The cafeteria was his favorite place so far. By the time he got there, it was crowded, the hum of conversations buzzing around him. He settled at an empty table, ready to enjoy his meal in peace.
Or so he thought.
"Are you for real? Goodness!" A giggle pierced through the chatter, sharp and grating.
Seven's grip on his utensils tightened as his sensitive hearing caught the voice despite the distance. He focused, trying to drown out the noise, but then something piqued his interest.
"I kid you not! My room's window is just across from that huge tree in the garden, and I swear I heard music playing there last night."
Seven froze. His fork hovered mid-air.
"What? Are you going to say you saw people dancing there too? Zombie-like creatures, huh?"
The table burst into laughter, but the girl who spoke first didn't join in. Her silence was telling.
"It's true," she insisted, her voice quieter now, almost ashamed.
"Wait... seriously?" another girl asked, her tone dripping with disbelief.
"Well…not people. Just…a person," the girl mumbled, shrinking into her seat.
The laughter died down, replaced by an uneasy silence. Seven resisted the urge to look at the group directly, settling for a glance over his shoulder instead.
Not to mention that her voice was very familiar.
"Gurl, get yourself checked," one of the girls said mockingly.
"And you wonder why you don't have a date for the prom. Deadline's the 29th, remember?" another inputted.
The group laughed again, but the girl they mocked didn't join in. She shrank further into her seat, her face pale.
Seven could feel her discomfort from where he sat. Coupled with the sick vibe all the way to where he was sitting.
"It would suck not having you around, so please get it together!" The previous girl from before said, an annoying sound of her clinging her spoon against her teeth resounding.
"Is it just me or has this food gone bad?'"
"I know right? I knew the lunch lady looked sus this afternoon..."
"Uh...guys, I think I need to use the restroom...my stomach hurts..."
A different voice, Seven hasn't dictated yet, said.
There were a few more scuffling sounds, and he couldn't hear anything else. Assuming they all left at the same time he casually looked towards where all the conversation took place...
To his surprise, there was still someone sitting at the table. A girl... she crouched down, holding her stomach like she was in pain.
It got him confused because he was certain she wasn't the girl who complained of a stomach ache earlier.
Trying to get a better look, the lady lifted her head and snapped her head toward his direction. With no chance to look away, he made eye contact as a sense of familiarity washed over him.
'Cordis...'
She smiled at him, and with a curt nod to acknowledge her too, he turned back to his food, which was now getting cold.
'What was she doing there?' He wondered, already having a good guess.
There was a high chance she was on one of her missions again...
Bringing a spoonful of food towards his mouth and lowering his head slightly to eat it, he noticed a figure walk past him and join him at the table, sitting opposite so they could face each other.
Ignoring her presence as he chewed slowly on his food, he felt a slight uneasiness and subconsciously brushed his thumb against his bracelet, he made sure to avoid eye contact at all cost.
"Seven...how have you been?" She initiated the conversation, not letting her eyes leave him even for a second.
Shrinking under her gaze, his brows knitted annoyingly as he nodded once more:
"Fine..."
An awkward silence followed suit as Seven raised his head to meet her eyes boring holes into his. Everything about her was strangely soothing and peaceful.
'It must have something to do with her ability,' he thought. Her soft features and the harmonious aura she exuded could outrightly cure a soul.
"Which ability do you have Seven?" She asked, breaking the silence.
Taken back by the sudden question, he let the silence drag out a little more as he thought of a reply.
'Why would she bring that up from the onset? Just like that?'
Narrowing his eyes, he replied with a question of his own...
"Why are you so convinced that I have one?"
With a contemplative look, she sighed defeatedly and explained:
"Last time we met, I told you I had the clairsentient ability. And having met my friends, well, not all of them... you could guess we all have preternatural abilities as well. We were mobilized to deal with any supernatural events around the vicinity, but lately, we have been stuck in a case with little or no lead at all..."
Pausing to exchange glances with him, a little disappointed but amused at her inability to read his emotions at the moment, she continued...
"I'm sure this is no new information to you that there are people like us around the world albeit somewhat rare. My friends and I would like to believe you're one of us..."
Pausing once more and looking at him expectantly, Seven just tilted his head to the side:
"I still don't see what anything has to do with me? Judging from our last meeting, it didn't sound like your friends wanted me in so why are you here?"
"To prove otherwise..." She replied with a soft smile. "Even with our busy schedule, your...uniqueness didn't go unnoticed by us. And our reluctance to accept you into the group can be justified. Besides, the cases we handle are anything but trivial."
"Hmm...so you're gonna do this, how?" Seven asked, still stuffing his mouth with food. There was no way he was going to miss lunch because of this.
"First of all, I have to know what your ability is?" She said, her smile widening.
Pausing for a while, he played with his bracelet, pondering over her offer and surprisingly trying to read meaning into her smile.
'She's really confident about me agreeing to her offer, huh?..."
Not that she was wrong though, but he hated the fact that his curiosity to get to the bottom of this case was so obvious.
His mere half-hearted interest was now evolving into desperation...
If the ghost was going to start hurting students, then he had to intervene. This mysterious group was the answer he needed.
'Finally, people who can relate...' he wondered, ghosting a smile.
It was a nice offer, besides, he had a score to settle. Going through all that electrocution for nothing? No way!
"Clairvoyance..." He said icily, not failing to note the slight shock on her face.
He could judge from what she said that each of her friends only possessed one of the four abilities he had. He didn't know why but he held back from asking because he wouldn't want to raise any suspicion.
If these people really were as trained and legit as they looked that night, then he was willing to take some notes regarding his Clairvoyance—his least developed ability.
"I'm not surprised..."Cordis's voice came, interrupting his train of thought.
"You're not?"
"Yes...our last meeting was too much of a coincidence. You noticed something, didn't you? That day in the hallway." She asked with her voice drenched in subtle excitement and curiosity.
"My bet was on you being a Claircognizant just like Elias. That or Clairvoyance which was rather rare..."
'I see..'
"Great news though, just made you the right man for the job. We still have a few minutes before the break ends. Will you do the honors?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm certain you saw something that led you to that hallway; for me, it was different. I felt it instead. Anger—so much, I could rip through anyone who looked at me the wrong way. Whatever it was, we have to find its target, and I might have a good lead."
Following her gaze, which drifted past him he turned only to meet the retreating view of a teacher, literally shoving students aside and muttering angrily as he left the cafeteria.
"What about your friends?" Seven asked, unsure of what to make out of this tight spot.
"It's just us...how else are we going to convince them about letting you join? Don't slack..." She mentioned, slipping a loose strand of hair behind her ear as she stood up quickly and left without saying another word.
Watching her leave, he exchanged glances between his food and her retreating figure. Rubbing his wrist nervously, he stood up and followed suit.