I got up from my table to throw the remains for the food to the trash near the counter, which meant that I had to pass him.

As I walked, I saw him getting up from his seat and also went to the same direction as I was heading to. I discreetly picked up my pace so that I could be near him.

When we both reached the trash, he looked at me and smiled. "Hi, I'm Alex," he said as he threw the remains of the stuff in his tray, and surprisingly helped me with mine.

"Thanks," I said, surprisingly being confident than my usual self. "I'm Aveline."

He looked at me in the eyes. "Aveline?"

I blinked as the voice changed. Instead of a slightly deep voice filling in my ears, it was a cracked voice of a boy going through puberty.

In front of me was Grayson, who was looking at me worriedly. "You alright?"

"Yeah," I said, still feeling a bit dazed. On the table below me was a tray with an empty carton of milk.

Flicking my eyes on the now empty table to my front-left, I realized that I had been day dreaming. "I was just asking if you want me to get that for you," Grayson said, gesturing to my tray. "I'm gonna throw mine, so I'll as well throw yours, too."

I smiled at him. "No, it's okay, I'll help you," I assured, standing up with him, taking half of the things from him.

Grace and Indiana's eyes were filled with mischief as I went with Grayson to throw away the stuff.

"So, did you come from Japan?" he questioned while we walked. I shook my head.

"I'm from California," I said, smiling at him, and he looked surprised.

"Is it true it's so warm there?" he asked me. "I've always wanted to go there. It's so cold in here."

I laughed at him. "It is warmer than Massachusetts," I confirmed. "You're never been to Cali before?"

He shook his head and had a small frown. "Nope."

I wasn't sure what to say to him. I'm a very awkward person. "Hope you'll be able to go there soon," I said awkwardly, offering him a smile.

He chuckled and gave me a dimpled smile. "Thanks." His expression changed as we were approaching our table. "You're too nice to people. Try to stick up for yourself more."

I looked at him, suprised by his words. He gave me a small smile and called his friends. "We're going now," he announced and then turned to me. "It was nice meeting you."

"Thank you, me too," I said a bit louder as they were already walking.

I've just noticed that Grace and Indiana had stood up. They both had neutral expressions on their face.

"You knew them?" I asked, and Grace and Indiana both nodded their heads.

"Yeah, our parents knew each other," Indiana said, shrugging.

I nodded in understanding as we proceeded to walk to our lockers. "I'm so sorry about just now. Next time, you both could go ahead and I'll catch up."

Grace slightly laughed, surprising me. "It's no big deal. It's fine. You don't have to be too apologetic."

"Yeah, it's all right," Indiana joined in. I smiled at the both of them.

As we walked, my mind wouldn't stop replaying the short day dream I had.