Alison Harold

Chapter 18

The day went by slowly. It was exhausting. Her dorm mates kept coming in and going out, busy with one silly thing or the other, whereas she stayed put in bed, still horrified by everything that happened since The Class Picnic.

Evening was approaching slowly and she could literally hear her stomach grumbling, begging for some food. The snacks she had were not doing the job well for her. She needed real food but she knew if she left the building, there was a possibility she would run into Jace out there somewhere. He was probably waiting around somewhere for her. She didn't like the fact that she was hiding from him, it made her feel weak. Vulnerable.

After much contemplation, she decided to leave the dorm and go down to the lobby. She looked around frantically, hoping Jace wasn't there.

Thankfully, he wasn't.

"Alison Harold."

She was about to head out when the receptionist called her over. She went to meet her, low key suspecting that Jace had dropped a message for her.

But then the lady brought out a jute bag and handed it over to Alison.

Alison took it with confusion. "What's this?"

"He dropped it for you some hours ago," the receptionist told her.

Knowing fully well who he was, she scowled and looked in the bag but her face softened when she saw how neatly he'd packaged a lunchbox set and chocolate bars and a cup of smoothie with a huge bottle of water in the bag. She thanked the lady and quietly went back to her dorm.

She didn't know what to think right then. She was at a loss for thoughts and it was a rare occurrence. She quietly emptied the bag and found a note sticking to one of the plates.

Don't be mad at me for liking you. I'd rather you don't reciprocate my feelings than ignored me. Here's a little cute lunchbox to make you smile ;)
PS: I saw you go for a second round of the beefy sweet potato dish last week and figured you liked it. Eat and cheer up!

After reading the last line, she quickly grabbed one of the lunchbox plates and opened it. This one contained spaghetti and meatballs. She took the second one and saw that indeed there was her favorite beefy sweet potato hash, the sweet aroma welcoming her, bursting with flavor. The third plate contained some neatly sliced fruits.

Her stomach responded to the delicacies so she reach for a spoon, preparing to dig in. Except she stopped.

Was she really about to devour something put together by Jace? A voice in her head was about to give her a serious lecture but her stomach said otherwise so she quickly dug in. With every bite, she savored the harmonious combination of flavors, feeling a sense of warmth and contentment. At that moment she did not think about Jace or the fact that she was munching on the meal brought by him, she could only focus on satisfying her hunger.

By the time she was half way done, Zelda walked into the dorm and laid in her bed. She took a peek at Alison eating and then sat up with surprise.

"So you're the one he was bringing this to?" She asked quizzically.

"What do you mean?" Alison asked her.

"Jace Myers was making a fuss in the dining hall earlier today about how the chef didn't prepare enough of that potato dish," she explained.

Alison paused mid chewing. "He made a fuss?"

Zelda nodded.

Alison looked away, feeling shy all of a sudden.

Zelda caught on quickly. "You two aren't dating or something, right?"

Alison shot up from her bed. "We're not!" She exclaimed, slightly terrified that anyone would think such.