Never Judge

"So what is your son like?" One of the mothers on the same table as Cedric and Adrianna asked as they finished up their meal.

"Yoyo is very curious and very smart." Adrianna said as she beamed with pride.

"He acts quite mature as well." Cedric added with a nod as he held his wife's hand under the table.

"We saw the other schools that you were considering." One of the fathers said. 

"Oh, you did?" Cedric asked. 

"Yes, you were all over social media today." Another mother explained. "You are truly quite an eye catching couple, people can't help but look wherever you go." 

"Oh, thank you." Cedric said with a nod.

The fact that photos of them touring the schools were leaked from school administrators and teachers themselves was the reason Cedric scratched most schools off of his list.

"I honestly don't know why you considered those schools." One father remarked in a disgusted tone. "They let those people in." He scoffed as he made a face.

Cedric watched as the other parents nodded in agreement.

He was quite shocked at their views of the other schools he had visited and of their students. Cedric maintained his emotionless expression as he listened to them.

"Those people?" Dave asked, unable to resist the urge to ask. 

"You know what kind of people we are talking about Mr. Lazaro." A man said, referring to Dave. "You studied here, you should know what the right kinds of people are."

"Is that why the rest of my staff are eating outside?" Cedric asked, showing no emotion to the parents.

Adrianna, who was holding his hand under the table, squeezed it tightly. She was clearly worried about what Cedric would say next.

"You can't expect everyone to sit in here." A woman said with a shrug.

"Boss." Dave whispered, trying to get Cedric to snap out of his annoyance at the other parents.

Cedric took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I'm assuming there are no scholars here?" Cedric asked as he tried to rein in his emotions. 

"Of course there are." One parent said in a disgusted tone. Cedric had half the mind to speak up and give the man a piece of his mind. 

"The school needs it for publicity." Dave said with a frown as he realized that if anyone said anything else Cedric might actually lose it.

"Yeah, look what it gets you, sluts and traitors." Another parent added to what Dave said. 

"Just because someone is not well off doesn't mean they are bad people." Dave added with a sigh. He thought it was better if he argued with the parent rather than Cedric.

"Don't be so naive Mr. Lazaro." A father said, shaking his head. "Those people are more than willing to throw morals to the wind just to get money."

"Mr. Lazaro, you know first hand how cruel these poor students can get." A mother said as she crossed her arms across her chest. "I don't want my son to fall into the same trap as your brother and your friends."

"Not everyone is like that." Dave hissed.

"What are they talking about Dave?" Cedric asked with a raised eyebrow. 

"It's nothing sir." Dave said, shaking his head.

"Mr. Lazaro here has been around victims of those greedy scholars who have gone to this school." One of the parents explained to Cedric in a calm tone as he glared at Dave.

"And as someone who has seen how cruel and selfish people can be, I am telling you sir. Drop your prejudice against people who have less than you." Dave said as he got up and stormed out.

Even the parents and staff on the other tables couldn't help but turn their attention to the discussion at Cedric's table.

"I must apologize for my assistant." Cedric said with a frown. He knew that he shouldn't have to apologize for Dave, there was nothing wrong with what Dave had said. 

"It's no matter, Mr. Reyes." A parent said, shaking her head. "Mr. Lazaro has spent too much time outside of the proper social circles. He has forgotten what it is like to be with the right people."

Cedric simply nodded, refusing to make a comment.

He looked at his wife who was clearly saddened by the parents' words. He held her hand and lifted it to his lips.

"Are you tired?" Cedric asked Adrianna.

"No." Adrianna said, shaking her head. "I want to finish the tour. The school has gone through so much effort to welcome us."

"Alright." Cedric said with a worried expression. Adrianna was in the early stages of her pregnancy and he didn't want anything risking their child's health.

"Might I ask, who were the people you were referring to?" Cedric asked the parents as he was dying to find out what they had been talking about.

"What do you mean who?" A parent asked Cedric, confused as to what his question was.

"Allow me to rephrase. You said people around Dave had been hurt by the scholars, who were these scholars?" Cedric asked.

"You know one of them, Mr. Reyes, your friend was a victim too." A father said with a frown as he shook his head.

"Poor Mr. Sebastian, he loved only to get hurt." Another parent said with a sigh.

"Jen was a scholar here?" Cedric asked, he had always thought that Jen had come from money, she did act like it after all.

"Yes. She was best friends with the Ramirez siblings." A parent said with a nod. "The Ramirezes had been so kind to her, sponsoring her studies, they even gave Selina Ramirez additional allowance just to pay for clothes for Jen so that she wouldn't feel so left out."

Cedric was taken by surprise by the mention of an allowance. He didn't know about this, he would have to ask Selina or Helios when he saw them again.

"Well, one rotten egg doesn't mean the whole tray is rotten." Cedric said with a shrug as he tried to get the parents to realize that not everyone was bad.

"Who was the other one?" Adrianna asked, speaking up.

"Oh, it's the man that led Mr. Lazaro's brother to his death." A parent said nonchalantly as Adrianna looked up at Cedric in shock.