Chapter 5 Friends

CHAPTER FIVE

I got a message from Cathy after my classes. Learning about anatomy and physiology can be a bit confusing but it was okay. The practicals have drained my strength.

"Are you done? We're going to Bricks Cafe for dinner."a

"I'm on my way," I text back. She said I should dress casually because it's not a serious event or anything. We just want to hang out.

I step inside the cafe, I notice Cathy's dark brown hair at the corner of the cafe. She's sitting with three other people, two boys and a girl. I walk up to them.

"Hii... I'm sorry I'm late. I hope you didn't wait too long. I just finished my practicals." I say.

"Wow..." the guy with dirty blond hair says. He's wearing a black tee shirt and black jeans with Air Jordan shoes. He looks nice.

"Close your mouth, Cole. Flies may get in" the girl says cockily.

Is it me or does she seem a bit jealous?

"Welcome, Gabs. We got here 30 minutes ago. You can sit beside me," Cathy says as she gestures to sit beside her. She's wearing a green top and high waist black skirt with black flats. Her face is glowing. She's a beauty.

I sit beside her as she introduces me.

"Everyone.... this is my beautiful roommate, Gabrielle," she pats my head like a dog and laughs. I swat her hand away.

"This is Sage," Cathy says as she gestures at the girl with jet black hair wearing a yellow gown.

"Hii Darling," Sage greets. She smiles and waves at me.

"Hey," I reply with a small smile.

"This is Cole." He's the guy with dirty blond hair.

"Hi sweet, we should hang out sometime," he says with a smirk on his mouth.

He's already flirting with me.

I don't want the situation to be awkward so I chucked.

"And this cool guy over here is Kaden"

Kaden is cute. Very cute. His light skin is tanned to perfection. He's smiling so I can see his cute dimples on his chubby cheek. His jet black hair is styled and he has a cross-pendant necklace. He's wearing a white polo shirt and blue jeans.

Why do I like when guys wear white polo shirts? It looks good on them.

"So... what do you want to eat? You look very tired and stressed," Cathy asks.

I read through the menu and ordered medium sized chicken and chips and a large fruit juice. I'm hungry and tired as she said, okay?

The waiter comes and takes our orders.

"Did you order for everyone?" Sage asks. She looks like she's trying not to laugh.

I laugh a bit "I'm hungry you know... a girl has to eat and I haven't eaten since morning."

"Ohh... this school can be so stressful sometimes," she huffs.

I think I'm going to ask them about the fire incident. They're engineering students so they should know more about it.

"Can I ask you a question?" Cole asks Sage.

"Of course, two plus two is four." Sage answers.

"But that's not the question," Kaden says confused.

"Oh.. I get it now. Nope, you can't ask Cathy's roommate out," Sage says.

We all laugh except Kaden.

"I just like her as a friend guys,"

"That's what you said about Natasha, Scarlet and their likes," Cathy says.

"Do you remember the time Scarlet thought he was going to marry her? That girl was exceptionally delusional." Sage laughs.

"There was a day she waited for me outside the gym opposite the school clinic to ask for Cole. She said she'll treat you better if you don't leave her. She even bribed me with money and jewelry. She was so obsessed and i don't know what she saw in Cole though '' Cathy looks at Cole as she replies laughing.

Scarlet was really obsessed with Cole. What did she see? I'm just seeing a blonde boy. No hard feelings but he's not my type.

"I know you're just saying it cause you were jealous" Cole smirks.

"Ewww! Go away Cole," Cathy says. She had an irritated look on her face.

After a second, we burst into laughter. Kaden was quiet.

This guy is mysterious. Ohh well....

The waiter came back with our orders and we began to eat.

Cole and Cathy are funny, Kaden is more reserved while Sage is the right amount of both. She can be funny when she wants to.

After eating, everyone was quiet so I decided to ask. I don't know how to start but I'll ask a light question first.

"So guys.. you are petroleum engineering students right?" I ask.

"Yeah.. we are," Cole answers.

"What really happened in your department Lab? Do you guys know what caused the fire?" I ask nonchalantly.

I don't want to look too serious or anything.

The table goes quiet. Kaden looks at me with an expression I can't decipher. Cole and Sage look a bit upset. Cathy is on her phone.

"Yeah.. we lost our very good friend in the fire," Sage says as a tear slides down her right cheek.

Kaden stands up to leave.

"I'm going home guys, see you tomorrow."

What's up with him? I'll need to ask him more questions. He looks like he knows something.

"His name is Samuel.. we called him Sam. He was the best. We were his closest friends," Cole says. He looked tense for a few seconds then quickly covered it with a sad look.

"I'm so sorry for bringing it up. Where was he when the fire started? I'm just wondering if he didn't see the fire and escape," I say inquisitively.

"Actually the three of us were working on a project that night. I had to go home early cause I had an emergency, cramps you know. I left by 6pm and I heard the fire started by 7pm. I really don't know what occurred. I heard the gas cylinder in the laboratory exploded though. I still can't believe he died because of that," Sage says as she plays with her fingers.

Cole just looks outside as if he's in another world.

He suddenly says, "Let's go home, it's getting late."

"Okay..."

He stands up.

"It's nice meeting you Gab," he says as he winks at me.

We say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.

Cathy and I stroll back together.

It seems they know something.

Hmm... I just met my brother's friends, that's okay for a start.

Although I think each of them are hiding something, a secret or something.

I guess it's time I find out.