Erik had just gotten back from school. His only day off from working at the grocery store was today which meant that he needed to hurry home and help babysit the younger kids who had gotten out of school earlier. The school bus ride home was uncomfortable since he felt like all eyes were on him since this was the first time he had taken the thing home instead of walking home after work. As he let himself into their trailer, it was obvious that no one was home, which meant that his little sisters had taken the youngest ones to the park across the street. They really didn't have many toys so the younger ones would always get bored and fight easily.
Hurrying across the street, he immediately looked for Nikki who had taken today off of school to watch their siblings. He didn't immediately see her; however, he did spot Kylee who was with Emily. Emily was throwing a tantrum again, while Kylee was apologizing to a now more than familiar figure sitting nearby.
Erik overheard the girl say, "It's okay, I'm not bothered. If you want, I can hold her if that's okay. If she only wants to be held, and you're okay with it, I don't mind." Liona sounded like she was trying to be friendly, but that would only scare Kylee more, who would never trust those words from a stranger.
He hurried over and immediately scooped Emily up and set about trying to distract her while he talked to Kylee and Liona. "It's okay, Kylee, go and round up the rest of the girls, and see if you can find Nikki and Tyler too, I don't see them." He then turned to Liona after Kylee left. "I'm sorry if Emily bothered you. Kylee isn't comfortable around strangers, so if she was rude, I'm sorry."
"Why? Why do you and your sisters apologize so much?" Liona seemed to blurt this out, which startled him into silence for a moment while he considered how he wanted to explain without possibly offending Liona. She was a rich girl, no matter that she has always seemed friendly up until now.
"Uhm…" He hesitated. Something about him wanted to trust Liona with the truth. He wanted to tell her everything, but soon squashed that idea. She was going to mock him as soon as he said what he truly felt and thought about why they apologized so much.
"I'm sorry, that was insensitive of me. Sometimes my mouth gets ahead of my brain, and I speak without thinking. If you're uncomfortable with me asking, you don't have to say anything." Liona explained to him, which only made him feel bad for quashing his earlier thought of telling her the truth.
Erik was going to attempt to explain in a way that might not offend Liona, but his stomach chose that moment to rumble loudly. His stomach reminded him that breakfast was a long time ago. He hadn't been approved for the free lunch program at school yet, so he couldn't eat at school. His last meal had been stale bread soaked in milk for breakfast. It had only been a slice of bread, but a loaf was split between his sisters and him and part of it had been their lunch today. He could get away with not eating at school, but his younger siblings had to have at least the illusion of a lunch to keep the school from looking too closely into their family.
"Are you hungry? I have some leftover lunch since I made a ton today. Finals always stress me out, so I typically eat a ton, but I didn't end up eating everything." Liona offered it to him.
He was sorely tempted to accept this offer, but he had to think of what the catch was, and it was food that was better off going to his sisters. Knowing his mom, she would be tired when she got home from work and trying to make what little they had in food last was weighing heavily on her. After they unpacked all their stuff, they found that some vital things had been left behind in the move. That meant that money was even tighter until they got their paychecks.
"Hold on, I'll be right back." Liona was off before he could protest. When she returned, she handed him a fancy-looking box. This was not a lunch box he had ever seen before, but it was curious that it was cold, even though she had said that this was her lunch. Did she have a fridge in her car? Did fancy cars like hers have that feature?
"It's a special type of lunch box, called a bento. My mom and dad found a bunch of these cool lunch boxes when they went overseas for their anniversary last year. The box is insulated and designed to keep things warm or cold without sacrificing room for a thermal pack. There's three layers, if you unsnap the top from the bottom and you'll see cold food below and warm food in the top-most boxes." Liona went on excitedly explaining to him her really fancy lunch box, while he stood there a bit dumbfounded, trying to process the fact that he had just automatically accepted something from a rich girl without hesitating or questioning it.
"Why did you just hand me your lunch?" He asked, as he started to open it, even though he was kicking himself for even daring to open this probable trap, but the smell of food was permeating the air, making his mouth water. He was hungry so his rational mind wasn't firing on all cylinders, while his hands moved of their own accord.
"You seemed hungry; I had food. Why shouldn't I share? Besides, that's what friends are for!" She sounded so bright and cheerful when she said that it made him want to believe it. He hadn't had a friend in ages. He could barely remember having a friend when he was still Kylee's age, but that had been forever, and a zillion moves ago. He couldn't even remember his name, just that they had been friends and just as poor as his family.
Erik looked down at the mouthwatering food in his hands. He didn't know what it was, but it smelled so good that his stomach rumbled again. Although he wasn't objectionable to using his hands to just dig-in, he was afraid of being accused of being a mannerless freak. Apparently eating with your hands was looked down upon by the rich. There were plenty of times that silverware and other things of any potential value had mysteriously disappeared after a visit from his father.
"Pop the top of the lid, you'll find a set of utensils in it." She explained as he debated with himself over how to eat the food before him. Following her instructions, he found a near hidden tab that he could separate the lid into two pieces. Inside, sure enough, was a small set of plastic utensils. He had no idea why there were sticks of plastic along with the fork, shallow spoon, and a knife, but he didn't want to share his ignorance. This lunch box alone was crazy simple but so fancy. Liona had mentioned that it came from overseas, which meant that it was even more special.
"It's a really efficient design, right? I love making bento lunches when I'm feeling creative, but most of the time, I just pack leftovers from dinner for my lunch. It's not anything fancy, just a simple Chicken Tikka Masala, below it some basmati rice in the middle container, and in the bottom-most container is some Greek pasta salad I threw together. I only ate about half of what I brought today, so you're welcome to finish it off. Usually, I'd just foist it off on Alli or Chloe, but I sorta just took off to be alone after school today."
Erik was confused about what the heck Liona had just said the food was. About all he understood was that it had chicken. He didn't know what all the fancy names of the food was, he had never heard of those things before. But what really confused him was that she had said this was leftover food, like leftover dinner from last night? He thought rich people never ate leftovers. They just wasted food and threw out what they didn't eat.
As he was about to take a bite against his better judgment, he heard Nikki complaining to Kylee that she couldn't wait five minutes for her to change Tyler's diaper and look after their younger sisters. Well, that explained why Nikki had been absent and only Kylee was looking after their sisters. As they drew near, he felt really guilty about even trying a bite of the food before him. His sisters would be hungry too, and here he was sitting here with enough food to feed all of them for a whole meal and this was just leftovers.
"Did your sisters want to try some too?" Liona asked him, again almost as if she was reading his mind. It was quite startling.