Introvert

Chapter III

Then she walks to the curtains and pull them back to reveal a glass door that leads to an outdoor balcony. She unlocks the door with a swift flick and pulls it open, gazing at the view before her. There isn't much you could see from the third floor, but you can see the rows of buildings stretching out over the city. Most of them white. Some of them tainted blue glass.

She sighs and goes back in.

White. All white. Everywhere, white. White buildings, white cars, white lights, ... white lies...

She walks back to the bedroom and looks at the time.

"Lu..." She whispers as she gently rubs her shoulder.

She mutters as she opens her eyes half way. "I don't want to get up. I'm too comfortable now."

Su rolls her eyes and pulls her up as she groans.

"Oh hey, you were right on time." She mumbles as she glances at the clock.

"When have I ever been late?" Flor asks as she takes the key and opens the door, walking into the crowd of students going down the hall. They walk briskly until they reach the Cafeteria. They're then hit with the smell of simmering tofu.

"Smells wonderful." Luna whispers, and Flor nods her head as they wait in line to get their lunches. Once they get their food, they look around to find Jeremiah.

"I don't think we can single him out in a crowd of six thousand students." Flor groans as she squints her eyes, scanning the sea of introverts.

"Let out our little.. Uh, whistle."

"Oh, right." She chuckles before letting out their identifying whistle, a whistle that was long and low, then swiftly ended with a high note. It was a whistle the three of them always used when they were younger, so whenever they got lost or separated, they would always let out the whistle, wait until it's returned, then go in the direction of where it came from. A few seconds pass before the whistle is returned. When it ends, the two turn their heads towards the sound, and they immediately see Jeremiah's coy grin. He nods his head to call them over, and the two walk over to him and sit beside him.

"Hey. Who's your friend?" Flor asks, beginning to eat her meal.

"My name is Zephaniah Trinidad. Most people just call me 'Zeph' because they say my name is too long, but I'm fine with that." He says, greeting the two with a bow.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Flor Del Rosa. My... sister's name is Celeste Del Rosa. She's from a different class." She greets, returning the bow.

"And I, am Luna Celestial. My parents thought they were great comedians. I actually have a twin. Her name is Sol Celestial. You see what I mean?" The group chuckles as she gives him a greeting bow as well. "Another 'iah' though, huh? You and your roommate were made for each other.

Flor shakes her head before Luna speaks again. "I guess lame jokes are in your genes."

"Hey! I was totally kidding by the way. It's nice to meet you. I'm sure I've had you in one of my classes once."

"Miss Padilla's class. I remember you. You were the one that used to get mad at everybody a lot. Everyone was terrified of you." Zephaniah chuckles before he continues to eat.

"Oh, right. I remember that. Good times. How have you and Jeremiah been getting along?"

"He's a nice roommate to have. We have the whole day to do anything we want, so I'm sure going to spend my time trying to get to know him better. We wouldn't want to have a roommate you barely know, am I right?"

"Yeah, righto."

Jeremiah lets out a little snicker.

"What?" Flor asks, turning her head towards him.

"No, I just like how you all just have stories behind your names." He chuckles, giving them all a little smile. "And... then there's me. Hi, my name is Jeremiah Javier. I don't exactly have any original backstory for the origin of my name. All I have is, it's what I was given, and now I have to live with it.

"I have to admit, that is the best backstory, of any name, I have ever heard, in my life." Flor exaggerates, hitting her palm against the table gently after every pause in her sentence.

"I have never been more touched by a backstory of a name." Luna mutters.

"Your name is the most amazing name I have ever heard of in the history of names." Zephaniah joked.

They all laugh as Jeremiah shakes his head. A few dumb jokes later, they finish and get up to throw away their plates. Flor throws her plate into the bin then turns around, but accidentally knocks someone's food into them, spilling sauce on their sweater.

"Oh jeez.. I am so, so sorry. I didn't mean to do that.. Are you-"

"What. The hell. I cannot believe you." She growls as she looks down at her sweater.

"Ingenium. Yikes." Jeremiah whispers.

Flor nudges him and mutters apologies under her breath, going up to her and trying to help, but the girl roughly pushes her away. Flor stumbles back, but Jeremiah catches her and helps her back up. She steps forward and it looks like the girl's about to lunge at Flor, but the girl's friend pulls her arm back.

"Forget it, Rowena." Her friend grumbles as they both step back, but Flor stands still because she can't bring herself to move.

"Isn't that... Valentina?" Luna whispers.

Flor nods as they both approach the group slowly. Rowena quickly spits on Flor's face, and just when Jeremiah and Luna are about to lash out at her, Flor holds them back and shuts her eyes tightly until they leave, wiping the saliva off her cheek.

"Those dang Geniums." Luna huffs.