Thomas looked over at Charlie, fiddling with the lollipop in his mouth.
"Sandwich?"
"Stomach filler."
Charlie said it as if they were no more than edible concrete. The sandwich looked like something that had died to him. It was limp. The bread had that dried dehydrated texture. His mom had given him the same filling in the same bread every day since kindergarten. He chewed them robotically and swallowed as if it were cardboard he was eating.
Charlie casually stretched out his arm, turning the sandwich to the adjacent side on which he had not bitten towards Thomas. He nodded his head towards the sandwich, looking at Thomas. Thomas leaned across the canteen table and took a bite.
The filling was layers of cheese and ham with lettuce and tomato. Oozing from the sides was copious amounts of mayonnaise. Thomas grinned slightly. "Thanks," he said with a mouthful of the sandwich, which muffled it to sound like 'fanks'. "It's not bad." Charlie raised his eyebrows. He took another napkin from his lunchbox and tore the sandwich into two. He offered it to Thomas, with a crooked smile.
Thomas gingerly took it into his hands and looked at Charlie, who simply smiled. Thomas marvelled and mocked Thomas mimicking an old lady in a high-pitched voice, "Such a sweetheart."
"Ho, Mr Tom," Charlie said in a deep, gruff, bothered-coffee-shop-uncle fashion.
"Thomas."
Charlie rolled his eyes.
Charlie scooted over and reached across the table, putting the lettuce from his sandwich into Thomas's. "Hey!" Thomas scooted all the way to the end of the bench, under the pursuit of a lettuce-wielding Charlie.
The shrill ringing of the bell, signalling the end of Recess had sounded. It got the boys' attention in all their laughing. They grinned wickedly as they nudged each other back to the classroom.
Thomas flicked an apple-flavoured sweet at Charlie. Kids don't just show gratitude. Go figure.
"Thanks, Tom." Charlie flashed him an overly wide, cynical smile, like an uncanny literal personification of the Apple emoji.
"Oh, shut it."
