The walk to the canteen was just as similar to how he went to the classroom. Different foods wafted in the air and smelled delicious, being brought through by students with such excitement as they walked for their lunch break.
They went through the queue in an awfully busy cafeteria until they could get to the counter where they picked trays piled with steaming food.
A delicious smell from fresh-cooked food in the cafeteria was mixed up with sounds from students talking all around them.
They set off searching for a table with trays in hand; an empty one near the window, and they forced their way through the crowd. The sunrays would pour through and diffuse warm light over the table.
As they settled down, the din of the cafeteria faded into the background, and they began enjoying their lunch. She sat across from Marco. Marco started poking with his food, and Arlene slumped forward, her chin resting on her hand.
"You don't say much, do you?" She began, breaking the silence between them.
"What's there to say?" Marco shook his head.
"Oh, I don't know. Why did you sit by the wall in class? Where'd you learn to draw like that? Or…" She thought for a moment, then her eyes widened. "Ah! I have a simple one. What's your favorite color?"
Marco pauses, his eyes finally focusing on hers. "Green."
"There you go! Now we're getting somewhere. Why green?"
"I like mountains." He spoke deeply, returning his attention to his food.
Her brows furrowed. "Mountains? That's it?"
Marco never answered. He continued devouring his meal like he'd never eaten for days.
"You're so mysterious, Marco." She calmed her laughter, keeping a playful smirk on her face.
"Everyone says that," he muttered, his expression unreadable. "I guess it's normal for me to be 'mysterious'."
She chuckled lightly, taking a moment for another bite of her meal. "You're so easy to talk to, you know?"
"Maybe you're just good at talking."
"I'll take that as a compliment," she replied with a soft voice. "But man, I really do wanna see some of your drawings. What's with that interest of yours?" Arlene leans closer, one of her brows raised.
"It's really just something I do. Just keeps me quiet." he answered, deep and weary.
"Quiet huh… I get that. I guess life could get a bit… noisy."
"Yeah." he replied as he stood up, bringing his tray back to the counter. "Alright man, I'm going now."
"Already..?" she frowned, still sitting on the table. "Come on Marco… Let's talk more!"
But Marco kept walking. He didn't even spare her a second glance and so he settled his tray on the leftovers table.
As Marco walked out of the cafeteria, he suddenly stopped. Right at the door, mid-step.
He gripped his bag tightly, the strap creaking. The noise in the cafeteria receded, replaced by the oppressive weight of a single yet deep thought.
Loneliness.
He knew the feeling too much. The ache of sitting in a crowded room but still feeling invisible. The way it crept into every corner of your life, no matter how much you tried to push it away. He'd lived with it, carried it, and though he told himself it didn't matter, it did.
His eyes flicked back toward the table where Arlene sits. She wasn't looking at him, though she was gazing vaguely around the cafeteria, her fingers drumming idly along the edge of the tray.
And her smile from earlier? It was gone.
"Shit." he whispered to himself.
He turned around and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before walking back to Arlene's table. A simple grin and his hands in his pockets. He approached Arlene, carefully settling on the chair across Arlene's.
"Well," he muttered. "I guess I do have some time to talk with you for a bit."
She turned to him slowly, her eyes somewhat wide. For a brief second, her lips parted; yet nothing came out. Instead, a faint pink crept onto her cheeks. She looked away for just an instant before coming back into his eyes.
"Oh," she murmured, her voice barely audible. Then, with a small, uncertain smile, she added, "I didn't think you'd come back."
He paused, looking away for a moment before turning back to her. "I have my way of relating with others."
She chuckled quietly, her smile gradually returning. "Yeah, whatever."
And they continued talking. She had a different energy compared to any other person he'd talked to. In any case, he appreciated it.
Arlene laughed, loud and bright, as Marco doodled a cartoonish version of their teacher in the margins of his notebook, which had no notes whatsoever. Around them, the cafeteria began to empty, the scrape of chairs and hum of voices fading until only their table remained.
And minutes passed like seconds as they talked.
Arlene glanced at her watch and froze. "Shit, we're late!"
Marco didn't look up, still sketching. "So?"
She grabbed his wrist, yanking him toward the door. "Move your ass, Delacroix!"
They sprinted through hallways, and Marco lagged behind with a smirk. At the stairwell, Arlene skidded to a halt. Her watch read 12:49, and his 12:58.
"Your watch is late," he said.
"And so are we," she shot back, bolting upstairs. By the time Marco sauntered into Room C-3, Arlene was seething. The teacher's glare could've melted steel.
"Nice of you to join us, Mr. Delacroix."
He slid into the seat beside her, nonchalant. Arlene tapped a furious rhythm against her notebook using her pen.
"Where were you?" she mouthed.
He flipped open his sketchbook, revealing the same half-finished drawing of her, mid-laugh, and her eyes sparkling. Except the edges curled like burning paper, ink pooling like blood at the corners.
"Janitor's closet," he scribbled in the margin. "Got lost."
Arlene rolled her eyes, but her anger flickered. "You know what, never mind."
Until that point, the two were incredibly silent for the rest of the class. Arlene diligently took down notes, writing down every single word the teacher said.
Meanwhile Marco was in his own world, completing his sketch of her.
Soon, the bell rang. The screeching of chairs alongside the unintelligible chitchat of the students made an unpleasant harmony as the rest of them walked out the room.
And unsurprisingly, Marco stayed drawing, and he looked oblivious from the noise. Arlene was packing her bag as she noticed Marco sketching like nothing happened.
"Hello? Marco?" Arlene said with an intentionally distracting manner. Still, Marco didn't budge an inch.
"Hey Marco, wake up!" repeated Arlene. And after a few seconds, Marco came back to his senses. The first thing he noticed was her hand gently shaking his shoulder, and he wondered.
"What is it?" he huffed.
"Class is done now. Get up."
"Huh?" he replied, scanning the empty room. After a few moments, the realization hit him. "Oh."
He stood up and packed his sketchbook alongside his pencil, strapping his backpack on his shoulders as he walked to the door without any other word.
"Hey, wait!" Arlene interrupted, walking towards Marco. "Well... You wanna hang out somewhere?"
Marco hesitated as he touched the doorknob. "No."
"Why?" she asked, a soft frown capturing her lips.
A moment of silence filled the air as she asked. "I have some stuff to do."
"Come on… Just this one time, please?" she begged, her hands clasped together.
Marco paused, his hand resting lightly on the doorknob. He told himself he didn't really care, that he didn't owe her anything. But the sincerity in her voice made him hesitate. His hand clenched as his gaze turned briefly to her.
Arlene wasn't looking at him with pity or judgment or anything else, but... hope.
He sighed, the tension in his shoulders loosening ever so slightly. "Fine," he muttered. "Just this once."
Her small frown quickly changed to a bright smile as he reconsidered. Somehow, that grin alone gave Marco a glimmer of hope you could say. A small, bright light in the middle of his darkness.
Following class, the two went outside to take in the sunset's radiance, though Marco's eyes were narrow as Arlene dragged her to some place near the school.
"Where're you taking me?" asked Marco.
"Somewhere calm. Trust me, you'll like it there." She replied with a bright voice.
The bright radiance of the sun was near its end, spreading an orange tone throughout the wide sky. An ambience of frequent mutters from outside vendors and the rustling of grass created a peaceful symphony in the breeze as the two walked to a quieter place.