Clandestine | On Hold

Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Ryan's POV

Lunch break rolls in sooner than expected.

Standing in the queue in the cafeteria, I look at the menu to decide what to have. When our chance comes, Caleb orders for himself and Iris, while I make an order for my group. The lunch lady nods and goes away.

As we wait for our food to come, I look at Iris and Caleb, who seem to be in some deep conversation. So I just stand there, tapping away at the countertop out of boredom. When the lady comes back with our food, we thank her and start to walk away, when she calls out to Iris.

"Iris, Matt had ordered a chocolate milkshake. It would be so kind of you if you could hand over this cup to him?" She gives a large paper cup with his drink to Iris. Iris stares at it for a good one minute, before taking it from her.

"Sure Mrs. Morgan," She says wearing her adorable and sweet smile. The lunch lady smiles back and starts attending others standing in the queue. As soon as she turns, Iris' smile becomes too sweet. And I'm not the only one to notice that, it seems.

"Iris...." Caleb drawls out with a hint of caution,

"What's going on in that little devilish mind of yours?" When she turns to look at us, her smile turns even sweeter, if that's possible. She looks at the paper cup in her hands, then back up at us. And then the next thing she does makes me widen my eyes. I look at Caleb, to see him wearing the same incredulous expression as me. We both look back at Iris, who gestures for us to follow her. Hesitantly we do.

Walking to our table, I and Caleb take our seat next to Tristan and Meredith. Then the four of us stare at Iris' back with curiosity, as she walks over to Matt, or Matthew Ryder, who is coincidentally sitting at the table next to ours.

Tapping his shoulder, she hands the paper cup to him.

"Matt, Mrs. Morgan told me to give this to you." Matt looks busy on his phone. So without looking up, he reaches out to take it from her and absent-mindedly mumbles a 'thanks'. But a sense of realisation fills him the next second, as he slightly shakes the cup. Frowning, he looks up at Iris, then at the cup, and back at her.

"Iris," he says in a confused tone. She raises her eyebrows in question.

"What is this?"

"This," Iris says, "is what Mrs Morgan told me to give you." He gives her an incredulous look.

"But where is the chocolate milkshake in it?" He shakes the now-empty paper cup. Well, the answer to his question is not hard to find out, since it's lying right before his eyes, in the form of a chocolate moustache adorned by Iris. She gives him a shrug.

"Mrs Morgon told me to only hand over the cup to you." Saying so, she turns around and starts walking to our table.

"But I had paid for it!" He yells at her. She looks over her shoulder.

"I was told to give the cup to you, and I did. I don't know what you're talking about." Reaching our table, she plops down in the chair between me and Caleb. Stretching her hands above her head, she looks down at her plate of cookies.

"Y'all can share this. I'm full," She says, rubbing her tummy. Leaning back in her chair, she first looks at Caleb, then my way and gives me a lazy smile. Shaking my head, I take a tissue from my tray and lean towards her, wiping the moustache from above her lips. While doing so, my eyes momentarily get distracted by her pouty lips. I shake my head internally and quickly finish wiping it off. Putting the tissue away, I give her a smile and mutter an "all done". She gives me a thumbs up and says,