Bardolph, a shoulder-length black-haired man. His face looked innocent, baby-faced, and kind, in contrast to his demeanor.

His smooth baby face might look cute, and even girls would quickly be attached to him, but they would all regret it when they found out what he was really like.

And lastly, the blond-haired man was Edward Deanway. At least, he seemed a bit better among his friends, and the aura he exuded looked positive, meaning he was a good and generous person.

Not only that, he was very handsome and well-dressed like a prince. Although he was shorter than his two friends, it didn't matter as long as he was taller than me.

"Hi," I smiled awkwardly. "I'm Hiraeth Euphrenia Cordelia."

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Cordelia," Edward said with a warm smile.

"Same here, um..." It seemed more polite to call him by his last name? "Mr. Deanway?"

Edward laughed briefly. "I'm not Mr. Deanway. Edward. Just Edward."

"And I'm not Miss Cordelia. Just Rae." My awkward smile softened as I began to feel comfortable talking to him.

"Let's sit," Emma interjected.

Then I took the initiative to move to the side of Emma so that the three of them could sit facing me and Emma.

As we all sat, I didn't say a word. It was too awkward if I joined in their conversation. Basically, they were just asking about each other's news.

After they inquired about each other's news, they began to talk about their experiences when they all went to a place, which I didn't know.

I felt left out and neglected with their conversation because none of them invited me to join in. I just smiled and nodded all the time without focusing on the topic they were discussing.