BLACK ROSE

2 -

My seatmate Fatih seemed like a good guy, but since I preferred to be friends with girls, I went to the school cafeteria alone during lunch break.

When I saw that the large, spacious cafeteria on the bottom floor was a buffet, my longing for my old school subsided momentarily from the excitement. After putting some salad, a bit of rice, and a nice-smelling lentil soup on my tray, I stood in front of the meats at the buffet, lost in thought. I was hesitant. I could accept even seagull meat to some extent, but if this meat was pork, I would sidestep away like a crab. Because in Islam, eating pork was forbidden. (Plus a very unhealty diet anyway.) Finally, I decided to bother the cook.

"Um...what kind of meat is this?"

"Beef."

"It doesn't contain pork, right?" I asked cautiously, making a cute face while mimicking a pig sound, "Oink oink."

"No, it doesn't."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course."

"Swear it!"

The bespectacled man paused briefly after starting to say "Swear it!", then slightly frowned. "Girl, what kind of question is this, like a judgment day inquiry! I said it's beef, eat it! It's good for you. You look pale. It will build your blood."

"Well, it's on your conscience... Anyway, I'll take some."

If he gave me pork, may Peppa Pig chase this man in the afterlife, and when she catches him, may she force him to swim in a mud pool. Amen...

I sat at one of the 8-10 person white dining tables in the large dining hall. Just as I was about to fork my salad, I was startled by a familiar voice from right beside me, "Hello Ece. Enjoy your meal."

When I turned my head, I saw Derin standing with her tray. The girl who annoyed me in class... How did she appear beside me so suddenly? I hadn't even seen her coming. This girl was as sneaky as a snake. In class, when arguing with me, she even made a hissing sound similar to a snake's.

With her kohl-rimmed hazel eyes, confident demeanor, and wavy hair highlighted in places, cascading down to her chest, she must have been the prettiest girl in class. Though at that moment, I was reading Derin's mind, and oddly, she was thinking similarly about me.

"Peace be upon you," I responded using an Islamic greeting, which made Derin curl her lips in displeasure. "And enjoy your meal too."

When I glanced at Derin's tray, I saw she had only taken meat products. What else could be expected from a snake girl...

As Derin continued to hold her tray with one hand, she directed her other hand into her black, leather bag slung over her shoulder. As I watched her place a few DVDs on my tray, on top of my fork and spoon, I looked at her in confusion.

Reading the rhyme and somewhat obscene title on one of the DVDs and looking at the cover photo, I realized the film was about... how to put it... a young girl and boy who wanted to strengthen their neighborly relations. Neighborliness was important, of course, but judging by their exaggerated intimacy in the photo, it seemed long past time for them to combine their homes and crown this with a ring. Perhaps it had even been as long as having a baby.

"W-what are you doing, Derin?" I squealed, looking away from the DVD case that risked ruining my ablution.

"Oh, it's a welcome gift, Ece! Watch it at home when you're bored with homework, it might come in handy."

"I won't need it!" I squealed.

Winking, Derin said, "There's a first time for everything, beauty," and turned around, sashaying away. I watched her with my mouth agape as she sat down a few tables away with her friends. Oh my God, what kind of sex school had I ended up in!?