[ Trev ]

Geoffrey had eaten from both plates, already near full while Emilia took her time.

"So? you didn't answer my question," she said.

"The staff here isn't bound by the same rules we are. Their actions don't weigh the same. Breaking rules won't send them to hell, as they've done nothing in their life to earn it."

Emilia rubbed her chin, looking at the plates before her.

"So, convincing them to break them is easier because getting caught won't be that much of a problem."

"Yes and no. These trials resemble the ones I've been through before. For one, not all staff is equal."

"The teachers."

"Yeah," said Geoffrey, surprised.

It took him a moment to figure out the first time he went through the trials; it was surprising that she already found out on her second day.

"Don't be so surprised," said Emilia, sighing. "The reason my account is in the negative is because Jet convinced me to steal Miss Jenny's white card."

"White card?" he asked.

"Teachers use them, like us, to buy things with them. We practiced using my ability, which allows me to... I'll just show you."

She raised her hand, and after concentrating a moment and snapping her fingers, the plates on the table switched place.

Geoffrey raised both eyebrows, nodding.

"That's..."

"Yeah, it's cool. We started with glasses and plates yesterday until we saw miss Jenny use her own card. She was far, and Jet suggested I try exchanging it."

"It worked?" asked Geoffrey.

"Easily. She spotted me right away, however. It was almost like she instantly knew it was me."

"She deducted you that much money for stealing her card?" he asked.

"No."

Her anger resurfaced, her every word carefully chewed as she spit them out.

"I wanted to give her card back. She said that anything taken out of its balance would come out of my own. Then Jet took it out of my hands."

"Did she not see him?"

"She did, and watched him walk away. She stood there in front of me, demanding her card back."

Geoffrey nodded, carefully considering what she was saying.

"I told her Jet clearly had it, but she didn't care! She saw him with her own two eyes! She said it was my responsibility, as I was the one who stole it."

Geoffrey nodded again, his face remaining neutral.

"It's quite simple," said Geoffrey.

Emilia frowned, "How? You've seen him. He doesn't care at all. He won't give back the card, and he's driving the balance up by the second."

"So, you want revenge?" he asked.

Emilia's tone was cold. "Yes."

He could see through her eyes the same fire he had seen during the morning. Its flames uncontrollably reaching for anything nearby.

Emilia was a nice person, Geoffrey truly believed that. 

That was probably why her emotions boiled over, and why she was prone to extremes. 

"Revenge doesn't mean to settle things. Going back to neutral isn't revenge, having one over the other is revenge."

"He looked me in the eyes, pretending to be my friend. He smiled at me, while taking Jenny's card from my hands and walking away with it. He truly didn't care. He's a roach. Whatever happens to him is deserved, and I won't care either."

Geoffrey took a deep breath, pushing his chair back as he stood up.

"Alright. But this is your decision, not mine."

Geoffrey's gaze went past Emilia, meeting Trev's. With his hands, he signed a 'box', pointing at the food on the table.

"Trev will bring takeout boxes. It might not be as good, but you can at least eat the meat later even if it's a bit cold. The seafood, however, I wouldn't recommend."

Emilia frowned, saying thanks as she also got up.

"You're leaving?" she asked.

"Yeah."

She stood there as Geoffrey started walking away, his rainbow-colored hair swirling due to the rising winds.

Is she not going to ask?

He turned around one last time. 

"We'll meet here tomorrow for lunch again."

Emilia nodded, then sat back down, slightly confused as she stared at the food before her.

Geoffrey's tired-looking gaze looked around, yet while the few students around did look at him, nobody seemed to notice Leo, even Emilia who looked straight in his direction.

Geoffrey approached the table next to the stairs, where he was sitting. A smile grew on his face, his expression brightening as Geoffrey approached him.

"Are you hiding?" asked Geoffrey.

Leo was shorter, but his size alone didn't explain the weird things he could do.

For one, he always seemed to appear out of nowhere.

Through Geoffrey's eyes, he could see smoke where Leo was. It wasn't black, like the smoke coming out of Rei's mouth, but grey. It was clearly visible and impossible to miss.

The eyes of the beholder.

Colorful smoke in all shapes or form came from most people who walked by.

It was in constant streams, in sporadic puffs, in spray patterns, or even thin lines. 

The colors varied. He had seen everything the spectrum had to offer, and it often changed as well.

People went from blue to red, from purple to yellow, and so on.

Walking around with those colorful visions gave him a glimpse of what people hallucinating went through, the only difference being those hallucinations had meaning.

Geoffrey wouldn't be able to see Leo at all, if it wasn't for the smoke. The ruckus from this morning confirming others didn't see him, or notice him at all if he wanted to.

"You're the only one who can notice me like that," said Leo, his eyes awkwardly looking at the ground as he played with his hands.

"You've been following me."

"I just..."

Leo stumbled on the words he wanted to let out, mumbling a bunch of gibberish.

"I just what?" asked Geoffrey.

Leo looked up for the first time, his gaze set on Geoffrey's face.

"It's just so... colorful," he said, his eyes glistening.

Geoffrey frowned. "My hair?"

"No. Your presence."