"…And that's what happened." Josh uncapped his bottle of water and took a sip. Alicia, in turn, stabbed her soggy burger with a plastic fork and contemplated on whether or not if it's a good idea to eat it.
"So let me get this straight." She chose not to. "You got attacked by the Chinese Zodiac Club on Friday. Twice. And now one of the attackers," she looked at the kid in JROTC uniform sitting next to Josh, who grinned back rather enthusiastically, "wants to help you out."
"Yeah," he nodded. "In exchange for, uh, him getting to know you."
She leaned her face on her hand. "Shouldn't you be in a class right now? I don't ever recall you having lunch at this period."
"I have volleyball at Gym 1 and frankly, I don't want to go back there. Thinking of requesting for a period reschedule."
"Shouldn't be so hard. The school does anything for Mr. Hero."
"Can you drop that crap already?" Josh said. "You know, the way you Americans say it. Water under the toilet."
"Water under the bridge. Going back on the topic, I didn't realize that you do matchmaking in your spare time."
"Hey, he saved my life. Asians kind of have a soft spot for that kind of thing. It's the least I could do for him." He looked at the kid, who is named Miller. The JROTC cadet nodded, and she couldn't help but notice his black eye and swollen cheek.
"What happened to you?" She asked, looking at his wounds. They seem recent.
"My brother," the kid replied. "He found out that I helped him."
"Damn, seriously?" Josh stood up. "I was thinking to settle the fight with him today. When does he get out?"
"You can't beat him." Miller said, not taking his eyes off Alicia. "That tiger of his, I've never seen it lose in a fight."
"What do I do, then? Do I just sit and wait for more members of your club to attack me?"
"Are you sure you don't know any of them?" Alicia asked Miller. "It doesn't even have to be their Stand. Don't you know any of their identities?"
"No," Miller shook his head, "I'm sorry, but they never tell us anything. The ox, tiger, and dragon are the ones in charge and they are the ones who handle most of the activities. We only meet three times a year, once for each semester, and even then we were placed in separate rooms."
"How long have you been a part of it?"
"Just a year. They seem to fill up spots whenever a member graduates or otherwise becomes unavailable. I heard they're still looking for someone to replace John Johnson's spot for Rabbit."
"John Johnson…" Alicia stroked her chin. The student who died in a car accident last year. There was an entire funeral dedicated to him in the school. She didn't know him well, sitting a whole classroom apart from the only period she had with him. Friends aside, not many mourned. He just wasn't a very well known and outgoing guy.
But something about the whole incident that seems to feel off. If she wasn't busy on a case around the time, she would have gone investigating. It was only with this conversation that she managed to remember the kid again. "This John Johnson, do you think…"
"We did something to him?" Miller crossed his arms. "Dunno, but we were definitely involved somehow. The school ate up on him jaywalking at the wrong time, but I'm not so sure about that."
"You said your club had an ongoing rivalry with Telsa Tech, the ones that supposed to have killed him."
"Yeah, and I thought we were going to war. What happened instead, though, well, nothing happened."
She raised an eyebrow. "Nothing?"
"I was surprised myself too. We did nothing about it. The whole matter kind of just died down with the school. My brother doesn't say anything when I ask him. The poor kid, not even death gets him attention."
"So what's the deal with attacking me?" Josh asked.
"Beats me. Tristan just told me that the club thinks you are a spy from Tesla."
"And so they are allowed to just kill him?" Alica inquired incredulously.
"Well, I was told to beat him up and bring him to my brother, but I wouldn't be so sure about the other members."
She sipped through her carton of milk from a straw and dumped her tray into a nearby trash can, then stood up and gestured for Josh to follow.
"Can you trust him?" She asked when they were at a good distance away. Miller stared at them from their table. "For all we know, he may be just a double agent, watching us for his club."
"You're the detective here," Josh replied. "But if you ask me, I believe in him. He doesn't seem like the type to lie. At least, not for something like that."
"And you can tell that just how? The same way you can spot the difference between a Japanese and a Korean?" She eyed a table of Asian kids near them. "No offense whatsoever, of course."
He only gave her a nod before leaving to meet the guidance counselor for replacing his gym period before the next starts. She thought about on what to ask the kid as she went back, but he beat her to it on breaking the ice she expected to freeze over.
"So, um, when are you free today?" He asked, rather boldly.
"I have to visit my father after school today. He's currently at the hospital."
"Oh crap, is he all right?"
"Just a light bullet wound to his head. He should be fine."
The kid seemed to be relieved at her answer. Was the concern genuine, or…
"I'll come with you." He said, looking straight into her eyes.
"Don't you have work to do after school? ROTC?"
"I could skip those."
At least he's honest. "You can come if you really don't have anything else to do. I'm off at 11th period."
"Got it. I'll wait for you outside by the main entrance."
"Suit yourself. Just know that you'll probably have to wait at the lobby until I'm done." The bell rang just then, and with a wave of goodbye she left the table, leaving the boy behind.
Miller Jackson, she strolled through the crowded hallways, greeting a few acquaintances and passing friends. 16. Cadet private first class of JROTC. Younger brother of Tristan Jackson. Stand user. Dog of the Chinese Zodiac Club. Trustworthy, according to monitored Stand user, Joshua Jiu.
Well, she hopes he's correct. The kid doesn't look half bad, but she just wished that her life isn't being handled by someone else for once.