[June 28th]
June 28th, 205 SD
12:30 PM
I was very excited for lunch. Not that I was ever not excited (it was the best period of the day, after all). This time, however, I had something out of the ordinary to look forward to. And I always enjoyed something out of the ordinary.
“Zoné, you don’t have anything to eat.” Glen exchanged uneasy glances with the others at the table. “The world is going to end, isn’t it?”
“Naw,” Robbie replied, poking at the food on his plate. “If it was going to end, he’d be stuffing himself silly so he can go into the afterlife all nice and full.”
I frowned, but the expression was not serious at all. “Someone is making lunch for me. I’m waiting for her.”
They fell silent. Some green beans slipped off of Mal’s suspended fork. They all stared at me in utter surprise.
“Um… Zoné?”
Jun’s timid voice acted as a trigger, and the four boys burst into a flurry of excited movements. “Who is she?” “How did you ever find such a cute girl?” “Are you going out with her?”
“Ehh? No, it’s nothing like that!” I moved my bag from the chair next to me to make room for her to sit down.
Beat lunged across the table to snatch her hand once she sat down. “Then will you go out with me?”
“You don’t even know her name!” I laughed.
Putting on his best suave voice, he said, “Hello. My name is Beat.”
“I’m Jun,” she replied.
“Will you go out with me?” He flashed a charming grin.
“Um, well…”
I knocked his hand away from hers. “Ah, get over it, will you? Don’t make her feel so uncomfortable!”
“You don’t have to listen to him,” Mal said. “His real name isn’t even ‘Beat’.”
Robbie snickered. “Yeah. It’s Wallace.”
Beat made a face and returned his attention to his lunch. “Always the knight in shining armor, aren’t you, Zoné?”
“Of course!” I replied with a grin.
“How did you meet her?”
“Ah, I just started school here yesterday,” Jun cut in, her voice a little more confident. “He leant me his jacket since it was raining and so I made him lunch in return.” As if to confirm that statement, she set a small stack of boxes on the table, and draped my jacket across them. She hesitated a moment, then said, “There should be enough if you guys want would like to try some… I didn’t think to make enough for a lot of people.”
I shook my head, moving the jacket aside and opening the lid to the first box. “Don’t worry, they’ll be fine. They’ve got their own lunch.”
“More like, no matter how much you make,” Glen mused, “Zoné can eat enough for ten men.”
With a wave of my hand to dismiss the subject, I picked up the fork and knife that were tucked against one of the sides. But before I started eating, I glanced over at her. “Did you make anything for yourself?”
From her bag, Jun drew out a considerably smaller box and set it on the table before her.
“Ehh? But that’s so little!” I protested. That would hardly be enough to even count as a snack.
“I only ever eat this much,” she said with a light laugh.
I frowned, but shrugged it off as the food before offered too much of a temptation. “No wonder you’re so small.”
She made a small sound that kind of sounded like a giggle, but when I turned my head to look at her, Jun had on a plain expression as she pulled out a pair of chopsticks and started eating. After a few bites, she turned her eyes towards me, head tilted to give her a curious expression. “You’re not going to eat?”
“I’m eating, I’m eating!” I protested, smacking away Mal’s hand as he reached towards my lunch box with his fork. After the first bite, I think I realized why she had made such a face at the mention of spam yesterday. Not that I was picky in the slightest about my food choices, I hadn’t realized how delicious homemade food was. My family had never been big on cooking, and once I left home, eating fast food was the most convenient.
Jun had been watching me, the nervousness obvious on her face, as I ate. “Do you like it?” she finally asked.
“That’s kind of a stupid question,” Beat said, still chasing a piece of macaroni around his plate. “He’ll eat anything.”
She looked down at her box. “I figured, but-”
“I thought Mal told you not to listen to him,” I interjected. “It’s delicious, thank you.”
A pleased expression crossed her face as she turned back towards her own lunch. “You’re welcome.” She fell silent for a moment, picking at a piece of rice with her chopsticks. “If you want-” Jun started, then went silent again.
I waited.
“If it’s not too much trouble, would you mind if I made lunch tomorrow?”
Surprised, I couldn’t reply for a few seconds. Then I let out a laugh and grinned. “It it’s not too much trouble for you! That would be great.”
The girl sighed in relief, a smile turning the corners of her lips. “Then I will.” She looked at my four friends. “And I’ll be sure to make enough for you as well.”
Robbie let out a cheer, and Beat dropped his fork. “I think I’m in love,” he said wistfully, but Mal nudged him in the ribs.
Jun’s smile brightened and she laughed, and I had the feeling that lunch had just gotten ten times more awesome.