What's Behind Friendship?

Students of Diamond High

Annie was rummaging through her backpack for her notebook and noticed three girls stood in front of her desk, one of them even sitting casually on top of it.

The first girl was light-skinned, her short bob haircut with neat bangs framing her face perfectly. The second girl, who carried herself like the leader of the group, had smooth fair skin that seemed to glow beneath the classroom lights. Her long brown hair was swept over one shoulder, and her bright brown eyes gave her a striking beauty that was difficult to ignore. Her school uniform hugged her figure elegantly, making her look almost like a runway model. The third girl, who sat on Annie’s desk, had a warm caramel complexion and a sharp V-cut hairstyle that gave her a bold, sassy appearance. She leaned back with an air of confidence, clearly enjoying the moment. Annie slowly raised her head.

“Hi” she said, smiling awkwardly.The girl with the leader-like aura suddenly squatted down, picking up a notebook from the floor, stretching it towards Annie with a small smile playing on her lips,

“Looking for this?” Malia said

“Yeah, thanks” Annie smiles, and takes the notebook from her.

“And you guys are….? Annie asked, curiously.

Malia moves closer to Annie and whispers in her ear, a devilish smile on her face “You’II find out soon” then she turns to the other girls “Let’s go, guys.” and she turned to leave.

Claudia, still seated on Annie’s desk, examining her hair,

“What kind of shampoo do you use?” she asked, curiously looking at Annie’s hair.

“Claudia!” Tony said, as she shoots her a sharp look and pulls her off Annie’s desk.

“She has a nice hair” Claudia said, her eyes still fixed on Annie’s hair,Annie looking confused,

“That’s… creepy. And l don’t even use shampoo, my hair is naturally like this” she said boastfully as she caressed her hair, making Han-na giving her a strange look…..

******

Robert sat in his office, busy sorting through some documents when the telephone rang. He quickly picked it up, holding it between his shoulder and ear as he continued working.

“Hello,” he said.

“Hello, sir” Maya replied from the other end of the line. “Mr. Martins is here to see you.”

“Let him in,” Robert said before setting the phone down. A few minutes later, there was a gentle knock on the door.

“Come in!” he called out, expecting the door to open. A young man slightly opened the door, peeking his head inside with a grin.

“Hey, big brother,” he jokingly said before stepping into the office and closing the door behind him.Robert smiled.

“Welcome, little brother,” he replied, still focused on his paperwork.

“As usual, always busy.” Martins said, shaking his head as he dropped onto the couch. “You really should give yourself a break sometimes.”

“If I stop working, where will the money come from? Your Eminence Club?” Robert replied. They both burst into laughter.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Martins asked playfully.“Of course, the club could provide more than enough for you and your family. You never know. You've got to stop whatever you’re doing for a while. I have something important to discuss with you.” Martins said looking serious.

“What’s that?” Robert asked looking curious as he stepped away from his desk and sat on the couch opposite Martins.

“You’ve probably heard about the Evercrest Corporation construction lawsuit that has been going viral online?” Martins said, pulling out a file from his briefcase and handing it to Robert.

“Yeah. The construction workers sued the company for forced labor and wage theft, so what about it?” he said taking the file from Martins.

“Here’s the news highlights" he paused “The CEO of the company wants us to take over the case for him, especially you. He wants you to be his lawyer.” He announced excitedly.

“Mmm. So… why me?” Robert asked while he flipped through the documents, looking uninterested.

“What exactly do you mean by ‘why me’?” Martin said, annoyed by Robert’s remark. “You’re a well-known lawyer. Everybody wants you to handle their case. Besides, the real reason he wants you as his lawyer is because you handled and won the Sterling & Co. case.” Martins explained.

“I really appreciate that he acknowledges my work.” Robert said, placing the file on the table. “You know he’s clearly in the wrong. He made the construction workers sign a contract knowing they were illiterate and unlikely to understand it, then paid them only half of what they deserved. That’s pure exploitation” He added.

“You think I didn’t know that?” Martins said as he relaxed his back on the couch. “Our job is to defend our clients regardless of which side they are on. Besides, he insists the construction workers were informed about the contract content before signing it. People get greedy the moment they hear a huge amount of money then later regret it.“From my perceptive, they’re just being greedy.”

“That’s your perceptive,” Robert said calmly. “From my perspective. I don’t think the workers were told what was in the contract and they would choose to sign it. I don’t think I’ll be taking this case.” Robert said, as he handed the file back to Martins.

“I expected you’d say that,” Martins said pushing the file back to Robert.“Robert, I want you to go over the documents carefully. This case could become a huge one for us.” He said in a persuading tone.Robert sighed.

“Martins.” he called out, giving him a side look. “Anyway, how did you get to meet the CEO?”

“Through the Eminence Club. He’s a member of the club, that's why I’ve always told you to join. You’d get to meet with people like Mr. Hartley.” Martins said, with his legs crossed.

“So that's his name,” Robert murmured as he stood and returned to his desk.

“How are Rose and my nieces doing?” Martins asked.

“Selfish jerk. After discussing what's more important to you, you suddenly remember I have a family.” Robert said as he drew he chair and sat on it”.Martins smiles.

“Hey, don’t make it sound that way,“I’ll be coming over to your place this weekend. I’ve got some gifts for my lovely nieces. Tell them to expect me.”Robert nodded and continued working. “I should get going.” Martins glanced at his wrist watch and stood up. “Take care.”

“You too.” Robert replied without rising up his head.Martins left the office.

*********

Annie stretched her both hands up.

“Finally! It’s lunchtime.” She muttered as she watched Han-na leave the classroom.

“What a nerd,” she said her gaze still fixed on Han-na. “Oh! Ms.Jess told me to come to her office.”She left the classroom and wandered through the hallway, trying to find the office. “Gosh, where is her office? Maybe I should just ask someone.” She suggested to herself, walking towards a girl who happened to be passing by. “Excuse me, do you know where the Grade 11 homeroom teacher’s office is?” She asked politely.The girl smirked.

“Weren’t you given the school manual? Stop bothering people with dumb questions,” she shot Annie a glare and brushed past her deliberately bumping her shoulder.Annie stood in disbelief at Julia’s attitude towards her.

“OMG! If l had the manual, do you think I’d still be asking?” She yelled in the direction Julia disappeared to. “Why are there so many rude people in this school? They’re all nut jobs” she grumbled angrily. “Oh! Ms. Jess told me I could use the elevator to get to her office,” she headed to the elevator and pressed the button. As the doors slid open, she walked in feeling the stares of students watching her.

*********

Jack’s phone rang.He picked it up and placed it on his right ear.

“Yeah? What’s up, dude?”

“What’s up?!” Jack, why weren’t you picking my calls? I called like a dying man!” Fredrick said from the other line, visibly annoyed.

“My phone was on vibrate mode” Jack replied bluntly.

“Why was it on vibrate?” Fred questioned him

“Because I don’t want any disturbances.”

“Jack! Why are you like this? So your best friend calling you because he’s worried is a disturbance? I was worried sick!” Fred said, sounding like he’s about to start crying.

“Lower your voice. You're about to burst my eardrum. I’ve answered now,” Jack said not caring.

“You know what? Forget it. I wasn’t worried about you to be precise. l only called because of your Mom, she’s the one l care about, okay?” Fred said.

“Hmm, then you can call her directly.” Jack moves the phone to hang up.

“Wait! Hold on!” Fred stopped him. “Rude human being.”Anyway…. how’s your mom? Is she okay?” Fred asked worriedly.

“Yeah, she’s fine.” Jack said as he glanced at his mom sitting on the hospital bed, completely focused on her laptop. “Honestly, no one needs to be worried. She’s perfectly okay.”

“Who would believe you? Even if someone was dying beside you, you’d still say they’re fine.

“Anyway, I’ve got gist.”Jack sighed.

“What now” he said, obviously not interested.

“There’s a new transfer student in our class. I haven’t seen her because I’ve been busy with training,” Fred said.

“How do you know?” He said, as he passed a bottle of water to his mom. She took it without looking away from her laptop screen.

“It’s the biggest news in school right now. And I heard she’s gorgeous” Fred said excitedly.

“l guess you guys will soon start your childish plan trying to get rid of her,” Jack said.

“What do you mean “you guys”? They’re the ones who do all of that, not me. I just watch because it’s kind of fun.”

“Are you done with your gist? I have something to do.” Jack said, already tired of the talk.

“I hope you’re aware that you’re no fun at all. The question is how are we even friends?” Fred said irritably.

“Good question. I ask myself that every day,” Jack replied nonchalantly.“Are you coming to school tomorrow?” Fred asked ignoring what he had said.

“Probably. Since my mom doesn’t need anyone, I guess l can show my face” Jack replied.

“Good. Tell my little cutie l said hi,” he said and immediately hangs up.

“Who the hell is his little cutie?” Jack said as he slipped his phone in his pocket. Mom, you’re supposed to be resting, not working.” he said facing his Mom.

“Son, I told you I’m fine. I’m tired of lying down.I overheard you telling your friend you might go to school tomorrow. I clearly told you I don’t need anyone so I don’t see any reason why you should ditch school. You chose to stay and skip school. You’re going to school tomorrow!” Ella said in a commanding tone.

“Alright, alright” Jack said, trying to dodge the topic......

To be continued.