The next afternoon, during lunchtime, Ard sat in the dining hall, enjoying the food he'd gotten. Since hearing about the academy's troubles from his older brother the night before, Ard seriously scanned every student, male and female, who passed by. Geoffrey, who was sitting across from him, and Ainsley, who was sitting next to Geoffrey, started to notice Ard's behavior. Then, Irwin nudged Ard.
"What have you been staring at all this time?" Irwin asked, confused.
"Oh... hahaha... nothing," Ard replied.
"Yeah, man, your attitude has been a little strange all day. Whenever we pass people, you look at them in a specific way. What's up?" Geoffrey asked.
"Try telling us. Maybe we can help," Ainsley added, holding his fork and pushing up his glasses.
"Nothing at all. Come on, let's eat again. Speaking of which, where is everyone else?" Ard asked, looking left and right.
"Over there," Irwin said, pointing to a table across the way.
