Best Laid Plans

Chapter Six: Lunch and....more Lunch

An hour of public transportation later I was standing in line at a family owned vegan restaurant waiting for the girl in front of me to finish placing her order. She'd been staring at the chalkboard menu for ages, fingering her extensions.  

"Uh, how many calories are in the tofu salad?"  

Probably not enough to serve as a meal, I thought to myself. I huffed and waited while the server patiently answered all of her questions about calories, carbs, and fat. Everything except the nutrition I noticed. Finally, she took her bag full of lettuce and tofu, and I was free to order.  

"I'm here to pick the order for Marilyn?" 

The middle-aged woman behind the counter reached behind her and brought out a brown bag. I paid or it using a company card and then ran four blocks until I reached Elmwood. Marilyn told me that she would be waiting at the front entrance, but there was no one there. There were a few tents in the garden where several employees were packing up.  

"Is the shoot over?"  

One boy looked up from the makeup kit he was putting away.  

"No, we're just tidying up for the lunch break. Are you looking for something?" 

"I have something for Marilyn?" 

"She should be inside. They're filming in the big lecture room today at the end of the hall." 

I thanked him and then entered the building. The wooden front doors were extremely heavy. The better to guard this elite bastion of knowledge, I figured. Walking through the halls, I was instantly struck by how silent the hallway was. There was no movement unless I counted the dust swirling around in the sunlight from the large arched windows. At first, I assumed that the silence was due to it being summer vacation, but as I passed classroom after classroom of kids working away I realized that this truly was a school for overachievers.  

"What are you doing here?"  

I jumped and turned at Ryan's accusatory tone. "I think you know Chic is doing a fashion shoot here. Are you skipping class?" 

"No," he seemed insulted by the accusation. "I would rather be in class, but I had to meet with someone. She was getting very impatient." 

"Who? Gabrielle?" he shook his head. "Lou?" 

"Neither." 

"Then who-" 

"Gwen!" Marilyn clacked down from the end of the hallway. "Where have you been? My blood sugar is low and I need to maintain my diet." 

"I was at the front of the school." 

"Why? I told you to meet me in the lecture room." 

I was quite sure that she hadn't, but I kept my mouth shut. Ryan watched me from the corner of his eye. Marilyn came up and looked between the two of us.  

"I pay you to bring me my lunch not to talk to cute boys." 

"He's not a boy he's my roommate," I explained without thinking. Everyone else had accepted it easily enough, but it was a mistake. Marilyn narrowed her eyes and then turned to Ryan.  

"Is this true? Is there something I should tell your mother?" she purred like a cat that had just caught a juicy mouse. Except, instead of a mouse she had caught a piece of gossip. I kicked myself for my naivety. Ryan shrugged and started to leave but stopped once his gaze brushed over my face. I caught the slightest twitch of his mouth.  

"I've just been to see her. Should I tell her that you're using the company's valuable interns to get you lunch?" 

Marilyn's confident demeanor broke down and I had a hard time concealing my smile behind my long hair. Ryan, on the other hand, had no such inhibitions and chuckled audibly as he walked back to class. Once he was out of sight, Marilyn turned around to me.