Change of Heart

Chapter 6

The school cafeteria was bustling with students, retrieving their lunches or finding a table. It was busier than usual, leaving the cafeteria to be suffocating. Tai had arrived later than most, but did not find himself worrying about locating a place to sit. He managed to spot Neo, leaving him to wonder how he was always able to claim the same table before anyone else. They both left the same class, but parted separate ways to save time, yet it was always Neo who managed to reach the cafeteria faster. Carefully navigating through the sea of students, he eventually reached the table, placing down his belongings with a thud.

"Phew." Tai stretched his back, exhaling a stressed sigh. "Sorry for taking so long."

"Was it that difficult to get here?" Neo asked.

He nodded. "Is it just me, or are there more people than usual?"

"Now that you mention it," Neo scanned the entire cafeteria, "there are more people. A lot more."

"Do you think there's some kind of event today?"

"Wouldn't they have said something during the announcements?"

"Yeah." Tai shrugged. "It doesn't really matter when you think about it."

"Ditto on that."

Tai reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He turned back to check what was being offered on the menu for the day. Vegetarian pasta with tofu... garlic bread... and dango. His mouth begun to water. He took out the amount of money that was necessary for him to purchase lunch, leaving him to find the end of the line from the counter. Following the stream of students, his eyes eventually spotted what seemed like the end. His eyes widened. By the time I get to the counter, lunch will already be over. He held the money in his hand, contemplating on whether he should join the line or just skip lunch. As a result, he found himself watching with a longing for food that he never felt before.

From his seat, Neo looked up from his lunch. "What are you staring at?"

"Nothing." Tai sat down heavily into the hard cafeteria bench. They should really get proper chairs for these tables, he thought, masking his pain as best he could.

"No lunch today?"

"I guess." He sighed. "The line's too long. I wouldn't survive the wait."

"Well, you're lucky that I thought about that."

He tore his eyes away from the line. "What do you mean?"

Neo reached for something that sat next to him. He placed it up on the table to reveal a lunch tray, completed with the main dish, side dish, and dessert. There was even a small bottle of apple juice included. He slid the tray across the table.

"W-what is this?" Tai asked, staring at the meal.

"What does it look like?" Neo twirled some pasta onto his fork. "It's lunch."

He blinked. "You bought lunch for me?"

"Of course." Neo glanced at him. "I had a feeling that the line would be too long by the time you got here, so I bought some for you."

"But how did you know that the line would be too long?"

He shrugged. "Call it intuition."

Tai stared at the tray before him. Is this what friends usually do for each other? He got closer, allowed the scent of spinach and garlic to fill his nose. A warmth emitted from the food, leaving a comforting sensation waft over the bridge of his nose and cheeks.

"Are you going to eat or not?"

Tai hesitated, lifting his head to meet the eyes of his friend; the person who went out of his way to purchase and carry two meals all the way to the table from the counter, all so that he would have something to eat as well. Even though his friend held a cold expression, Tai's eyes began to glisten just looking at him.