Shai Soi

Chapter 13

"You two... know each other?" Sadie Orin asked. You could tell by her tone she was very wary.

If Nathaniel picked up on that, he didn't let it show. He chuckled, a glimmer in his eye as he replied, "You could say that."

That snapped me out of my nervousness. I rolled my eyes at him. "Nathaniel and I met a couple weeks ago when, um..."

"When I found her in a storage closet. Rebecca may have cracked open her skull from a backpack/zipper accident."

"Yes, I heard about that. Quite a buzz about you, Rebecca," said Sadie in a cold voice.

I shifted. The lunch line moved up. Nathaniel cleared his throat, breaking the silence. "Well, I guess you already know Rebecca then. Bec, this is Sadie. She's a sophomore on the track team."

Noting how Sadie's eyes flashed when Nathaniel called me 'Bec', I said lightly, "I know you too. Great score against South Field. 10.4 seconds for 100 meters? Awesome."

"Thanks," it sounded more like 'I know'. "Well, I guess I'll just get something later. Gotta go. Bye, Nathaniel." She gave him a rather staged kiss on the mouth. It was like she branded him with her lips. 'He is mine. Stay away.' His eyes widened at her firmness. I started giggling at her behavior. She could keep him, I didn't care. I cleared my throat to stop myself as she drew away. "Nice meeting you, Rebecca." She put out her hand.

"You too." I clasped it. Another hot spike of whiplash made me pull away. "Ow!" My hand went up to my neck. Sadie shot Nathaniel a questioning look. He just raised his eyebrows. She turned and jogged out of the cafeteria.  Massaging my neck, I commented, "Well, she's... neighborly."

Nathaniel raked a hand through his hair, making it more unruly. "It takes her a while to warm up to someone. She's cautious that way."

"I think the word you're looking for is percipient. She's strictly percipient that way."

He cracked another rare smile; using his full mouth, not just one side. "You don't know how funny that is." I didn't understand what he was talking about, but I decided to let it go. "So how'd your tests go?"

We finally arrived at the beginning of the lunch line. My stomach rumbled at the intoxicating smell of teriyaki. "Okay," I licked my lips, trying to keep my mouth from watering.

Nathaniel chuckled. "Hungry much?"

I ripped my gaze away from the food. "I stayed up for 48 hours studying for those stupid tests. That includes skipping dinner. So, yes, I'm very hungry."

To prove my point, I took a huge scoop of the beef, and plopped it on my tray. The sweet aroma of the teriyaki sauce made my stomach roll. To satisfy it, I stabbed at my food and was raising it to my mouth before I felt something warm and sharp brush against my cheek. I jerked away, just in time to see Nathaniel swallow my teriyaki.

"Hey! Get your own food!"

"I thought I just did."

"Ugh..."

"Here, Bec." He raised a forkful of meat.

"You are not about to feed me. I am fully capable of stealing your food and eating it myself." And that's exactly what I did. Snatching some food from his tray, I also took a bite off of the meat on his fork. His expression was priceless. "But thanks for the offer." I paid for my food, and skipped off before he could follow. Picking a nice table in the corner of the cafeteria, I devoured my meal, nose-deep in To Kill a Mockingbird.