His biggest problem was that he was starving. He held Ash'vour tightly in his lap, trying not to cry. He hadn't brought anything to eat; his family was very poor, and his parents were very sick.
A light breeze passed, but it wasn't enough to distract his stomach, which growled loudly.
Suddenly, someone sat down next to him.
It was Beatrice.
"What is it, Mino?" she asked, leaning forward with curiosity.
Lauren looked away, blushed, and clutched the teddy bear tighter to his chest.
Beatrice looked serious for two seconds, then smiled.
"Are you hungry?"
Lauren didn't say anything. But his face betrayed everything: sweat dripping, frightened eyes, trembling hands.
She opened her lunchbox and took out a container.
"Okay, okay. I'll give you some of my lunch."
She removed the lid, revealing a fluffy chocolate cake with oozing filling and a hint of lime. It looked like it had been made by a professional pastry chef.
When Lauren saw it, his eyes lit up.
"C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C-Can I?"
After great effort, he managed to say the word.
"MINO?" Beatrice shouted, almost throwing the cake into the air."YOU SAID"
Lauren covered his mouth with both hands, extremely embarrassed.
"It's good that you said it!" Beatrice smiled excitedly."But relax, okay? You don't need to force it. When you can really speak properly, you can tell me your name."
He nodded slowly.
She placed the container on his lap.
"You can eat as much as you want. Don't worry."
Then he ate.
He ate every little piece with eyes full of emotion. It was the best — and the first — cake he had ever eaten in his life.
When he realized he was finished, he froze, blushed, and tried to return the container with a silent apology.
"Don't worry, Mino," Beatrice said. "I wasn't hungry."
BZZZZZ!
A loud noise echoed through the courtyard.
A silver blur approached, made a sharp turn, and kicked up dust.
A souped-up wheelchair spun and stopped sideways.
SKRRRRRT!
A boy with red hair tied in a ponytail appeared, a camera hanging around his neck.
"Yo!" He pointed directly at Lauren."So you're the Lauren who freezes time?"
Lauren's eyes widened, and he almost dropped the container.
"I like you. Do you want to be my friend?"
He placed a hand on Lauren's shoulder with a wide smile.
"Take your hand off Mino!" Beatrice exploded, jumping up.
"Calm down, calm down," he laughed. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"NO, WE'RE JUST FRIENDS!"
"Then let me talk to my new best friend!"
He grabbed Lauren's arm and sped off with him in the wheelchair.
"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"Relax. He needs adventures," the boy laughed."You're always protecting him like he's a baby!"
"Come with me, little bat. Today, you're going to live!"
Lauren was shocked, but then…
He started laughing.
A real, genuine smile.
The wind on his face.The feeling of freedom.
It was all new.
The two of them laughed loudly, hair messy, eyes shining.
"Hahaha!" The boy gave Lauren a light punch on the shoulder."Your smile is so rare it should be in a museum!"
Beatrice arrived huffing.
"You're crazy! And you, Mino? You can't let just any lunatic kidnap you!"
"He's Photoriam Felix!" He held out his hand proudly."And now I'm officially Mino's best friend!"
Beatrice crossed her arms, pouting.
"Tsk… Mino doesn't need crazy friends…"
"Yes, he does! He needs to get out of his shell."
"What did you say?!"
And at that moment, something strange happened.
A shout echoed from behind them.
"BLIND, UNCONTROLLED GUY!!"
Everyone turned.
A boy was running with a cane, shouting desperately.
"I NEED TO GET THERE SOON!!!"
"Oh my God!"
"He's going to crash!"
"WATCH OUT FOR THE POST!"
THUMP!