Page 8
1226 Words
Maya picked up a tray and handed one to Elena.
“Okay. Rule number one.”
Elena looked at her.
“There are rules?”
“There are always rules.”
“What is rule number one?”
“Never trust the food that nobody else is taking.”
Elena looked down the line.
A tray of something pale sat beneath a small sign.
“What is that?”
Maya glanced at it.
“I have no idea.”
“And people aren't taking it.”
“Exactly.”
Elena smiled.
“Good rule.”
“I've saved you already.”
They moved along the line.
There were more choices than Elena expected. Pasta, grilled chicken, vegetables, rice, sandwiches, fruit, desserts.
Maya picked up a plate.
“I'm getting pasta.”
“You said you weren't hungry.”
“I've changed my mind.”
“That was fast.”
“I contain multitudes, remember?”
Elena laughed and chose chicken, vegetables, and a small portion of rice.
Maya looked at her plate.
“That is very responsible.”
“What?”
“You've been in America for one day and you're already making healthy choices.”
“I don't know if that's supposed to be an insult.”
“It's admiration.”
Maya added a cookie to her tray.
Elena pointed at it.
“And that's healthy?”
“Emotionally.”
“That isn't how health works.”
“It is for me.”
They paid and searched for somewhere to sit.
The dining hall was busier now. Most tables had at least a few students around them, some talking, some eating with headphones in, others working on laptops.
Maya spotted an empty table near the windows.
“There.”
They sat down.
Elena looked outside while Maya immediately started eating.
For a few seconds, neither spoke.
Then Maya looked up.
“So?”
Elena took another bite.
“It's good.”
Maya nodded seriously.
“Excellent.”
“You were worried?”
“Very.”
“Why?”
“Because if you hated the food, I'd have to spend the next four years defending America.”
Elena smiled.
“I don't think one meal decides that.”
“Good. Because tomorrow we're trying somewhere else.”
“You already have plans for tomorrow?”
“Obviously.”
Elena looked at her.
Maya grinned.
“You're my roommate. You're stuck with me.”
There was something strangely comforting about the way she said it.
Elena lowered her eyes to her plate.
“I don't mind.”
Maya paused.
Then she smiled, softer this time.
“Good.”
A group at the next table suddenly burst into laughter.
Maya glanced over.
“What?”
Elena shook her head.
“Nothing.”
“You're doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking.”
“I am allowed to look.”
“I know. I'm just trying to figure out what you're thinking.”
“You won't.”
“Challenge accepted.”
Elena took a sip of water.
“You really don't give up, do you?”
“Nope.”
“That's dangerous.”
Maya smiled.
“You're going to fit in here.”
Elena looked out through the window again.
Students crossed the lawn outside, carrying books, talking, laughing.
For the first time, she didn't feel like she was watching from the outside.
Not completely, anyway.
Maya nudged her foot beneath the table.
“So, after this, I have something to show you.”
Elena raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“It's not dangerous.”
“That doesn't answer the question.”
Maya smiled.
“You'll see.”
Elena shook her head.
“I'm beginning to regret saying yes to this friendship.”
“No, you're not.”
Elena tried not to smile.
She failed.
Maya finished her cookie before Elena had even finished half her meal.
“You eat fast,” Elena said.
“I was hungry.”
“You said that ten minutes ago.”
“And I meant it.”
Elena shook her head and took another bite.
Maya leaned back in her chair.
“Okay. You ready?”
“For what?”
“The thing I told you about.”
“You're still refusing to tell me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because then it wouldn't be a surprise.”
“You could just tell me.”
“That would defeat the entire purpose.”
Elena sighed.
“You're exhausting.”
“And yet you're still sitting here.”
“Unfortunately.”
Maya smiled.
“Come on.”
They carried their trays toward the return station.
Outside, the sunlight had softened, and a light breeze moved through the trees.
Maya walked backward for a few steps, facing Elena.
“You know what your problem is?”
“I've known you for less than a day. How do you already have a list?”
“I work quickly.”
Elena smiled.
“You're too curious.”
Maya pointed at her.
“That's not a problem.”
“It can be.”
“Not for me.”
“You'll learn.”
“I doubt it.”
Maya turned around before she walked into a lamppost.
Elena laughed.
Maya stopped.
“You saw nothing.”
“I saw everything.”
“Forget it.”
They continued across the lawn.
Maya took a narrow path between two buildings.
Elena followed.
Students were scattered across the grass. A few were lying beneath the trees with books open beside them. Someone had brought a speaker outside, and music drifted faintly across the lawn.
Maya slowed down.
“This is one of my favorite spots.”
Elena looked around.
There wasn't anything particularly impressive about it.
Just trees, grass, benches, and a view of several buildings.
“Why?”
Maya shrugged.
“I don't know. It's quiet without actually being quiet.”
Elena understood immediately.
She looked toward the students.
Everyone seemed to be doing something.
Studying.
Talking.
Eating.
Running to class.
Going nowhere in particular.
It felt strangely alive.
“I like it,” Elena said.
Maya smiled.
“I knew you would.”
“You're doing it again.”
“What?”
“Deciding things about me.”
“Maybe I'm getting good at it.”
They sat on one of the benches.
For a moment, Maya didn't say anything.
Then she pulled out her phone.
“Okay. Important question.”
Elena looked over.
“Do you have i********:?”
Elena stared at her.
Maya stared back.
“What?”
“You've been waiting all day to ask me that?”
“Obviously.”
Elena laughed and gave her the username.
Maya searched for it.
“Oh.”
“What?”
“You have almost nothing on here.”
“I don't post much.”
“You have four pictures.”
“I know.”
“And three of them are buildings.”
Elena shrugged.
“I like buildings.”
Maya looked at the screen again.
“Okay. This explains a lot.”
“What does it explain?”
“Nothing.”
“That means it explains something.”
Maya locked her phone.
“I'm still figuring you out.”
Elena smiled.
“You've been saying that since the airport.”
“And I'm still right.”
They sat there a little longer.
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD