My afternoon class went by quickly. I really enjoyed accounting, as it creates the foundation of business management. I want to have a fall-back career, so I was thinking about doing a double degree and having accounting as the second degree.
Once class ended at 2:30 PM, I wandered the college canteens, looking for something to eat.
I saw an empty picnic-style table and decided to dump my bag there, leaving my hands free to grab some food.
As I sat down, a tall girl in a pink floral dress, a large, wide-brimmed summer hat, and long white gloves drifted over and pulled out the seat in front of me.
I was taken aback momentarily, and then I recognized who it was.
"Rachel? Oh wow, your hair… it…" I said in surprise. Long blond locks now replace soft red locks. It looked like Rachel had dyed her hair over the weekend!
"Haha, do you like it?" Rachel laughed behind her mask. " I wanted to start things fresh after what happened this Friday. I felt like if I couldn't control my life, at least I could control my appearance," she explained. Although I couldn't see her smile, her eyes crinkled just so, so I knew she was smiling.
I felt my heart break. How did I cheat on this pretty little sad creature?
I bowed my head in shame.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Rachel asked and reached out to wrap a hand around my hand.
I looked up and pulled away from her, startled by the sudden contact. " No, no, I'm a bit tired, is all. I haven't eaten yet; I was late to school this morning and had to rush over for class," I explained, feeling so terrible.
"Ah, that's wonderful news because I just so happen to have packed too much food for lunch!" Rachel said, pulling up a picnic basket from beside her and placing it on the table. It was a good thing I chose this table, as the basket was huge, though it seemed very strange that she thought to bring such a large amount of food all the way here on a school day.
"W-Wow. I didn't know you cooked. You seem like the type that orders stuff," I said as I watched her take out a red and white gingham tablecloth, which she spread on the table, and then proceeded to bring out several trays of food, placing utensils on tiny saucer plate for easy use,
"Oh, I didn't cook. This was made by Housekeeper Violet this morning. She specialized in Szechuan-style cooking," Rachel said pleasantly as she pulled out a tall flask and some cups and placed them in the midst of the food.
"Please, dig in!" Rachel said as she peeled back lid after lid to reveal delicious-smelling dishes of spicy fried chicken, flavored rice, map tofu, stir-fried vegetables, and a rich red broth, among many others. There was even a dish of kimbap made with kimchi and burger sliders made with hot jalapenos and pickles.
"What a feast!" I exclaimed.
"I will let Ms. Violet know your compliment when I go home later in the evening," Rachel said and leaned forward, pushing a small covered bowl towards me. " Please start with the appetizer, the soup. Drink it all, and then you can start with the rest of the food."
"Ok," I said, picking up and opening the bowl, which turned out to be a small bowl of rich, creamy broth. It smelt amazing. I lifted it to my lips and gulped it down, expecting a creamy and fragrant flavor.
What I didn't expect was a burning hot sensation down my throat. I gasped and slammed the empty bowl down, regretting how quickly I chugged the soup.
"Mala?! But it wasn't red." I gasped and reached for the thermos.
"Nah, ah," Rachel said and grabbed the thermos flask first, keeping her hand on it while she spoke." Did you really think you could sit here, eat this food, and pretend that everything was okay? Which part of sleeping with my cousin do you think is OK, the going behind my back part or the sex part?"
And why the hell did I have to hear it from my obnoxious cousin? Why didn't you come to me after the fact? Do you want to ruin me?" Rachel asked, her entire demeanor changed.
"I-I'm… So sorry," I said, gasping; the burning in the throat was making my throat tight and making it hard to speak.
"I asked Anna for your schedule, by the way. I knew you would be here, looking for lunch. You could have, at any point, called me and arranged a meet-up with me to tell me what happened, but no, apparently, you'd rather tell Anna and Judy instead. You aren't marrying Anna and Judy; you're marrying me."
I bowed my head and nodded. It was too painful to speak and now too sore to even look at her.
"Here," Rachel sighed and said, handing me the flask. I eagerly yanked off the lid and untwisted the cap. I gulped down cold, refreshing milk, and the pain subsided immensely as I did.
"I also have water," Rachel said, pulling out another flask and putting it in the space left behind by the flask of milk.