Chapter Five: A New Trio

Mia followed after Lana to find a seat inside the amphitheater. It was already packed with students, and the two young women made sure to be quiet as they walked as to not disturb the ongoing lecture. Finally, they reached one of the final rows, where there were fewer students.

"Mia, this is Neil Marshall, the friend I mentioned earlier," Lana said, gesturing to a young man with black mid-long hair and brown eyes. Mia had to admit he was a pretty handsome man. "Neil, this is Mia Fey, an acquaintance I met yesterday during class. She's a first-year student and studies to become a defense attorney."

"Ah, good morning, bambina!" Neil exclaimed (not too loudly), extending his hand towards Mia while Lana took her seat. Mia shook it hesitantly. "As the pretty lady said, I am a longtime friend of hers, aiming to become a prosecuting sheriff. I'm glad to meet another beautiful bambina in this town, Ms. Fey."

"Do not mind his flattery," Lana told a blushing Mia right away, giving an eye-roll. "He's been like that for as long as I can remember. He's all bark but no bite, anyway," Neil chuckled embarrassedly. "But he's a nice and reliable guy, that I can assure you."

"You praise me too much, Lana," said Neil, exchanging a friendly smile with Lana. "I try my hardest to be a good man, Ms. Fey. They would shoot a man in Texas if he could not be kind to the ladies."

"Thank you, Mr. Marshall," Mia replied, smiling comfortably. "I'm glad to meet you, too. I hope we can get along." A bit flirty, that's for sure, but it seems to be more for the joke than anything serious. And with a strange obsession with Latin culture, too…

Smiling amusingly, Mia sat on Lana's left, taking out her notebook and a pen from her bag. Lana waited for her laptop to boot and listened to the lecturer in the meantime.

"Oh, and please call me Mia," she added. "As I told Lana yesterday, being called Ms. Fey makes me feel old."

"Alright, Mia, it is," Neil nodded. "I insist that you call me Neil, then, bambina."

Mia nodded in turn, starting to take notes.

"The talk of the day is about registering evidence," Neil explained, showing the two women a page of his notebook. "I'll give you my notes later so you can catch up, alright? Wouldn't want two pretty ladies to fall behind."

"Much appreciated," Lana thanked, not turning away from her screen.

"Thank you, Neil," Mia added with a smile of gratitude.

So, Neil is the prosecutor Lana mentioned was her partner, then… She mused while absentmindedly taking notes of the lecturer's words. Mia was surprised by how open the young man seemed, though she appreciated it. They had met only a couple of minutes ago, but the young woman felt comfortable around him. If I were to accept Lana's offer, he would be my opponent… I really don't know what I should tell Lana…

Mia was conflicted. On the one hand, she wanted to go for it and see where it would lead her, knowing that it was a fake case, anyway. She could learn a thing or two, and it would probably help her later. Still, on the other hand, there was the fear of humiliating herself in front of everyone.

What if she wasn't good enough? What if the duo of Lana and Neil crushed her without remorse? Mia knew that even with a month to study, she would never be good enough to have a chance against two experienced students who had worked together on many occasions.

I need to think about it some more… I… don't want to make a rushed decision about this…

Taking a deep breath, the young woman refocused entirely on the lecturer, deciding that she still had some time to think about it before making a definitive decision.

The rest of the lectures went by quickly. It wasn't so interesting, but all three students knew they had to pay close attention. Something being uninteresting didn't mean it was unimportant.

With the new mock trial as a goal, Lana wanted to make sure to work on her flaws. She and Neil might have won all of their cases so far, but that didn't mean their victories were perfect. They still made some mistakes, especially with logistics. Still, Lana knew what her flaws were and worked her hardest to fix them.

On their way out, Lana could see Mia was deep in thought. The youngest student didn't say a single word while Lana and Neil chatted about their morning in class. It did worry Lana a bit.

"Are you alright, Mia?" she asked. "You seem troubled."

"N-No, I'm alright…" Mia replied. "I was just thinking."

"And what were you thinking about, bambina? If I might ask, of course," Neil wondered.

"Well…" Mia paused for a moment. "I was contemplating whether or not I should accept your offer, Lana…"

"Ah, I see. And have you reached a decision yet?"

"Hold on for a second, please," Neil said curiously. "What kind of offer are we talking about, pardner?"

"Right, I didn't get to tell you since you couldn't stop flirting…" Lana scolded him, glaring playfully at her partnered prosecutor. "I offered Mia to be our opponent in the trial next month. Asking her was the idea I had earlier when I asked you to wait for me."

"Ah, this is interesting! Do you think you could be up to the task of defeating me and my pardner, bambina?" Neil asked. "Lana and I like a good challenge, and we would love to have a fierce battle with you if you believe you can walk the walk."

"That's the thing, Neil," Lana cut him. "Mia isn't sure whether she's ready or not. She has never participated in a mock trial, and she's afraid she won't be good enough," she turned towards Mia. "But as I told you earlier, Mia, I'm sure you have the potential to be a great defense attorney. Besides, it would give you great training and allow you to gain confidence," she gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm not the type to give undeserved compliments, Mia, believe me. If I say I think you could do it, it's because I mean it."

"I can confirm that much, Mia," Neil agreed, scratching his temple. "The pretty lady doesn't hesitate to tell me whenever I made a mistake, and that's how I improve," he and Lana smiled at each other. "We are best friends for many reasons, and total honesty is one of them. If Lana says you have potential, I'm willing to believe in the lady's words."

"Neil… Lana…"

Mia was still very hesitant by the looks of it. Lana wondered what her thoughts were but didn't want to ask. At one point after they had exited the building, Mia sighed.

"I really don't know what I should do, you know?" she told them, visibly conflicted. "I think I need more time to think about it, but do I really have so much time?"

"Well, it all depends on what the other future lawyers do," Lana said. "Knowing that Neil and I are going to be on the case, they might be more hesitant to sign up for it. I think you still have some time to think about it, though probably not the entire day."

Neil nodded in agreement with her.

"I'll have lunch and think about it more. I think a good burger should help me think," Mia said.

Lana chuckled. "You might be right about that. Actually, Neil and I know a pretty good burger joint not too far away. Ema brought her lunch to school, so I don't have to go get her today. Maybe you'd like to come and have lunch with us?"

"O-Oh, I wouldn't want to disturb you…"

"Bambina, I think that if you were disturbing us, Lana wouldn't have bothered to look for you and suggest you be our opponent," Neil told her, sweatdropping. "Besides, it's not like Lana and I were going on a date."

"That's right," Lana agreed. "I'm sure Neil would love it if it were the case, but it's not," she added, smirking at Neil, who playfully punched her shoulder in return. "More seriously, you're free to come with us, Mia. If you don't mind, obviously."

"Well, I wouldn't mind, of course…" Mia said, feeling slightly embarrassed. "Fine. I'll give you my decision there, then."

Neil and Lana nodded. They got going towards the burger joint.

"This is where Neil and I frequently come to have lunch when Ema decides to eat at school," Lana said as they entered the joint. "It's good enough for a quick bite."

"Not quite like what they have in Texas, but certainly good enough," Neil agreed.

"I see… Well, my sister and I often go to a burger joint close to where I live," Mia started explaining. "She's got an unrivaled appetite, especially for burgers. She… knows how to empty my wallet, but it's always nice to go out to eat with her."

"I can understand that, yeah," Neil told her as they looked for a free table. "I didn't know you had a sister, bambina. You and Lana are similar in many aspects, this one included."

"You think so, Neil?" Lana asked him. "What makes you think that?"

"The long brown hair and scarf, for one," he pointed out, tugging lightly at Lana's red muffler. "Being a law student, having a little sister, and being pretty ladies. I think that's plenty of similarities."

The two young women laughed. "Fine, you've got me there, cow-boy," Lana admitted. "This table's free. Let's go sit there."

Mia and Neil nodded and followed her.

A waiter walked over to them very quickly. "Ah, Mr. Marshall and Ms. Skye! I see you brought a friend of yours today! Hello, Miss…?"

"Fey. Mia Fey," Mia replied.

"Ms. Fey, alright. This fine establishment is happy to receive a new customer," the waiter told her. "I assume you'll have the usual?" he asked, turning towards Lana and Neil.

"Right," Lana nodded. "What do you want, Mia? They've got this nice burger with bacon, which is what I always take."

"Then I'll take that, as well, with a coke, please," Mia ordered.

The waited nodded as he wrote their orders down on his organizer. "Very well. I'll bring this to you as soon as possible!"

"Thanks," the three students said in unison. "That should put a nice spring in my step," Neil said, massaging his belly. "A burger will never fill a man's belly as much as a good Texan steak will, but I'll take whatever I can have at this point."

"He says all these things about Texas, but you should know that he never actually went there, Mia," Lana told her, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, don't tell her all of my secrets!" he complained. Seeing him pout, the two women giggled. "Besides, it's not because I never went that I know nothing about the place, y'know?"

"Yeah, sure…" Lana said, sighing. "Moving on… There's been a little something bugging me, Mia…"

"Oh, what about?" Mia asked, seeing Lana deep in thought.

"It's about this purple gemstone you have around your neck," she began. "It's pretty, but I was wondering where you got it from."

"Ah, well…" This is gonna be complicated to explain… Mia thought. "This is the symbol of the village I grew up in; it's called a Magatama. I come from a traditional village, so wearing a Magatama is as natural for the villagers as wearing socks, really. You know, symbolics and stuff… I keep it as a memento of my life there."

This wasn't the whole truth, and Mia knew it. Nothing of what she had said was false, but she had preferred to the rest to herself, at least for now. She was not doing it maliciously, though. Mia just thought that everything related to Kurain needed to be on a need-to-know basis, and strangers to the village didn't need to know much.

Neil and Lana didn't seem to catch on or at least showed no sign of catching on.

"I see. Well, it's a nice piece of jewelry," Lana commented. Neil simply nodded.

"And here are your burgers!" said the waiter, coming back with a tray of three burgers and drinks. He set it on the table. "Bon appétit!"

"Thank you," Neil said for the three of them, almost drooling. "My, this looks good… Buen provecho, bambinas!"

Laughing, the three students began to eat their meal. The first bite did wonders for Mia's stomach as she almost moaned in pleasure thanks to the taste. If Maya knew her older sister was eating a burger right now, she would definitely be jealous.

And as the three students chatted, Mia hoped that a refilled stomach would guide her towards an answer.

To be continued…

A.N: There'll be plenty of that trio in this story, that's for sure. They're fun to write, honestly. Hopefully, fun to read too. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a review! Have a nice day :)