Chapter 2: Layla!
Ast whipped his head towards the voice, slamming into Layla's forehead. He struggled to get his balance back as he rubbed away the pain.
"What were you thinking?" He hissed.
"I thought I'd surprise you," she giggled. "Who would have thought you were so impatient and turned around so fast."
"Just don't do that next time. Give me some space at least."
Ast's mood had soured a bit after the encounter. He couldn't understand why she went to such lengths to irritate him. These were the more acceptable things she'd done. What more should she do before she realised some things weren't meant to be done? Bits of rage surfaced from his heart. He'd give her a piece of his mind. He stopped himself once he noticed that she'd dropped her head, planting her arms on her sides. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to sell her for her wrongdoings.
He gave up, tapping his wrists in fury. He reached out for her wrists, wrapped his course fingers around them and dragged her into the Pavillion. The door made way for one of the most colourful decorations he'd seen so far. White, pink and red silk has draped the ceiling, forming a large rose above them. The orange lamps hung above them washing the place in an orange glow.
The savoury scent of Coiled Rib Stew, Salted Chicken and their signature Turtle Terrace Fountain hypnotised his nose. He needed to channel his qi to gain control of himself once more. Ast found a table for them and pulled out a seat for Layla.
"You don't need to do that next time," she whispered as she sat down.
Ast was a little lost. Wasn't it said that a man should always pull out the seat for a woman? Why was he being reprimanded instead? He pushed her chair into the table and sat down. The buzz of countless conversations occurring around them inflamed his nerves. He hadn't thought this far. When he asked her for the lunch date a few weeks ago he'd thought they'd plan it out more clearly for the next time they were both free. He didn't expect to need her here. Nor did he plan to drag her in here the moment he saw her. And why wasn't she protesting?
"Uhm," He started. "How was your day?"
Layla chuckled at his display. She never realised that their friendship was still at that level. Did they need to go through the basic small talk, fishing for toppings that they could hook onto? Of course not. They'd known each other for more than three years now. They met each other every day on the school campus. Why was he lost for word? Then it hit her. The setting. It probably intimidated him. Her light chuckle broke into full-blown laughter.
Ast's blushed, but thankfully it was hidden by his brown skin. He cleared his throat, hoping that Layla would stop laughing. She was drawing everyone's attention to them. Most of the people had stopped their chatter and started looking at them. Some of the older people's expressions spoke of understanding. Some of them shook their heads in disappointment.
"Sorry for that," Layla got her laughter under control."You are simply too funny. What happened to the overly confident Ast?"
"What would you like to eat?"
"Didn't you say that nothing will ever embarrass you? I swear you said that last year."
"Waiter!" Ast shouted, drawing the people's gaze onto them again. He fixed his collar in embarrassment and simply raised his hand.
"Hey!"Layla flicked a little bean she found lying on the table at him.
The bean stung his cheek. He merely rolled his eyes at her and watched the counter in front, hoping one of the waitrons would notice him. At least someone noticed him. It was a young man dressed in bright I'm robed with a bright red rose printed on the left breast. The man wiped the counter and sorted the series of drinks on display behind the counter. It took him a few minutes to finish his duties.
Ast dropped his hand and turned his attention back to Layla.
" Why are you ignoring me?" She said. "Is it so embarrassing to be shy? How the mighty have fallen."
"What do you think are your chances of getting accepted by Tranquil River Sect?" Ast ignored her and posed a question. "I want to go their. I hear that their headquarters is on a floating Island somewhere in the East Oceans. They don't have to bother interacting with other sects so training their is quite peaceful
"I don't know," Layla answered."Our peers this year are simply talented. Almost everyone is already on the ninth layer. Both I and you are part of that group. So it's tough to say. I am confident but I don't know if I'll get chosen by Tranquil River Sect, let alone the other top tier ones. And what you've heard is at most rumours. Some say that they are unorthodox and others say that they are. Too many idiots with the right spit their opinions around. Each sect will introduce themselves after tomorrow. some of the weaker sects have already set up camps and are luring idiots to them. Be careful. Don't sign any deals with anyone."
Ast wasn't too surprised by her answer, though he had expected her to brag about how she would make it to the top ten or something. He guessed she was probably no different to the other students. Their nerves were going haywire. He didn't know what his chances of getting into the best were. His path would be much easier if he got into the best of the best.
"Are you going to squeeze in more training? I'd advice against that. Now it's the time to relax. We need to give our all for the exams," She said.
"I won't bother," Ast said."It's why I'm here in the first place."
The waiter walked up to them with a notebook in hand. Ast noticed that the man yawned the moment he reached their table. It was soft and subtle, almost inaudible. The man was probably keeping his energy levels high through artificial means.
"What would you like Sir?"
"Your best dish for the both of us."
"It will be ready in a few."
The waiter walked towards the kitchen. Layla raised her brow as she looked at him. He wondered how he has offended her this time. He chose to ignore her and think of a productive topic. The glass vase cradling a pair of blue luminescent roses suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room. A suffocating silence fell over them as they waited for their food.
Their meal took around ten minutes to be prepared. A troop of waitrons came, each holding a single dish. Braised Pork, Stir Fry, Coiled Dragon Stew and a few other items. They placed them nearly on their table, arranging them in a nice floral pattern.
Ast dug into the food the moment the waitrons left. Coiled Dragon meat was his favourite and this stew was soon to be his favourite. Layla began eating as well, delicately tearing the meat from the bone with each bite. They ate in silence.
Ast placed four pathstones on the table, which was equivalent to four hundred gold coins. Their meal was only worth a hundred and the rest was the tip.
"Let us get out of here Layla," Ast said, rising from his seat.
"I won't join you," Layla said. "I have to meet my father within the next hour. And you know how he hates it when I'm late."
"It's okay. I guess I'll see you at the Exams then. And thanks to fate I saw you earlier."
Ast walked out of the Pavillion, stretched his hands out and felt the soft breeze nuzzle against him. He was full and satisfied. Tainted Rose Pavillion loved up to its name and it was such a shame that rose wouldn't accompany him for the rest of the day. He was looking forward to that.
Now, what was he to do? He had a plan this morning. Somehow the plan had disappeared from his memory. He slapped his thigh and shook his head. He needed to get his head together.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone