Occasionally gentle warm gusts of wind blew into the classroom from the open window in front of her. Her hair flowed in and out brushing against my cheek and arms ever so lightly. It was a bit ticklish to the skin, but it wasn't to the point someone would laugh.
Five minutes passed by with the two of us in silence. The only thing that could be heard to our right was the chatter from the hallway and a few other students who remained inside the classroom talking quietly among their small groups. I felt strangely relaxed and closed my eyes to listen to the sound of the sporadic wind blowing by from my left as it mixed together with the chatter from our right.
If she was always quiet like this, I couldn't help but think being around her wouldn't be so bad.
As if she'd heard my thoughts, she broke the silence between us and asked, "You're not eating anything for lunch again?"
With my eyes closed I responded, "Since you're always staring at me, you should already know the answer without needing to ask, right? Have you ever seen me eat anything for lunch before?"
"No, I haven't. Do you even eat?"
"Of course I do."
"What do you eat for breakfast then?"
"Nothing."
"Huh? Wait… you go without breakfast and lunch?"
"Yeah, I usually just eat once a day and that's enough for me."
"That's really not good for your health. You should start eating properly. Three times a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner."
"I'll pass." I didn't have the money to spare to eat three times a day. It also took far too much energy to prepare three meals a day.
"Aren't you hungry right now?"
"No, I'm not."
"Isn't the reason you're always sleeping in class because you're actually running on an empty tank and have no energy as a result?"
"I've been doing this since I was in elementary school. My body is used to this."
"Just because your body has adapted doesn't mean it's good for you."
"What does my health have to do with you anyway?"
"Here, you can have a bit of my lunch." Ignoring my question, she offered some of her food out of nowhere.
"I'm really not hungry."
"Look, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Either you open your mouth obediently right now and eat, or I open it for you and make you eat." She said threateningly.
"Stop nagging m-"
Without warning my head was pushed back and my eyes were forced open. She'd pushed my head back with her left index finger which was presently curved back in a small arc against my temple. Her right hand immediately swooped in with a piece of sushi and forcefully slipped it into my mouth through the gap that slightly opened up between my lips with her thumb. Her thumb only came to a stop when they were pressed up directly against my lips.
My first reaction was to spit out the food but I froze up when the flavor of the sushi spread out in my mouth and stopped me from doing so. It was… too damn good. It was definitely some restaurant-level shit.
I couldn't stop myself from asking, "Are your parents chefs at a sushi restaurant or something?"
She grinned satisfactorily when she heard my response and shook her head confidently.
"Did you buy this then?"
She again shook her head. Had I misunderstood? Were her parents just good at cooking but not chefs or something? Or was she actually some high-class lady with a personal chef her parents hired?
"Was I wrong about your parents being chefs but they still made it? Or could it be you're actually a rich girl and your parents hired a chef to cook for you?"
"Wrong and wrong."
"Huh? If it's not any of those things, what is it?"
"I cook for myself, duh. But really, was it that good?"
If food was good that was one thing I couldn't lie about so I honestly admitted to it. "Yeah, I'm actually shocked. You don't seem like the type who would cook at all."
"Well, I am."
"Are you sure you're not taking credit for someone else's work?"
"I'm not, I swear. Here, since you're not fully convinced, try some of the fried rice I cooked as well."
She scooped up some fried rice with her spoon and held it out to me. Without thinking about it too much, I opened my mouth and took all of it into my mouth.
When she pulled the spoon out of my mouth I chewed on it and couldn't help but marvel. My evaluation was the same as the sushi. Too damn good to not be from a restaurant.
"Are you planning to go to culinary school in the future to become a chef or something?"
"No, cooking can just be considered a hobby or one of the skill sets I needed to get better at."
"I see."
She scooped up some fried rice with the same spoon and put it in her mouth. Only now did I realize she'd been eating with the same spoon the entire time. If I wasn't a forty-year-old at heart, I'd probably be squealing on the inside about how it was an indirect kiss, but sadly I was already a boring coolheaded adult who couldn't be bothered with those sorts of things.
She didn't seem to concern herself with it either, so why should I?
She stuck out her spoon to me again with some more fried rice.
"You don't need to feed me." I wasn't going to be stubborn about it at this point. I raised my hand off the desk to take the spoon from her, but she didn't let go of it.
With a smile, she said, "You already refused to be obedient and open your mouth before, since you already made that choice, I'm naturally not going to just obediently hand over the spoon to you either. Now open your mouth. If you don't… well, you already know what happens when we do things the hard way even if I don't say it, right?"
I let out a small sigh and did as she requested. She would have definitely forced it down my throat if I refused to eat again.
Like this, we alternated one mouthful at a time. She occasionally pushed a bit of sushi in as well. Even if I was forty at heart… being spoon-fed by a high school girl was a bit… much even for my tolerance. My only saving grace was that my body was that of a high schooler.
Rosa Scarletyse. I finally committed her name to memory after three weeks. Only because the food was good.
After the food was finished she didn't immediately return to her desk. She put the box down to the side and crossed her right leg over her left leg that hooked onto the horizontal metal bar of the desk below her. She leaned forward a bit, planting her right elbow on her thigh to support her right cheek with the palm of her hand, and crossed her left hand under it to rest on her lap close to her body. She stared out the window far into the distance looking like she was deep in thought over something.
The wind from the open window still blew her hair back and forth caressing my arm and cheek, but I didn't bother to pay it much attention. I'd gotten used to it by now. This was just how she was, how it was between the two of us.
She'd aggressively invade my personal space no matter what I did, resisting was futile. That was the conclusion I came to. It consumed less of my energy just letting her do whatever she wanted.
It was only when lunch was over that she finally hopped off my desk and returned to her seat as it was time for the next period to begin.
Even after she left her scent lingered both on me from her hair and also from where she'd sat on my desk. With her gaze glued to me for the rest of the day in addition to her lingering scent stuck to me, I wasn't able to fall asleep for the rest of class as it was distracting me.
My nosy neighbor was truly a malicious and petty woman. Getting on her bad side was truly a mistake and she had proven it to me with her actions.