Another day of classes go by. He waits in the lobby for his group of friends to meet with him. Once they group up, they walk to the first class building. They take the assessment, which Rohan completes first. They go to lunch and eat. They split up and go their separate ways for their second class. Rohan goes to his second class, and takes notes next to Erica. The class ends, and Rohan meets with his group again, and they hang out for a couple hours in the lounge. They then go to the food court building to eat their dinner.
There was more to the building than simply a food court, as there were a couple stores and a media center, however most of the students who went to the facility did it for the food. The building was spacious, with echoes audible down the large halls of what was almost a short mall.
The largest room of course was the dining room, with multiple levels and different rooms full of students eating. Along the walls of the court were different food chain shops set up, with lines in front of them of people ordering food.
Students chat with one another while eating shining burgers and steaming rice, the food looking far more pristine than anything in the food court. Many of the students were older, as they already seemed like full fledged adults, as it seemed the older students were the ones who could more easily afford the food.
One of the subrooms of the food court was far quieter as there weren't as many people, as most tables were only fit for two or four people. However, a couple of the tables were pushed together, and Rohan along with his friends all sat there, being the only ones talking in the room.
Sriya, Ara, and Shuraj talk to one another, and Vrey and Ari have their own conversation. Their voices were the only sound in the room, as they all usually talked rather loud, but it was fine as the other students who sat in the room wouldn't talk and thus it wasn't too much of a distraction.
However, Rohan just sits among the group silently, his head lowered down, staring at the salad on his plate. His hands were on his lap, his back straight, and his head tilted down slightly to stare at the food. His eyes were completely dull, and his hair was more of a mess than usual as he didn't make it.
Sriya laughs at a joke, and he extends his hand out in front of Rohan to meet Shuraj's hand, and they bump hands. They then retract back of their hands, and Rohan continues staring at his food.
As Vrey and Ari talk to one another, Vrey notices Rohan, seeing how different he seemed. Usually, Rohan would be talking with at least one of them, and usually multiple, yet he hadn't talked at all. He also noticed that Rohan was completely silent and secluded during class, as while he did stay relatively serious, there was something more to this day.
Ari asks Vrey, "But you agree that he was just being appa right? Like, that man really was on something else, it was funny to watch through."
Vrey nods his head and answers, "Yeah yeah it was, for sure."
He then turns to Rohan, seeming to be concerned, and asks, "Yo Rohan, you good there?"
Rohan seems not to hear him, as he continues to stare at his salad in silence, his body a cold statue.
Vrey leans towards Rohan, and he asks again, "Yo, Rohan?"
Rohan blinks twice after hearing Vrey, and he perks his head up. He turns to Vrey, his eyes still dull, making him look somewhat intimidating.
He asks plainly, "Yes?"
Vrey frowns, and he asks, "Anything wrong?"
Rohan stares at Vrey for a few moments, his face blank and expressionless, and he answers "No, I'm fine."
Vrey tilts his head, and he asks again, clearly able to tell that Rohan wasn't genuine: "You sure? You seem a bit fro there, what's up?"
Ari turns to Rohan, also being both confused and concerned after hearing Rohan's responses. He asks as well, "What's wrong?"
Rohan's eyes move to see Ari, and he then looks back at Vrey before answering, "Guys, it's fine."
Shuraj stops talking to Sriya after noticing the change in mood, and he turns to Rohan, confused. Sriya and Ara see Shuraj's attention shift, and they turn to Rohan as well, as it seemed there was something going on.
The group stares at Rohan while Rohan just stares blankly, all of them awkwardly silent.
Shuraj frowns, and he asks with genuine concern, "What's wrong man? Come on, you know we got you, right? Just say whatever's on your mind."
Rohan turns his head to Shuraj, and stares at him for a few moments, and with nothing but a head turn, Shuraj was able to confirm that something was clearly wrong.
Rohan simply asks him, "Hey, did you all know what Exhumans were?"
Shuraj blinks twice, confused from the sudden question, and he answers "Uh-...yeah, I do. Why?"
Rohan responds, "Oh...so I guess they're common knowledge? Everyone knows what they are?"
Shuraj nods, still confused, and he answers, "Yeah, they're in the news a lot, it's hard to miss it."
Rohan nods slowly, and he says, "I see. Maybe I just never had the reason to look. I don't know how I lived eighteen years without knowing, but somehow I did. Well, I guess I must've been quite an ignorant kid then, wasn't I?"
Shuraj tilts his head, and he asks, "Uh, I don't think you're ignorant. I mean, some areas don't really have Exhuman problems so I guess it makes sense if not everyone knows about them. Well, I mean and if you're asking about them now, then you must know what they are. That's pretty good, so even if it took a bit longer to hear about it at least you did. And hey, when it comes to everything else, you're way smarter and know way more than all of us."
Rohan keeps his eyes open, and he says, "Yeah, maybe. I guess I should feel lucky that I didn't have to know about them for so long. I feel bad for everyone who had to learn about them at a younger age. I always knew there were problems in the world, but I didn't know how bad they really were."
Shuraj's eyes slowly widen, and he asks, "Well...yeah...I guess. I guess we all wake up at some point, but I guess being spared for at least part of your life sounds nice."
Rohan's eyes widen, and he says, "Yeah...we all wake up at some point. I guess I was lucky that I was able to wake up and have enough time to see the world then. At least I was spared to keep going. If she didn't help me up, I wouldn't have been able to."
Shuraj's eyes shoot wide open, and so do the eyes of the rest of the group. Ara and Ari look at one another, and Sriya stares at Shuraj, and then at Rohan. Vrey's eyebrow raises in confusion, as he still didn't understand what was happening.
Shuraj slowly asks, "Rohan...that last attack...on the news...it was on the day we went on the trip. You...wanted to go to the Artificial Intelligence place...didn't you? You weren't...in the building when everything happened...right?"
Rohan lowers his head to look at the table, and he lets out a soft sigh. He answers, "I guess I should've gone to the video game group with you guys, huh? Well, if I was just any less lucky, I guess I wouldn't be here with you guys, so you would've known where I was. It was a nice building...and there were some nice people…."
Shuraj shivers, and he lowers his head. He then scoots his chair back, and stands up. He looks down at Rohan, and then the rest of the group. He then says, "I'm going to...use the bathroom...be right back."
Shuraj then runs out of the room, and vanishes, his mood seeming to have been completely changed.
Vrey turns to see Shuraj run off, and his eyes widen before asking, "Wait, what happened-?"
Sriya answers the question, "Shuraj...his father was murdered by an Exhuman when he was really young. He's lived with a single mom almost all his life because she refuses to remarry. He's been able to hold up pretty well about it...but he's always said how he doesn't want anyone else to go through the same thing. I guess this hit a bit close to home."
Sriya stands up, and he says, "I'm going to check up on him. You all, stay put." He then looks down at Rohan, and says, "Sorry Rohan, we'll talk about this later. I...we shouldn't have split up from you guys. You're not alone though, we're there for you."
With that, Sriya walks out of the room, off to find Shuraj.
Ara and Ari stare in silence, as they didn't expect the dinner to become so serious, and they didn't know what to say to help the situation.
Vrey watches Sriya leave, and he looks back at Rohan. He then asks, "Do you...know anyone who didn't get out safely?"
Rohan looks back at his salad, and his eyes widen. He then answers, "Yeah...Maria…. She was Erica's roommate. Shoot...she's been alone in the dorms now hasn't she? Huh...I should make sure she's fine, shouldn't I? What am I doing here, sulking on my own, when there are people who were hit harder?"
Rohan sits up from his table, and he turns to Vrey. He then says, "I'll pay you back for the food, sorry."
He then walks towards the door to leave, and as he does, Vrey turns to him. He then yells, "Wait, Rohan! Sriya said we should stay. Come on, don't walk away from us. We should stay together at a time like this, or it'll get worse."
Rohan turns back to Vrey, and stares at him for a few moments, his eyes still completely dull, his hair still a mess. He lets out a soft sigh, and all he can respond with is "Sorry."
Rohan then turns around, and walks out of the room, deciding on leaving the group to seek out Erica. The door closes behind him, and he makes his way out of the building.
Vrey stares at the door, having failed to keep Rohan from running off, knowing now that Sriya would return to see the group fragmented. His eyes stay on the door, not knowing what to do nor what to say.
Ari turns to Vrey, and he puts his hand on his shoulder, saying "Don't worry, it's not your fault. Maybe later or tomorrow we can talk to him. Don't take it too heavily."
Ara looks at the untouched salad, staring at the perfect greens that made up the only healthy meal on the table, yet the only one that hadn't fulfilled anyone.
The prettiest food, and yet the only one that couldn't be eaten.