Light in the Dark

Chapter 5: Green (#A9D39E)

"Have you had lunch?" Jayden asked.

"Nope, what about you?" Tricia shook her head.

"Neither have I...Do you want to grab lunch together? If your schedule allows, of course." Jayden offered.

"Sure. I have about 30 minutes to spare. The cafe downstairs serves decent sandwiches and coffee." Tricia checked her phone and grinned.

"After you." Jayden held the lift door open for Tricia.

"Ok, maybe not..." Tricia and Jayden stared at the full cafe. There weren't any seats available.

"We could order take-out and eat at the garden?" Jayden suggested. Tricia nodded.

"Hi, could we get one mushroom and tofu sandwich, one grilled chicken sandwich and two iced lattes? Thank you." Tricia handed the cashier her staff pass. Jayden had offered to pay but Tricia reminded him that she had a 30% staff discount.

"I thought we were heading to the garden?" Jayden was confused when Tricia pressed 'R' instead of 'G' in the lift.

"The garden's gonna be crowded too. I have somewhere better." The lift doors opened the moment Tricia ended her sentence.

"Welcome to my hiding spot..." Tricia led Jayden through 2 doors, the second one leading to a spacious rooftop. Tricia grabbed the food and drinks from Jayden's hands and placed them on a tiny dining table, just enough for two.

"If this is your hiding spot, does no one else know about it?" Jayden looked around the small open area.

"Most people know about the rooftop on the other side of this huge water tank. No one knows about this side." Tricia boasted.

"Then how did you find this place?" Jayden was lost.

"I made friends with Tito Jack, the janitor, and he was the one that showed me this place. He gave me permission to use this space." Tricia had gained the trust of the elderly man for him to be assured that she'd take good care of the space.

"So you decorated this yourself?" Jayden noticed two chairs alongside the small table, a string of fairy lights and a small parasol lying on the floor.

"Well, Tito Jack helped me a little. But other than that, there's really nothing much. I just come up here for a breather whenever I get overwhelmed or need a space to think." Tricia shrugged.

"Am I by any chance invading this space?" Jayden wanted to be sure.

"Not at all." Tricia assured as she pointed to the chair opposite her, offering it to Jayden.

"Mushrooms and tofu...are you a fan of veggies?" Jayden watched as Tricia took a bite into her sandwich.

"I'm technically vegetarian. Maybe pescatarian..." Tricia swallowed her bite before answering.

"What's that supposed to entail?" Jayden was amused.

"I don't eat beef, pork and chicken but I still eat fat and lechon or chicken skin so..." Tricia explained.

"Ah..." Jayden nodded as he took a bite of his chicken sandwich.

"Do you guys eat lunch at such ungodly timings too?" Tricia wondered as she sipped her latte.

"When we're lucky enough to be in the station, we eat pretty on time. But whenever we're out, lunch and dinner is determined by how cooperative our suspects are." Jayden followed suit and took a sip of his latte.

"Guess we're in similar boats then...Oh, thank you." Tricia accepted a napkin from Jayden as she dropped some crumbs.

"Uh...Joshua was asking about the outing..." Jayden finally brought up the main topic after some small talk.