Alexander let out a yawn. After the events at his father’s café the day before, he stayed up all night, plagued by thoughts of Byron. Even when he finally did fall asleep, he couldn’t escape, for Byron had appeared in his dreams. But all the more frightening was the fact that Byron was the son of Mr. Yamashita. And Alexander did not even want to think about the relationship between his father and Mr. Yamashita back in the day.

As he sat in the cafeteria, he nibbled at today’s lunch, a chocolate croissant he grabbed from the café. Alexander had his morning ritual of stopping by the café on the way to school for whatever pastries his dad had made that morning. It usually satisfied him as far as lunch was concerned, but today the croissant sat in his mouth dry and flavourless. His father’s relationship with Mr. Yamashita monopolized his mind.

Wendy, who sat across from Alexander at the lunch table, lowered her voice, asking him, “Are you okay?” She had a look on her face that was half-concerned, half-hopeful. He had a feeling she was worried about the photograph of his father and Mr. Yamashita that they had discovered in his wallet the day before yesterday. Yet at the same time, it seemed she enjoyed watching his budding friendship with Byron. Alexander shrugged and continued to eat his croissant.

Suddenly, he felt a firm hand over his shoulder. Alexander jolted, dropping his croissant onto the floor below. So much for eating lunch, Alexander grumbled internally. He turned around and saw Byron, who had a mischievous grin on his face, standing there.

Byron took the opportunity to sit next to Alexander at the lunch table. By his side stood a familiar figure, a classmate of theirs who had caught up to Byron sat down on his other side. Alexander grimaced.

“Hey, Victor,” Alexander said plainly, but the boy scoffed and turned away. Alexander shot Wendy a glance, who nodded back in return. They both couldn’t stand the guy.

Victor Park was the student council president and one of the top students in their Grade 12 class. As the son of a prominent professor at the University of Cascadia, the most prestigious research university in the area, he was always vying for perfection and seemed constantly on-edge.

While the air around the table seemed tense, the atmosphere soon relaxed as Byron got to talking with the three of them. Alexander was impressed at how easily Byron was able to cut the tension with his easy-going demeanour and friendly personality. Alexander wondered if Byron was popular with the girls at his old school. He shoved that thought away as quickly as it came.

“Anyway,” Wendy cut in, changing the subject abruptly. “What about after graduation?” It was the beginning of their last year of high school. Alexander groaned. Soon, they would be expected to go to college. Alexander wasn’t too sure where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do. It was the last thing on his mind.

“I was thinking of going into nursing,” Byron said, though the initial spark in his voice drifted away, the enthusiasm gone.

“Your dad’s a nurse, right?” Wendy interjected. “I remember seeing him in scrubs when he came to Xander’s café the other day.” Byron seemed to shudder, but just as quickly, he composed himself and gave a weak smile.

“That’s right,” Byron said. “He’s been wanting to get me into nursing for the longest time, so I guess that’s where I’m headed.”

Alexander gave him a pitying look. Was Mr. Yamashita so controlling over his son that he had decided his career path for him? At least his own dad was easy-going on the matter; his dad worked hard to follow his passions, so he wanted his son to do the same.

“How about you?” Byron turned to Alexander, who found he had quite nothing to say. As he looked around, he noticed how Victor was unusually tuned into the conversation, as if he wanted to know what he wanted to say. He sighed and continued.

“I’m not sure yet,” Alexander said. “I haven’t given it much thought.” Wendy crossed her arms and shook her head.

“You know, Xander, with those grades of yours, you can get into UCasc without even trying,” Wendy said. Alexander shook his head. 

Victor groaned, clicking his tongue as he stood up without a word. He shot Alexander a look of disgust as he walked away. The remaining three left seated at the table, they all turned in Victor’s direction until he got out of view.

“What’s up with Victor?” Byron asked, turning his head back to Alexander and Wendy. 

“It’s always about grades with him,” Wendy said, shaking her head. “He’s been trying to beat Alexander for top of the class since Grade 9. It’s a rivalry that only exists in his head!”

“I don’t get why he cares so much,” Alexander shrugged his shoulders, annoyed by the incessant nagging he faced from Victor. “We’re all graduating with the same diploma, anyway.” Wendy scoffed.

“And you, sir, need to care more about your future,” Wendy said. “Somehow, someway, you’ve been the top student in our grade without even trying. Do something meaningful with that brain of yours!” She stuck her tongue out and flicked Alexander’s forehead to emphasize her point. Alexander rolled his eyes.

Despite Alexander’s lackadaisical approach to life, he somehow managed to do well in school until now. Just last week, he got the top mark in his pre-calculus quiz despite never doing his homework, and that got Victor so riled up he refused to talk to him the rest of the day. But the last thing he wanted to do was to gun for perfection, Alexander thought. He just wanted a simple life.

“To be fair to Victor, I’d be annoyed if my rival came out on top without even trying to win,” Byron said. “No wonder he’s been trying to beat you this entire time.” Alexander groaned in annoyance.

He hated to admit, however, that Byron did make a good point. Did Victor have such an inferiority complex all this time? Still, Victor annoyed the living crap out of him; that was for certain. Byron smiled and turned to Alexander. 

“But in your defence, I’d hate to compete with someone like that,” Byron said. Alexander chuckled at that remark. He needed a good laugh, especially after all that happened in the past couple of days. Byron smiled and took one of Alexander’s hands in his and clasped it tight.

“In all seriousness, Xander,” Byron said as he looked him in the eye. “Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure you’ll do great things.” 

Byron had a certain sparkle in his eyes that seemed to put Alexander’s world to a standstill. Coming from Wendy, those same words would have fallen on deaf ears. But coming from Byron’s mouth, Alexander could feel that charisma of his lift his spirits up. 

As Byron continued to hold him by hand, Alexander caught a glimpse of Wendy from the corner of his eye as she snapped a picture of the two of them together. Wendy stuck her tongue out. Alexander’s eyes narrowed, letting out a low growl as his cheeks grew warm.

Ring, ring, ring! 

And like that, lunchtime was over. Next up was gym class, which he shared with Byron. The trio packed up their belongings. Just as they were about to go their separate ways, Byron slung an arm over Alexander’s shoulders, catching his attention.

“Let’s walk to class together!” Byron rested his head on Alexander’s shoulder, his head so close to his that Alexander could feel Byron’s breath on his cheek. Alexander felt his heart race, scanning his surroundings for prying eyes.

“Sure,” Alexander said. Whether or not Byron’s overly easy-going nature was getting to him, Alexander couldn’t find it in him to shrug the man off.

As they started to make their way over to the change rooms, Alexander felt a vibration from his pocket. He took out his cellphone to sneak a glance.

He looked at his lock screen, a family portrait from many years ago. It was the same one that hung in his family’s café. He had kept this photo as his lock screen as a memento of the last time he had a picture taken of him with his parents. 

But before he could feel a sense of nostalgia rush over him, he quickly saw a notification pop up against the backdrop of the photograph from back then. Wendy had sent him a text.

Wendy Chen: Have fun with Byron! ;P

Alexander groaned, shoving the phone back into his pocket before Byron could catch a glance.