He tried hard to not show anything on his face and keep a poker face. Were these sorts of cards common in the game or was he just "lucky"? He thought it probably was the later option or else the end game would always become a bloodbath. He looked at the girls to check if they noticed anything from his attitude when his sight was drawn by something else. Their table was next to the window and right outside the café stood a group of five girls who were watching them and pointing at them with their fingers. They were about one or two years older than them and their expressions were a mix of mockery and envy, a weird combination. He wasn't the only one to notice them; his new friends were also glaring at them. They all had a bad premonition and as expected, right after that, the group of girls entered the shop and immediately went to sit at the table next to them. Everyone frowned, unhappy with the sudden development, but tried to ignore their neighbors anyway.
They resumed their game while the shop owner came to give the newcomers the menu. He wasn't oblivious to the situation but since they hadn't done anything wrong yet, they were still his clients. The girls barely looked at the menu before ordering the cheapest items which the owner prepared and delivered soon after. After he was gone back to the bar, the girls began to focus their attention on the table next to them. The four of them were still playing and ignoring them the best they could when one of the girls suddenly spoke in a loud voice.
"Do you see that? What do you think of this situation?"
One of her friends answered in a similarly noisy tone.
"Isn't that what they call a reverse harem?"
"No, I think it's more like three girls fawning over one guy."
"Ahah, true. I wonder what he is thinking, aiming for lame girls like them."
Being insulted like this for no reason, Waverly, Braelyn, and Azariah who were initially just annoyed started to tremble in rage. Benjamin was also irritated to be disturbed when they were peacefully enjoying themselves and when his newly made friends were being looked down on in this way. He hadn't known them for long but they were nice girls and probably above average in terms of decency. They all sent glances at each other as if to say that they should just hold back and continue to ignore them. The owner called out to them to tell them to stop harassing other clients but his warning went in one ear and out the other.
The five girls noticed that their provocation had an effect but didn't manage to trigger them so they just continued.
"Perhaps he decided to trade quality for quantity."
"Must be the best day ever for those girls."
"I think you mean the first time in their life they got to spend time with a boy."
"Right! Ahahah!"
They all laughed loudly, now disturbing even the other clients in the café. Benjamin stood up and Waverly tried to stop him.
"Don't. They are not worth it."
"It's fine, I know what I am doing."
"Wait, I will go instead."
"No need."
Before she could say anything else, he directly went to the five girls and gave them his best cold and annoyed smile, the result of days and nights of intense training. He heard Waverly leaving her seat in a hurry to stand next to him.
"So? What do you want?"
The five girls stopped laughing and closed their mouths, surprised to see him coming at them fearlessly and asking such a direct question. They looked at each other but didn't know how to answer. Truthfully, they didn't think about anything at all. They saw three girls surrounding one nice guy and were just a bit jealous. Met with his cold smile, they felt both attracted and afraid at the same time and continued to look around to find an answer. Soon, the gazes of four of the girls focused on the last one, as if to say that this was her idea to come here and to take responsibility. Now that everyone in the café was looking at her, the girl that was suddenly thrown under the bus by her friends started to panic.
Feeling the pressure of everyone around her, she trembled. She didn't know why her friends laid all the blame on her when they had all agreed to come here. And what was with this guy, wasn't he afraid of them? She started to become irrationally angry and didn't get a better idea than standing up and grabbing Benjamin arm's while shouting.
"Why don't you come to play with me instead of those pathetic girls? Let me show you how a real woman handles a boy like you!"
Waverly had been ready to shout to let him go when Benjamin burst into laughter.
"Pfft. Hahahaha. Do you think we are in a delinquent scene in a movie? This is not the twentieth century, you know."
Full of shame, the girl gripped his arm stronger and yelled.
"You can't mock me like that!"
Benjamin only smiled coldly and took his phone out of his pocket. He manipulated it for a few seconds before showing the screen to the girl. It only showed one thing, a contact called "Mom" with a green button to call it. He put his thumb over the call button and replied.
"Of course I can. Do you know? My mother is a police officer. If I press this button, the call will go through and she will be able to trace my location. A few minutes later and you will be taken off by the police to spend a night at the station for assault and public disturbance. So? What do you think?"
She would normally call his bluff but his cold smile, the fact that he didn't care when she grabbed his arm, and his air of absolute confidence convinced her that he was serious about it. Horrified, she let go of his arm. The other four also looked afraid now. They definitely didn't want to have anything to do with the police just for teasing some people in a café. They looked at each other again and hurried to leave the place, not before paying their bill at the owner's reminder.
After they were gone, Benjamin went back to his table with Waverly in tow and smiled innocently.
"Shall we continue?"