60 Seconds

Chapter 4

After that, Arm stood up immediately with excitement. "You said that huh! I will go now. See you in our next class—oh yeah, Mild wants me to give you this." Arm grabbed the sandwich in his bag and placed it on the table before he ran away.

Tay grabbed the sandwich and put it in his bag. He will probably eat later.

"Wait—that smells like durian." Off said.

"Yeah, I did smell it."

"Don't tell me, you will still eat it. You hate durian."

"Of course, it's a waste if I throw it away," Tay said.

"Just give it to me, I will eat it."

"No, Mild made it for me—"

Off and Tay jumped by surprise when someone dropped a black bag on the table. They both looked at who that person was, and they could not be more surprised to see New in front of them. What is he doing here? Tay asked himself. They just tell the whole school how they hate each other. Did he realize how a brat he is and not decided to join lunch with them?

"What's with that Mild?" New asked as he sat beside Tay.

The two look at each other as if they are talking in their minds.

Off cleared his throat. "Mild made a sandwich for Tay. She's our friend."

"So basically, the whole world is your friend?"

Tay shook his head. "When did we consider you as a friend?" Off kicked him under the table. Here he goes again, striking his words. Tay bit his lip. He wants to smack his mouth for saying those words. He's not really good with words.

"Don't get your hopes up. I don't like you being my friend as well." New said to his face. Tay rolled his eyes and grabbed the lunch box his grandma prepared for him and placed it in front of him.

"Eat it," Tay said.

"You can go now. I will eat it later." New said and grabbed a tiny book from his bag.

"We still have 10 minutes before our next subject," Tay said. "Grandma told me that... you don't finish your food when there's no one around." He added.

"What does it have to do with you?" New asked. "That's what friends do, right? Last time I checked, we were not in that kind of relationship. So, get the hell out of here." He added, but deep inside, he is kind of happy that someone remembered small things about him.

"I will stay until you finish your lunch." Tay insisted.

He knew New didn't like apologies. This is the least he can do to make up for him.

New stared at Tay for a second before he dropped the book he was holding and opened the lunch box. He ate it without words.

Off couldn't believe what he was seeing. He's only recently discovered who New is. A spoiled brat and a selfish boy with an awful mouth. He will say whatever he wants without considering others' feelings. But what he's seeing right now doesn't make any sense.

New acts as if he was a kind kid just to prove that Tay is wrong. That's how he hates him. It amazed him how Tay trained this boy. He doesn't know if the word "trained" is the right word. It's more like tamed.

New finished the food in no time. He closed the lid and gave the lunch box to Tay.

"Are you full?" Tay asked. New didn't answer. "Do you know how to go back—"

"You don't need to eat it," New said.

"What?"

"The sandwich."

"Oh, this?" Tay grabbed the sandwich out of his bag. "I will eat this. I don't want to make Mild—"

New said, "If you don't like it, don't eat it. Don't be a pushover."

"Pushover?" Tay raised his voice.

He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger, before he stood up. "She will understand if you tell her." New tried to keep his voice lower even though he wanted to shout and yell at the older guy for being a pushover. "What I am trying to say is don't do things you hate just for the sake of others. If you still insist, making you a sandwich that you truly like isn't a bad idea, right?"

"I-I, well... They sell durian..."

"She seems to be a lot like you," New said before turning around and walking away. New can't believe that he stops himself from showing any range or aggressiveness towards Tay.

That's a big step for him.

♡

"I didn't even see New yesterday!" Arm said.

"He was here," Off said. He added, "He ate with us."

"Why didn't you tell me then?!"

"I guess many things happened yesterday while I was gone," Mild said. She usually eats her lunch with them, but she had a meeting yesterday since she is the vice president of the student council.

"Oh yeah, Mild, thanks for the sandwich yesterday, but... I personally don't like durian."

"Why did you just tell me now?" Mild asked him.

"Well, I'm worried you might find it offensive..."

Mild chuckled about how soft Tay's heart is. It's making her fall even harder. "Tay, I really appreciate you telling me this thing. I'm really glad. At least I now know what food I will make." She spoke.

He realized New was right. He is keeping this for years now and he can't bring himself to confront Mild about it because he is scared that the girl might get mad at him and he doesn't want that. He should be thanking New.

They sat at vacant tables. Tay put his bag on a vacant chair to reserve it for someone. Where is Mild supposed to sit since it's beside Tay?

"Is someone eating with us?" Mild asked as she sat next to Arm.

"This is for New," he replied.

"He will eat with us?" Arm asked after hearing New's name.

Tay shrugged. "I don't know, but I reserved him in case he wanted to. Is it okay for all of you?"

All of them nodded.

"Oh, he's here."

Tay's lips formed a smile after seeing New with his black bag walking towards them.