A gathering was taking place in front of a restaurant. A few people, peers, and colleagues alike had come per arrangement for a reunion. Although not everyone was present, they didn't feel it should hinder the mood so they entered the restaurant and grabbed their seats.
A boy, Sam, Noticed someone who looked oddly familiar out of the corner of his eye, but he noticed his friends moving ahead, so he decided to ignore it. The group of friends contemplated where they'd sit but no seats would accommodate 20 people. They estimated at least 20 people would be coming, so after asking some staff, a few tables were brought together to increase the capacity.
After settling down, the few people who'd arrived began to catch up and talk about their lives, jobs, and what they'd been up to. Although not everyone was willing to share their situations except for a few eyebrows raised, the mood wasn't ruined. A lot of them were mature and sensible, because they don't want to share doesn't mean they're in a bad situation.
A while later, More people made their entrances and eventually, the number exceeded their estimation and reached up to 30 in number. At this point, everyone had settled down after the waiters had to bring in more tables and chairs. They ordered their food and while waiting, a few appetizers were presented to the large amount of people present.
After a while, the boy who was listening to stories from his friends suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but interrupt them. He started talking in a voice that could be heard among his peers but wasn't loud enough for the entire restaurant to hear, "I think I saw Henry when entering the restaurant". This boy was Sam.
A few curious people couldn't help but take glances around them trying to spot Henry but they couldn't see him anywhere so they began probing Sam where Henry was. Although they didn't care for him, it was quite weird for him to be where they agreed on having their reunion.
After their incessant questioning and requests, Sam finally pointed slightly at the corner of the restaurant. Henry's back wasn't facing them, it was quite easy to see his face, yet people couldn't believe that he was so different. Although it'd been a few years since they met, their other classmates didn't have this much of a change.
His hairstyle, dress, and demeanor all seemed different. No one had any intentions of interacting with him but a few started placing dares to make others talk to him.
Henry, Kevin, and Michael already completed their food but kept talking. They were stuffed from the meal anyway so they needed time to rest, the restaurant was quite generous in their food portioning.
"By the way, were you able to set up the server?" Michael asked Henry expectantly. "The way you keep inquiring, One would think you were an affiliate," Henry said sarcastically. This was not the first time Michael had asked, he always checked in with Henry every few days to inquire about the situation and Henry was grateful for this.
"Oh wait, It's you? Michael often talked of you but never mentioned your name so I didn't know" He said with a slight smile and shook his head. Michael however gave him an unamused look that seemed to express 'I told you so'. Henry wanted to laugh at the scene playing in front of him but someone interrupted.
"Excuse me, You're Henry right?" Sam asked. Ultimately, Sam was the one who was coerced to approach Henry.
"Hm?" He nodded, Although Henry recognized Sam, he had no intentions of giving him a friendly attitude. He wouldn't have people like his former colleagues around him.
"I'm Sam, don't tell me you don't remember me" He asked with a playful grin. Henry still had no intentions of acting friendly to him and asked "What do you need?". At this question, Sam felt a bit embarrassed, he had no reason to meet Henry especially as he didn't acknowledge knowing him.
"We were having a reunion and were curious why you didn't join especially now that we're seeing you here" Sam answered after pondering."Reunion? For what?" Henry asked once more making Sam more uncomfortable. "College reunion, we invited anyone who was in the same year and attended the same university."
"I attended the same university? When?" Henry questioned again but Sam was already frustrated and responded "Never mind, I think I got the wrong person". Sam turned around and left to his seat while looking at the expectant faces of the people who sent him there.
"Damn, Do you not know him?" Kevin asked confused as to why Henry acted rudely. Henry was pretty chill so it was quite the spectacle to see him acting like that. Michael was just as confused as Kevin. "Just some unpleasant memories and yes, I do know them" Henry sighed and responded.
Kevin and Michael seemed to form a tacit understanding that it wasn't to be discussed further. At this moment, a waiter arrived wanting to settle the bill for their table. They all smiled at each other and pulled out their cards, they placed their credit cards on the menu and asked the waiter to randomly pick the credit cards one by one until one remained. The last card to be picked pays the entire bill.
The waiter picked up the menu reached her hand inside and picked the first card. Michael's face revealed a relieved expression and took his card from the waiter and had a smug grin looking at Kevin and Henry then said "It would be embarrassing if you proposed the roulette and lost". Kevin just rolled his eyes and shook his head.
The next credit card picked would decide the outcome. The waiter once again reached in and brought out another card and laughter erupted from their table, even the waiter soon joined in. From their reactions, she could only guess that Michael's prediction was correct. Kevin had an ugly expression looking at the card the waiter was holding.
Henry received his card and the waiter started calculating the bill for their table. The final amount was $230. Kevin then showed an expression like he just lost a fortune while knowing full well that even if it cost $5000, it wouldn't bother him. This further added to the comedic aspect and the liveliness remained.
After making the payment, they were ready to leave. After a few minutes of exchanging goodbyes, their respective means of getting home arrived. Henry however was still waiting for his Uber to arrive. It was already pretty late in the night and Henry looked back into the building he just left and saw a bunch of dissatisfied faces staring at him.
He just maintained a neutral gaze before turning away. He couldn't be bothered with whatever they were thinking. It was obvious Sam had shared the story of what happened but did he care? Hell NO. He had a lot more to do than squabble with people like them.