Away from the entrance and at the farthest corner of the cafeteria, Care and Eli settled in. They sat across each other on the table not that it matters since the little number of students around have a world of their own. The wall clock behind cashier counters suspended on 9:00 a.m. sharp implied an idle time for the business. Even so, an unspoken agreement seemed to forge between them: the careless physical contact must not happen again.
She sneaked glances at him who chewed on his veggie and rice without pauses. Either he must really be starving or just speeding up to attend class, she concluded. A hand clutched her heart to the extent of being unable to feign ignorance. She stood up before he noticed the change of emotion her eyes conveyed.
"Ara..." his voice trailed off as the realization hit him.
Why must he insist for her to stay?
Don't take her more than an obligation, he reminded himself. But his chest weighed heavy, implying the opposite of his conviction. He unconsciously sighed.
"What was the long sigh for?! Such a drama king! Duh, you won't fail for being absent one time." She assured him although it sounded more like a nag.
She placed a bottle of mineral water next to his plate masking a poker face.
"I thought you left?" he blurted out.
Oh, boy! The joy in his voice was a dead giveaway how her presence uplifted his spirits. Care, though, took the question negatively. She slumped back to her seat.
"Sorry to burst your happy bubble but I won't unless we're done here. Now, act as if you were thrilled to have me back."
"And this?" he asked, referring to the bottle she bought.
"UGH! That's in case you choke because you don't slow down with your eating since you nerdy ass wanna hurry."
He kept quiet, mesmerized by her inner shyness made transparent through her amber eyes.
Her meanie expressions, choice of words and condescending behavior are layers to cover the intentions of her actions. Throughout their countless encounters, he discerned this then eventually proved it. Beyond everything superficial people notice first about her, there is kindness. The fact how oblivious she acts is unfair on his part. These random yet sincere and consistent gestures of hers always render him weak against her advances.