Since the next morning was a glorious Saturday, I had the wonderful luxury of sleeping in, and I took full advantage of it. Despite my restless sleep, the additional time balanced it out to leave me at least somewhat refreshed. I got out of bed and dressed, only to realize I had nowhere to go for the entire weekend. I didn't even have homework to keep me distracted. I felt morose. Back home, whenever I got stressed or stir-crazy, I could always leave the house and go for a walk, get cigarettes, meet my friends at the mall, whatever. Here I was stuck on campus, and every time I went outside carried its own risks. It was going to be a long, boring weekend.
Fate was only too eager to contradict my last thought, as the floor beneath my feet started to quake with the cadence of giant footfalls. I dashed into the kitchen, ready to hide. The footsteps stopped outside the building, and I waited in suspense, expecting the roof to open at any second. Instead, there was a polite tap with the tip of a giant finger on the front door.
"Eren?" a voice I recognized called. "Are you in there?" It was Joey. My heart fluttered. I took a deep breath, then went to open the door. I was greeted by a giant hand with long, elegant fingers.
"Eren! Hi!" Joey proclaimed from high above, looking both excited and nervous to see me. Since it was the weekend, he wasn't dressed in the usual school uniform, but rather a nice pair of jeans and a crisp polo shirt with a breast pocket. He had attempted to tame his messy brown hair, but it still stuck out in small tufts at random angles off his head. "Hey, so I was thinking, since you're new here and all, maybe you'd like to, you know, go out and see the sights a little off campus. Um, I could take you around and show you, and then there's a local diner just down the street, we could go have brunch..." He was rambling, clearly having rehearsed his speech in his head before he got here and was clumsily purging his words now.
"Sure! That sounds great!" I interrupted. I came outside and closed the door behind me. I didn't have anything to take with me, since I didn't have my phone anymore and human money was useless here, so I didn't need my wallet or purse. "I'm actually all ready to go right now!"
He was surprised, then his face lit up with a joyful smile. "Wonderful! I wore this shirt with a pocket, so you can ride in that if you want, or..." He pulled a glove out of his pants pocket. "I brought a glove with me, so if you prefer I hold you in my hand, you won't be uncomfortable if my hands get all clammy like they did last time." Pink tinted his cheeks at the memory.
I chuckled. He was adorable. "I think I'd prefer your hand, personally."
The pink in his face deepened to red. "Alright." He put on the glove and lowered his hand to the floor. I climbed up into his palm, and his hand twitched underneath me. I could feel the warmth of his flesh through the soft glove, and his pulse racing. "Ready?" he asked me. I gazed up at him and nodded. Gradually, he extended himself to his full height. Even though I had been through this same process several times, I still marveled at the thrilling elevation, at the incredible view, at how the weather became slightly colder and windier from being so high up. Regardless, I felt warm and safe in his huge hand, even if he was a bit shaky.
He started walking with gentle steps, being as careful as he could not to jostle me about. As he became more confident that I was secure in his hand, he picked up the pace a bit, cutting through the grass until we reached the big metal gate at the entrance to the school. We passed through the gate into the world beyond. The city outside was clean and trim, with well-manicured vegetation, massive bright white sidewalks, and towering buildings that gleamed in the morning sun. The street was busy with giant cars that roared past. I was dazzled by the great scale of it all. Everything was big and bright and impressive, almost overwhelming to the senses.
"Are you hungry now? We can go to the diner first if you want," Joey suggested.
"Yes, I am. That would be delightful," I agreed.
"Okay." He started to stroll down the street, toward the sun. I had to cover my eyes with my hand, since the sun was so bright. Some tall trees planted next to the sidewalk provided relief as we entered their pools of dark shade. The leaves on the trees were beginning to change colors with the transition into autumn, popping with fiery oranges and reds and yellows. I had always loved the colors of fall, but seeing the leaves magnified with such detail and kissed by the sun made them even more magnificent. Eventually, we arrived at the diner, an old-fashioned place on a street corner with some tables outside.
"None of the restaurants here serve human-sized food, obviously, but I'm sure we can share a plate of something together," Joey remarked. I was fine with that. We went inside. "Table for two, please."
The seating hostess looked us over, raising an eyebrow, but led us to a cozy table by the window. Joey took a seat and set me down on the checkered tablecloth. The waitress came over to us right away.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Just water for me, please," I requested.
"I'll take a strawberry milkshake," Joey ordered.
"Got it. I'll be back in a moment." She wrote our drinks down on a notepad and left. Joey held up the giant menu so I could see it better, placing his gigantic arms on the table on either side of me.
"What would you like? I'll be fine with whatever you choose," he said, smiling down at me. I felt a little overwhelmed, not just with all the menu options but being in a huge, busy diner surrounded by giants.
"Um... maybe a breakfast item? What do you usually get?" I asked him.
"Their pancakes are really good, especially with blueberries," Joey recommended.
"Let's get pancakes then," I decided. Joey nodded and set the menu aside. The waitress came back with our drinks, both of them in giant glasses, and took our order, then hurried off. Joey happily slurped up some of his strawberry shake, which was topped with whipped cream and a big red cherry. I had to admit, it looked delicious.
"You want a taste?" the giant offered, seeing my longing gaze. I eagerly accepted. He dipped his spoon in the shake and placed it on the table so I could reach it. I sampled the shake off the spoon, taking in a cold, thick mouthful, and hummed with delight. It tasted amazing.
While we waited for our food, Joey made conversation, trying to get to know me better. "So I've been meaning to ask you, how did you end up at a school for giants? What's your story?"
"I got kicked out of my human school for getting into a fight. My mom claims this was the only school that would take me on short notice, but I have reason to believe she just dumped me here to get rid of me. I haven't been able to confront her directly since they took my phone away."
"That's terrible!" Joey exclaimed, frowning. "If she was here now I'd give her a piece of my mind."
"Me too. If only I had my phone," I lamented. "I think I might have an idea of how to get it back, but I'd need your help-" Before I could say anything else, the waitress came over to our table with her hands full, balancing a plate with a steaming hot pile of pancakes. She slapped the plate down quickly on the table, coming dangerously close to crushing me, before rushing off to deliver food to other customers.
"Goodness, she's in a hurry! She's going to hurt someone if she's not careful!" Joey observed angrily. "They must be pretty busy today. I suppose it is Saturday after all."
"It's fine. No harm done," I murmured. "Let's eat." Joey separated out a small chunk of pancakes for me that were still way more than I could possibly eat on my own. He buttered the pancakes, both my little portion and the rest, and drizzled a hearty amount of maple syrup on his share.
"Don't put any syrup on mine, since I can't use a fork," I told him, realizing I had no choice but to eat with my hands. "I'll just dip mine in the excess on the plate." Joey nodded and enthusiastically dug into his stack. I felt unrefined and childish taking up fistfuls of pancake and stuffing them in my mouth, but it was worth it for the delicious flavor. Soon enough my belly was full, and my hands were all sticky and buttery. I wiped them off best I could on a napkin.
"Ah, that hit the spot! I'm stuffed!" Joey uttered, leaning back and rubbing his protruding belly. "I couldn't even finish it all. Maybe I should've passed on that shake. Ah, but the shake was so good too!" There was still a small chunk of pancakes left on the plate, swimming in syrup. "Oh well."
"Thanks for taking me out, Joey. I'm having a wonderful time. I'm so glad I wasn't just rotting in my dorm by myself all day," I said gratefully to the giant.
"Aww, it's no trouble! I'm enjoying myself too! What are friends for, after all?" Joey answered with a dashing grin. His happy attitude was infectious and I found myself smiling contentedly back up at him.
Since the diner was so busy, the waitress was taking a long time to bring us our check, so we continued to chat a bit. "So what about you Joey? How did you end up in boarding school?"
"Oh... my parents felt I was too shy and sheltered, and relied on them too much for everything. So they sent me away with the intention of making me more independent and outgoing. I guess it sort of worked, although I still mostly keep to myself. I'm sure you noticed, I focus on my schoolwork most of the time, and I don't socialize much since I don't have many friends. You're the exception, of course." He smiled again, but there was a hint of sadness behind his expression. "I suppose I mostly live inside my own head. I enjoy intellectual pursuits and reading to gather knowledge."
I nodded thoughtfully. Personally, I wasn't much of an intellectual, but I could understand where he was coming from. "I get what you're saying. I've always been a bit of an outcast myself. Although I'm far more of a troublemaker than you," I replied, grinning mischievously.
"I can tell you've got some fire in you, Eren! You'd have to, in order to be so brave when living among giants. I admire you, I really don't know how you do it. I don't think I could if I were so small," Joey confessed, looking a bit sheepish. "Most humans are too scared to interact with us at all, and I don't blame them. Is this your first time being around giants?"
"Thank you. And yes, I had never seen a giant in real life before I came to this school. I had to admit, it was absolutely terrifying. I had never known giants were this big. I'm still scared, all the time. But I wasn't really given a choice," I ended bitterly.
Joey furrowed his brow. "You're not... scared of me, are you? You know I'd never hurt you!" I shook my head, and he sighed in relief. "If you ever need help, just know you can ask me, okay? I'll keep you safe." He drew his hand in close around me on the table, and gently stroked my arm with the tip of his finger. I patted his fingernail with my hand. I didn't get the chance to say anything else, because just then the waitress arrived with the check. Joey released me from his hand and paid the bill, leaving a generous tip on the table.
He gripped his stomach and winced. "Hey, I'll be right back, okay? I've gotta go to the bathroom." He stood up from the table and weaved through a crowd of giants to the back of the diner where the restrooms were located. As I waited for him to return, my eyes drifted to that last tantalizing little bit of pancakes left behind on the plate.
"It'd be a shame to waste those pancakes, since they were so good," I muttered to nobody in particular, stepping up onto the plate. I scooped up a few handfuls and savored the light, fluffy substance. I wouldn't be able to eat it all, but I could at least put a dent in it. While I was finishing up the food, the waitress stopped by the table and grabbed her tip. As usual, she was in a big hurry. I didn't pay much attention to her as she started picking up the glasses and cleaning the table.
I assumed she had seen me on the plate eating. I was terribly wrong. Unexpectedly, the plate was lifted off the table and thrust into the air. I lost my balance and landed face first in a thick puddle of maple syrup. I strained to pull myself out of the sticky mess as the plate rocked beneath me with tumultuous giant steps. I couldn't protest or see anything with a face coated in syrup. I couldn't do anything to stop her as the waitress carried the dirty plate, with me on it, away from the table, away from safety, into the dangers of the kitchen.