Highschool Reality

The Dinner

Justin

     They finally got to the restaurant and were immediately seated at a candle-lit table of two.A waitress handed each of them a menu and said in a cheerful voice, "Hello, and welcome to Fogo de Chao. My name is Nicole and I will be your server today. Have the two of you ever been here before?"
"Yes, we have, Nicole," Leah said for Justin as well. He loved the way Leah said "we" so easily. Justin and Leah. The thought was so refreshing. Nicole explained what they needed to do if they wanted their meats, and what they needed to do if they wanted to go to the buffet. A little double-sided, red, circular card was placed in front of them. One side was red and one side was green. "Just flip the card over when you're ready for the meats," Nicole explained. Justin decided he wanted to start off with the buffet, and then go onto the meats. The buffet contained salads, cheeses, bacon, baby palm branch things, salami, pastrami, and bread. In the middle of their table, a bowl of cheese bread lay patiently, covered by a thin napkin, waiting to be opened.
     Justin didn't know what to say, so he said, "I think I'm gonna go to the buffet first."
Leah stood up. "Me too."
     They walked to the buffet line and grabbed plates. Justin grabbed a plate for himself, and just as Leah was going to grab her plate, he snatched a plate before she could even touch the plate. He was just trying to play the game.
     Leah laughed. "Looks like someone here has fast reflexes." He chuckled. "Football," Justin said. It felt normal to joke around with Leah. He got mozzarella cheese, salami, bacon, and salad. He sat down at their table before Leah, so he decided to start eating.
     Justin grabbed a ball of warm cheese bread, and ate it. A warm sensational feeling washed over him. Cheese bread is warm, soft bread, blended in with melted cheese.     
     As Leah finally came back to their table, Justin said without thinking, "You have got to try the cheese bread."
She laughed and said, "Your mouth is open, Justin." He quickly shut his mouth, and said sheepishly, "Sorry."
"It's okay. I used to do it, too," Leah said smiling. "Guess we're both messy people."
     "But really, try the cheese bread. It's bomb." Justin said.
"Okay, if you say so." Leah's friend, Andy always said 'It's bomb.' As Justin was eating, he heard Leah mumble. Mmmmm... He was right. Justin grinned. "Told ya so."
Leah's eyes flickered open and she came out of her trance. "Who? What?"
He chuckled. "I said, told ya so," he repeated.
Leah blushed. "Oh, um. Well, I guess it is really good."
     They had both already flipped over their cards, so soon enough a waiter came by and asked them,
"Would you like some ribeye steak?" He had a thick Brazilian accent, and his mustache was curled like the one you see in movies.
"Yes please," Leah said politely.
"And any for you, sir?" The waiter asked.
"Sure, why not?" The ribeye steak was delicious. They got to try many other meats and they were all delicious.
     Pretty soon, it was time for dessert. This was the part Justin was nervous about. Did Leah want to share something? Or eat it by herself?
     Nicole came by and handed them the dessert menu. The two of them looked through the menu, and they each decided on chocolate lava cake. Nicole came back and asked what they wanted. They both asked for chocolate lava cake. Justin was sort of sad about not being able to share something with Leah.
     A few minutes later, dessert came, but there was only one plate with one lava cake. "I'm sorry you two. But you guys got the last lava cake we have. We're out now," Nicole said. Justin and Leah glanced at each other. "You can just share the cake."
     Nicole walked away, and Justin and Leah stared at each other awkwardly. "So, um," Leah tried to say. Yes! Justin thought. This was exactly what he wanted. To share the dessert. There was only one problem: There was whipped cream on the cake and Justin hated whipped cream. All he could think of to say was, "Do you like whipped cream?"
     "No, do you?" Leah asked nervously. "No." He grinned. "Good. Let's take the whipped cream off."
     They scraped the whipped cream off onto another plate with a knife.
"Well, I guess, let's eat." Leah said.
     Justin let Leah take the first bite. As she cut the cake open, chocolate lava oozed out onto the plate. She took a bite and said, "Yum! Here you try it." She slid the plate over to Justin and he took a bite. It was like taking a piece of heaven.
     Justin paid for their dinner and they got peppermints afterwards. They walked back to the car, sucking their peppermints, and Leah leaned onto Justin's shoulder.
     He grinned, knowing that this date had been a successful one. He and Leah were officially a couple.