Last Dawn of a Horde

Chapter Ten: The Showdown ~4 John

~John~

The dining table was the noisiest today.

There were a lot of plates clanking with spoons and fork; there were too many plates full of breakfast food the others were probably dreaming about last night—chorizo, eggs, omelets, hotdogs, sausages, pancakes, waffles, loaves of bread, jam, cheese and some more condiments. I was just taken aback by my small plate.

I want to taste all the food.

Principal Guns sat on the end of the table, and Mr. Riggins took the opposite of him. Mrs. Amelia Guns was so busy and happy serving us a lot of food. The hot, delicious food on the table seemed to be a good feast for twenty-five hungry, underfed people.

As I chow down my favorite cheese omelet, praises about Mrs. Guns’ cooking filled the morning air.

“Mmm, I so love this sweet syrup for pancakes, Mrs. Guns,” said Rolcene, whose plate was overflowing with sumptuous food.

“A good reward for good kids! Hotdogs!” Stanley added.

Kat was feeding Gray by her spoon, and while Gray was chewing, he was feeding Kat the chorizo. “Here, Leo said this chorizo was the regular one,” said Gray, smiling as he feeds his girlfriend. My eyes focused on Leo, who looked like he was about to burn Kat and Gray with his glare. When Kat started to blabber something, Leo sipped hot milk as he smiles devilishly.

“Gray, baby, this is…” Kat mumbled. “This is the spicy one!”

Gray looked anguish. “Wait, Kat, I-I’m sorry! I didn’t—Leo!”

Leo looked inconspicuous.

Gray almost drowned Kat with a lot of orange juice, and after he sets down his empty glass, Kat rests her head on his shoulder, and gives a thumbs-up. Her face looked red, and I swear I heard her curse Leo under her breath. Mrs. Guns suddenly appeared beside them, holding the pitcher of orange juice. She happily fills down Gray’s empty glass.

“Thanks, Mrs. Guns,” Gray politely said with a smile. The old woman smiled back.

“Come on, dear, they can serve themselves,” said Principal Guns. “Sit down here, and eat on your own. They’re grownups.”

Mrs. Guns smiled as she sits down to the right of Principal Guns, and she sets down the pitcher. “Well, it surprises me the kids have such a lively appetite.”

“Lovely’s appetite? Monsterlike!” Leo said, elbowing Lovely sitting beside him. She looked conscious, and stopped sipping the maple syrup.

“It’s okay, honey, we’ve got loads of syrup for pancakes,” Mrs. Guns told Lovely before getting her first spoon of omelet. But that didn’t make Lovely less conscious.

“Come on, dears. Fill up yourselves. You’ve been out for almost a week,” Mrs. Guns added.

“More than seven days,” agreed Mr. Riggins.

“I haven’t counted,” Principal Guns said. “Whatever. But at least now, you’re enjoying utmost peace, students.”

All of us agreed, even James, who was beside me. His mouth was full of sausages, and he can’t talk. A nod will do it.

I began to notice Jet, He was so quiet, and he had his plate half-full. Even when Leo nudges him, he doesn’t talk. He just looks at him, and then looks back at his plate. Even when Rolcene joked, he didn’t laugh. I began to worry.

Stella and Grace were talking. So does Ella and Patricia. Yes, we’ve been talking in pairs. It’s just that my seatmates, Jimmy to my right and James to my left, were all busy eating. I’ve just noticed Camille sitting by Jimmy. She looked so apprehended whenever Jimmy tells a corny joke, and they tend to look at each other for frequent times. Meanwhile, Jules and Sam looked like there was something going on between them.