Playing With Fire

Chapter Thirty-Seven

                He follows and shoots me an incredulous look, “Of course I am.”

              I wrinkle my nose in disgust, “I have to as well.”

            “No way—What’s it going to be?” He knows how much I hate cafeteria food, and I’m not surprised he finds my ultimate horror somewhat amusing. He raises one hand and balances the other while he speaks. “Rabbit food that tastes like cardboard or pasta with bloody sauce on the side?”

            “Oh god,” I cover my ears and shoot him a glare, “That’s disgusting.”

              He raises an eyebrow, completely ignoring my comment. As we enter the cafeteria, he weighs both the imaginary plates of food in his hands.

             “Which one?” He presses, winking.

           While rolling my eyes, I lightly shove in the direction of the line. “How about you pick your death meal while I watch.”

             He chuckles and reaches for a plate, “How do moldy meatballs sound?”

             I repress the urge to gag, and he continues on his rampage to torture me with the vivid imagery of disgusting food.

           “Mmm,” he makes a sound in the back of his throat, “Delicious.”   

           I shake my head in irritation, but we both know there is a slight smile tainted on my lips. As he trudges through the line to pay for his food, I grab a nature valley granola bar and a bottle of water moments before reaching the cashier.

           When we finally exit the line, Chase leads the way towards a nearly empty table close to the cafeteria doors. As we walk a little closer, I catch sight of Ashley staring at the two of us in excitement.

            She waves at me, and I wave back. Chase, however, is already stuffing his mouth with the food he just bought at the counter.

           When I’m within hearing distance of Ashley, she greets me with the most lovely shade of exasperation.

              However, before she can say anything more, Chase attempts to speak with his mouth full. The sound comes out barely audible and muffled. He brings a hand to his mouth and disgracefully jerks his head in the direction of his Lacrosse team mates.

            “I’m going to chill with them, okay?” He says, starting to walk backwards, “I’m sure they’ll share my hatred for teachers right now.”

              We both nod our heads and he flashes us one more cheesy grin—literally, his lips are tainted with tomato sauce—before turning on his heels.

               I direct my gaze back to Ashley, and she immediately readjusts her features to what they were like before: Wide-eyed, crazy.

             “Dude,” She states, staring at me in bewilderment, “Where have you been?”

                I raise an eyebrow and sit down across from her, placing the bar and water in front of me on the table. “I could ask you the same question.”

               Confusion flickers across her features, “What?”

              “Today. Self Defense?” I fill in the blanks while tearing open the green seal of my bar.

                “Oh.” Recognition captures her expression, and she instantly starts to smirk. “That.”

            I take a bite of the bar while expectantly waiting for her to elaborate. Upon my silence, she gets the message and chuckles to herself before opening her mouth to speak.