The Cadet and The General (Final Space)

Chapter Three: Lunchroom

Pawblo was slowly walking towards the lunchroom. Training was a lot harder than he expected, but he at least gave it his all. As he walked into the cafeteria, he saw how huge the room was. Most of the soldiers were occupying the tables and seats in the room.

As the ventrexian picked up his tray and was served his dinner, he eyed the room. There was not a single seat that was not taken. It seemed really crowded.

"Guess I'm eating at my dorm." He mumbled to himself as he took his tray and began to walk out of the room.

"Cadet O'Connor!" A voice bellowed from across the room. Pawblo turned around to see General Cataloupe, at a small table with two chairs. He waived his hand. "Over here!"

Pawblo was surprised to see the General offer him a seat. Though it was strange, it was way better than eating alone in the dorm. As he walked through the crowd, he felt eyes staring at him. Everyone thought that it was strange, since the Generals usually don't let cadets sit with them due to "having to earning their spot", so this was a rare sight to see.

The cornflower-blue ventrexian sat down across from Cataloupe. He looked down and began to eat his food. As he ate, Cataloupe kept an eye on the cadet. He seemed like a shy person, but gutsy enough to join the army. He kept a chuckle to himself, as he admired Pawblo.

"So....what made you want to join the army?" Cataloupe tried to make conversation. He never really took a liking to a cadet before, and he didn't know why. Pawblo looked up at the General for a minute. He finished chewing and responded. "l, uh, joined because....life was tough. Especially since I never knew my parents. I just....wanted to start fresh somewhere else....you know?"

Cataloupe nodded. "Ah, I see. You remind me of when I was young. Wanting to be free from the chains of expectation. But I wanted to be here to make something of myself. I was once a soldier like you. Now I'm a General. I get to mold soldiers such as yourself."

Pawblo nodded. "I'll make sure not to disappoint then, sir. Wouldn't want to make you or your legacy look lame." The older general chuckled. "No need to be so worried about that. I'd rather you focus on building your strength. You must have a lady waiting for you, right?"

The smaller ventrexian laughed a little. "Or gentleman. I'm bisexual, sir." He scratched his ear as he looked down, nervous that his own General would make him go away.

"Really? Interesting. As a gay man myself, I never saw that in you when we met the other day." He was feeling happy, especially since he found a relatable person to talk with. Pawblo took his response by surprise. "W-woah! Really?! I didn't know that. That's...that's cool." He blushed a little. Knowing that Cataloupe was gay made him feel a little better.

"If you ever need me for anything, let me know. Otherwise, keep up with my training, cadet. See you tomorrow." He finished eating and got up from the table, leaving Pawblo to finish his own food alone.

"Huh.....he's just like me." Pawblo blushed a little bit. He may or may not have felt something, but he wasn't quite sure.