Just Keep Moving (a Beastars Fanfic)

Ch4. Alex and Louis

    When my fifth and final shift as a waiter for Peter ended, I was told to stay behind to take the test. It included everything I had learned at the restaurant, from the proper organization for the carcasses to the details of each method of food preparation. I had studied for it, though, and just like any other test, enough of the right studying allowed me to pass. 

    "Congratulations," Peter said when he finished testing my knowledge. "You can now call yourself a chef of Pete's Meat, and will be paid the promised 4000 yen per hour. Now take your pay and get out of here." 

    As I started back to my dorm, Peter called out, "And Tim? I got a real nice treat planned for you on your next shift." I shook my head and kept running. The last few times Peter had a "nice treat" for me, he always just tried to get me to eat meat. Taking off my disguise and applying my scent concealer as I left the alley, I tried to remember how long I had before school started. I sighed. I would have to ask my roommates the next morning. It would be great if I could just get a phone, but I was still saving up for that. At least it wouldn't take too long, as my pay from Pete's Meat was quickly bringing me closer to buying a decent phone. 

    When I got back to the dorm, I realized that Marbu and Ron were still up, along with a lion who I assumed was all Alex. When they saw me, they didn't waste time to introduce us. "Alex, this is Tim, the rare human we've been telling you about," Ron started. 

    At the same time, Marbu said, "Tim, this is Alex, the lion we told you about."

    Alex looked at me, then put out his hand for me to shake. "Nice to meet you," he said. "Looking forward to spending the next year with you." 

    I in turn grabbed his hand to shake it, but froze when our hands made contact. Quickly pulling my hand back, I saw that my palm was covered in something slimy. As I did, Ron and Marbu started laughing as if there would be no tomorrow. "Dude, what the heck is this?" I asked. 

    "Don't worry," Ron said mid-laughter. "It's just soap. He got Marbu and me with it too when we first arrived. It's only fair that he got you too." After saying that, he went back to laughing. 

    "Hey man, no hard feelings?" Alex asked, holding out his other hand. 

    "Not at all," I said, checking the offered hand for soap before shaking it. 

    "Alright guys, let's go to sleep now," Alex said. "School starts in like, two days." We all followed his suggestion, and after turning off the lights, we all climbed into our bunks and went to sleep. I spent the night dreaming of finally getting enough money to buy a phone. 

    I woke up the next morning and actually took time to make a halfway decent breakfast instead of plain oatmeal. This time, I cut up one of the apples I'd bought and added it into the oatmeal. I'd long since given up on the protein substitute I'd bought, because that stuff just tasted plain horrible. After eating, I decided that even if it would set me back on getting a phone, I would have to buy some eggs. At least those were legal. 

    My roommates woke up when they smelled my cooking. When Alex saw me making breakfast for myself, he asked, "Why would you cook when we have a perfectly functional cafeteria?" 

    "Two reasons," I said. "One, most cafeteria food tastes like shit. Two, the stuff that does taste good is stupidly expensive. It's just easier to make my own food." 

    "Suit yourself, man," Alex said. "You should probably eat more though, because you're actually quite skinny. It would do you good to put on some muscle. Ron, Marbu, let's go get breakfast."    When they left, I was alone to think about what Alex had said. I honestly didn't know much about proper nutrition, just the basic nutrients I'd learned about in highschool biology: carbs, lipids, and proteins. I had carbs down, but I would need more variety in my diet to get lipids and proteins. Hopefully the Home Economics elective I'd chosen could help me in figuring that out.