The Will To

T H I R T Y - T W O (a quest for a pen)

Nola lent me a strange smile when I grabbed my coat, ready to depart for dinner that afternoon. It was small but full of discernment, like she knew something I didn't. It made me fiddle with my nose ring and shuffle in place before opening the front door.

"I guessed you missed Rey then," she said coyly.

"What?"

"You're meeting up for dinner with him and we're literally two days into the semester." The glow of her laptop screen highlighted her knowing expression. I played with my nose ring some more. "I guess you missed him."

"He asked me to dinner—I mean, it was more his sister that asked me. She's visiting campus to decide whether or not to attend next fall, and I thought, who better to give her the campus experience than yours truly? You know, show her the seedy underbelly."

Nola hummed, smiling. "Okay, Will. Whatever you say. Have fun."

I bid Nola goodbye, stating that I'd be back later and hopped into my car. It was dark already, the sun long since set. Blasting the heat, I drove towards Zaatar's, and, despite what I'd told Nola, it wasn't Bini who I thought about as I wound through the campus streets.

X

Zaatar's was moderately full. Rey, Bini, and I snagged a table near the window, allowing us a view of the street. The glow of the streetlights beamed off the snow, creating a crystalline sheen over the sidewalks. Despite having entered the dreary winter lull, it didn't feel dreary sitting inside the restaurant with Rey and his sister.

"Ah, look who's back." Angelo's thin, wiry hair poked outwards on top of his head and the wrinkles in his face deepened with his emerging grin. "The usual for my favorite customer?"

"You know it, Angelo," I said.

Rey peered at me. "This really is your second home, isn't it?"

"When have I ever lied to you, Rey?"

He lowered his menu and looked towards Angelo. "I'll take her usual too."

Angelo tilted his head. "Best be sure before you order. It's not for the faint of heart."

Intrigued, Rey insisted. "I'm sure. One Will special, please."

Angelo jotted down Rey's order on his notebook and asked Bini what she wanted, who ordered a quinoa bowl.

"So, what did I just order?" Rey asked after Angelo had disappeared behind the front counter.

"You won't be disappointed."

"That I don't doubt," Rey agreed. "It's more a question of in what way won't I be disappointed."

I arched an eyebrow. "Are you doubting the sanctity of my Zaatar's special?"

"Um, yep. That's exactly what I'm doing."

Pulling off my beanie because it was warm in the cramped restaurant, I fiddled with my messy hair as Rey's eyes tracked my hand. "How dare you doubt my choice in food?"

Rey opened his mouth to retort, but Bini beat him to it, saying to him quite seriously, "I thought you told me that you two weren't dating. You're flirting nonstop."

That shut me up. My jacket was removed, as was my beanie. Yet, I was burning up. Rey widened his eyes at his sister and issued a mangled laugh, nervously scratching at his neck and glancing towards the front counter. The only thing that would rescue us from the awkwardness was the arrival of our food which wasn't coming any time soon.

Bini was smiling mischievously in her chair. Any other circumstance, and I would have been thrilled at her ability to speak the truth so bluntly. Not that what she said was true or that I was, or wanted, to date Rey. That was beside the point.