Food Courting

Chapter 12: Lunch Breaking

As Cora headed out to the crowded seating area, cold lunch in hand, she contemplated sitting outside and simply waiting until her thirty minutes were over. Even though more than half the tables inside were empty, Cora didn't want to be surrounded by anyone who may have witnessed the debacle an hour ago. Besides, she wasn't hungry, and the flies outside would have no reason to bother her if she didn't eat anything.

At the same time, she was too exhausted to travel far, so she dragged herself to the closest empty table and sat with her back to the majority of the crowd. If anyone ended up recognizing her, at least she could live in ignorance.

She scooped out some of her cold rice porridge and stared at it. The soy sauce made it the color of a latte. The lumpy grains had the texture of blended ice. It was like the drink Sheila threw on the ground as her parting gift, concluding the latest of Cora's shortcomings.

Cora had been useless. How could she have let the situation escalate that far, that fast? How could she deserve a promotion if she couldn't handle a single unruly customer? How could she have frozen up, forcing an employee of the competitor to step in on her behalf?

She took a bite of her porridge, more out of habit than hunger. After years of cooking the dish, she still hadn't succeeded in making it taste like she remembered. But maybe there was a reason for that. She had lost the honor to have the real thing when she first failed, and she had yet to earn it back. If anything, she was further than she ever was before.

The dishes before her began to blur, and Cora blinked the tears away from her burning eyes. As much as she wanted to duck down to hide her face, the sight of her pathetic meal was doing more harm than good, and she quickly lifted her gaze towards the food court clock.

Instead, she saw Farron standing a few yards away. The woman was watching her with a solemn expression, and a beat after Cora met her eyes, Farron's brows pinched. While Cora wasn't surprised, she didn't want Farron to worry either. It took a bit of effort, but eventually, Cora managed a small smile.

Unfortunately, that only made Farron frown even more.

Seconds later, Farron was at her table, but she didn't immediately sit down like Cora thought she would.

"Can I join you?" Farron's soft voice still managed to be audible over the chatter in the food court.

Cora nodded, not trusting herself to speak. As much as she didn't want to lose her composure in front of Farron, at least having the woman in front of her helped hide Cora's face from everyone else.

After taking a seat, Farron remained silent for a couple minutes, much to Cora's appreciation. She wasn't sure what she would say, if she could say anything at all, and she was too tired to pretend to enjoy small talk. Instead, she was content with watching Farron prep her lunch of her typical instant noodles.

Cora hadn't noticed before, but Farron had been right when she said she knew how to elevate her ramen. As soon as Farron lifted the paper lid, Cora realized the aroma of garlic and green onions that she always smelled during their meals was from the small foam cup, wafting out with a cloud of steam. It had a hint of spice to it too, one that probably didn't come with the plain chicken flavor that the cup's label claimed to be. For all Cora knew, Farron didn't even use the powder packet that came with it.

As Farron carefully mixed the noodles with her chopsticks, Cora spied some ingredients bobbing up and down within the cup. The golden yolks of the soft-boiled egg popped up first, along with the sesame seeds stuck to it. They were followed by spinach and bamboo shoots clinging to the noodles she scooped up, and bean sprouts sprouted up as the noodles dove back in. The next time her chopsticks emerged, they carried a sheet of previously dried seaweed, now soaked with broth.