"What? 'You should see the other guy' defense, huh…?" Eugene twisted his lips. He rapped Irving's side of the table. "Hey, hey, if they don't want you around, find me in my dorm. We'll play video games or make a cake. I don't know what you're up for."
"You're so kind, Eugene." Irving only chuckled at the insistence. He accidentally met Claude's gaze, so his smile tamed a little.
Claude didn't know what warranted that behavior. He long noticed how Irving seemed to avoid his eyes as if Irving was not allowed to look at them. Eugene even picked up on a strange position Irving had in his peer group. The violinist finished eating the meat Len offered. He didn't give the fork back, but his straw went between his lips again.
After sipping, Claude looked at Len again. "Are you allowed to be here? I mean… you might be the boss or something, but… dining with non-members?"
Len watched Claude take back the drink and sipped on his own straw. Even if Len wanted to switch the straws, the colors were different for everyone. He could only indulge Claude with his question. "It's not that kind of family. Also, I did say we're still in the cage. No need to think about it too much."
"I thought that was a sleepy text."
"…did I word it that way?"
Claude shrugged and took another piece of meat from Len's plate. It was not Len's plate alone at this point. He bit it off the fork before taking another piece. He stuffed the fork in Len's free hand before using his own to pinch the meat in his mouth. "Yeah, you said something about a cage and freedom. My question doesn't even have anything to do with that."
He realized Eugene was squinting at him. Claude chewed his food for a few seconds before answering. "The chapter president told me Psi Saint Alpha is watching over me in particular. But he doesn't know why since they haven't told him yet."
Eugene's mouth opened when he was about to eat, but it stayed open in shock. Eugene brought the food down to his plate again. "What? Erm… could it be your grandpa?"
"Huh?"
"Dude, didn't your mother choose Saint Emilien because your grandpa said he would have sent her there? I remember that well. It made me bring my grades up because Saint Emilien's not for bottom peckers." Eugene twisted his lips. He then flinched. "Wait, are you even there when she said that?"
"Eugene, why are you talking to my mom alone?" Claude giggled and covered his mouth with a loose fist. "But yeah… I don't remember her telling you. She told me, of course."
The best friend pulled his face long. "Are you kidding me? You're so closed off during tenth grade. I had to talk to your mom to make sure you're not sick or something."
Eugene glanced at Len. He then grinned as if sensing victory. Without wasting another second, he cleared his throat and snickered. "Man, you should've met Claude's mom. She's really nice… and sings so well, too! Do you know? Do you know? They used to make music together. Cosette will sing, and… Claude will play. Good times!"
Len's smile didn't dampen; his brows even rose. He turned to Claude, who squinted back at Eugene. "Your mom's name is Cosette? Cosette Monet?"
"…shucks, she never went by that name, though…" Claude squinted at Len this time. "Why do you know her married name? She never used it after I was born. Am I missing something here? Why are you guys suddenly so interested in my mother?"
"Nothing much." Len hummed, only busying himself with his drink. Since Claude's drink has Len's straw, he just sipped directly from the glass. Irving also attended to the cooking meat to avoid gazes.
Only Eugene snorted and dropped his smile. His long face returned, and he lightly pointed his fork at Len. "You guys are too tight with Psi Saint Alpha. Do you know Claude's grandpa or something? Her name should have come up somewhere. Otherwise, you won't connect Lavallee with Monet."
Len drank half his glass before turning to Claude. His fingers even curled on Claude's shoulder as if coaxing the other person without words. Len said, "It has come up, but I won't make sense without saying a lot. I'm sorry, Claude. Don't take it against me. We didn't know. That said, I will tread around your grandfather lightly. Hopefully, he won't pull you out."
"Okay, that's very suspicious…" Claude didn't mind the silent coaxing. He just sipped on his drink again. "I haven't spoken to him for days. Eugene, do you want to go home during the weekend?"
"Yeah, why not? I have to assure my mom that I have not, in fact, gotten a tattoo yet." Eugene glanced at Len. "You guys going home? It's the second week."
Irving glanced at Len, but the other person didn't answer promptly. Len only stared at his glass for a moment before sighing. "We might have to. Irving mentioned that I have taken over the family. The elders are hard to trust with dealing with their own problems. Coming back from time to time is a must… even if I'm not supposed to leave the school."
Claude and Eugene exchanged glances. The former only shrugged and reached for another piece of meat on Len's plate. "Do them a favor once, then. They should know not to impose rules you can't abide by, especially if they need you around."
A small smile curled Len's lips. "Maybe you're right, baby."
"Okay, time for contact exchange!" Eugene took his phone out. He pointed at Len with his chin. "Emergency purposes only! I'd need your Parrot account… Irving, yours too."
"He doesn't have one." Len chuckled and took out his phone after putting his glass down. "Don't send me anything you don't want blowing up at your face."
Eugene frowned at Irving. "Why don't you have Parrot? You're missing so much. I'll collect Len's details first. Then, let's make you an account. You shouldn't live like a hermit. Even the infamous Lavallee hermit crab had to surface to get some sun before. Give me your phone."
Claude glared at Eugene. "You're calling me a hermit crab again?"
Len chuckled after following Eugene's account back. "Explains the difficulty of fishing for you. Don't worry. I won't squish you."
"How about I squish you?" Claude huffed and leaned close to look at Len's screen. Since the Parrot app was still open, he saw that Len only had a handful of people he followed. Aside from Eugene's, the list had Claude's seldom active, Courtney's, Jameson's, Psi Saint Alpha's official, and Saint Emilien's public. The violinist looked up. "What's up with that list? You're worse than me!"
"I don't… really keep an eye on posts. Someone else is doing it." Len chuckled and pressed Jameson's account. It had a long list of shared posts as if an amplifier.
"Your account is so sad…" Claude laughed and took the phone from Len's hand. "I know some people who have fun posts. They normally post about the school buzz and… places to eat."