Garrison Academy

Chapter 12

Hunk

The dining hall was nearly empty for lunch. For weeks, Hunk had enjoyed going later, because he found that he liked times like this more. At busy times, it felt like everyone was staring at him while he gathered plates upon plates of food. He didn't like the feeling that people might be judging him just because he liked to eat. He hated being stared at in the first place; he hated the feeling of people judging him due to his weight. Shay told him not to let it bother him, but he couldn't help it, Hunk has always been this anxious.

He wanted to invite his roommate, but Pidge was caught up with a pretty nasty cold. They all have a mandatory dinner to talk about the team project, so he said he would save his energy to leave the dorm for that. Being alone was nice, but it also wasn't. It had been a while since he last thought of his mom all alone, but to be honest being here was also a nice change. It got lonely seeing the same people everyday back home. His momma, the people at the school, and Lance; that was all he had back home. Now he built up a little family with the team, one that made him feel welcome and belong.

Hunk dug into his plate. The food was subpar, he was thinking about all sorts of ways that he could possibly make it better. Maybe add some spices; that would make it nice. He missed cooking. There was a stove in other dorm halls, but not in theirs. What a bummer.

"Hey, can I sit here?" A voice came, interrupting his thoughts for the instance. Glancing over, he saw Keith standing there, backpack flung over his shoulder. It was a bit odd hearing Keith to ask to sit somewhere for a change, especially with all the empty tables around.

"Sure, go ahead." Hunk responded, with a shrug.

It might be good to have some company, especially with Keith. Out of all the people after all, he was the only one that no one still knew a whole lot about; it hasn't been long since they started talking. It was also a surprise, but Hunk also got a text from Lance that they were talking now. It was nice to know they were on friendlier terms.

Starting casual conversation no matter how close a person is to Keith is like pulling teeth. It's really hard to get him talking, no matter what you happen to bring up. But Hunk somehow got him on talking about his classes and his day; and how he just ended up coming here because he got abnormally hungry and was craving the "good ol' dining hall chicken nuggets". When you get him talking, it's hard to imagine that the kid was antisocial to begin with.

"Wow." Hunk chuckled. "You know Keith, you're some interesting company."

Keith's face immediately looked puzzled in return. "I never really consider myself to be. I'm quite boring, actually. I mean, back at the orphanage no one really wanted to talk to the lonely kid."

"Well to be honest I doubt you talked to anyone there enough to get to know you."

"I talked to Shiro." Keith mentioned proudly, before thinking a bit about someone else he talked to there. "And there was.... Hm... Touché."

Hunk chuckled, shaking his head. "That's okay. Sometimes it takes a while to break out of your comfort zone. You know, believe it or not, I had a hard time with that myself when I was younger."

"No way. That's not true, I bet you had tons of friends."

"Yes, my mom and Lance. Tons of friends indeed." Keith sat there in shock as Hunk mentioned that, his mouth wide open. Hunk was trying so hard not to laugh at he other's expression. He wished he got along with more people back home, but so many people told him he was "too chubby to be their friend" and made fun of him for his weight, that it made him so scared that no one else in his area will accept him. He was told to ignore it, that he was a sweet boy and they were just being rude, but that didn't change anything; he didn't like all the judgmental stares. "Being here is like a fresh start, Keith. Back home has my mom and I miss her a lot, but besides her and Lance I was lonely. I know no one else really knows this but I was bullied a lot. But here I have a bunch of friends. It's not as... terrifyingly excluding as a small town where it's like everyone hates you."