Professor C (camren)

16 - Jauregui (Part 1)

And so, for their early lunch, Lauren brought her friend to a Japanese restaurant she frequented, which Dinah sampled that Saturday prior to going out to the pub. There, they were greeted by a hostess wearing a red kimono and the widest of smiles, who bowed respectfully. And in the most awkward manner, Dinah mirrored the gesture while Lauren muttered a "hello" while desperately trying to yank her friend upright.

But of course, it was too late.

The hostess merely smiled despite the apparent struggle to keep a laugh from bursting out. And before it could, she graciously asked the pair if they were waiting on other guests or if they made reservations. Evidently, Lauren took the reins from there while Dinah held her protests and mild confusion with a giggle after receiving a glare from those intimidating green eyes.

Not long after, the same lady brought them inside the dim-lit restaurant that was partially filled with individuals in formal business attire with the exception of students. Upon Lauren's request, she led them to a corner far away from the crowd, towards one of the black-tinted table, which was pressed up against a traditional paneled wall called shōji and introduced them to a male server bearing a sweating pitcher of water.

Dinah's attention was lured by the restaurant's interior while she gradually took her peacoat off. Her gaze went from the matching red leather-padded seats, the exposed wooden beams to the spherical paper lanterns with cherry blossom printed on them that hovered above. The ambience was completed with Japanese folk music much to Dinah's delight.

She was swimming in an illusion that she was definitely in Japan.

Lauren was pleased to find amazement flickering in Dinah's darker eyes and still, it wasn't her only goal for their lunch date. She had every intention of paying for everything to Dinah's heart's content. But in that case, her stomach's content.

They were aiming to celebrate Lauren's new marital status. It might as well be a celebration.

Upon seated, the hostess courteously set menu cards in front of Lauren and then Dinah and wished the pair a wonderful meal prior to excusing herself. The server soon followed, very carefully pouring water onto the awaiting goblets and subsequently informing the pair of his return to take their orders.

"Coming to Indiana was the greatest idea." Dinah muttered through a grin upon thanking the server. She took her gloves off, eyes trained towards the opened page of main courses.

Lauren was in the middle of getting rid of her leather jacket when Dinah spoke. She hurriedly strewed it over her scarf and purse perched atop the unoccupied seat to her right to zero her attention in on her unaffected friend. She was taken aback by Dinah's obviously meaningful words that for a moment, she forgot that her hand was still airborne atop her pile of belongings while her brows lowered, intrigued.

"What aren't you telling me?" Lauren asked a bit too apprehensively, jaw slacking after orating the last word.

Lauren wasn't too sure if she was ready to learn of Dinah's real purposes when she decided to pack her bags and board a plane to Lafayette. Early on, she had an inkling that it was mostly because of her despite Camila's disappearance. Naturally, Camila's best friend would want to reconnect after almost a decade but that couldn't have been all.

And while Lauren anxiously waited for an answer, her pulse provided a beat to which her knees bounced. But why did she suddenly feel attacked?

Dinah sighed, smiling sympathetically. Somehow, her expressions looked as if she had been caught in her scheming ways and she could have been a little guiltier. And instead of finding culpability, Lauren found Dinah more defeated than anything and the longer she stared at the consoling smile, the more Lauren became uncomfortable.