Kazoku Futarikiri had never placed much value in labels - fat, skinny, loud, quiet, nice, mean. All they were good for was dehumanizing someone, trimming their existence down to a few adjectives.
But she was pretty sure she was a bad person.
Steal...
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The cafeteria was noisy as usual, but today all the sounds blurred together as I gripped the paper bag in my hand and a lunch tray in the other.
The tables were in the same places, people sitting in their same spots, even the food wafting from the windows where the lunch ladies served food smelt the same as the day before. Yet everything felt different.
It could've been because for once I actually noticed the bushy haired girl sitting alone.
Maybe it wasn't just the fact that I noticed her, but now I sought her out. Kazoku's untouched lunch still sat on her tray, all of her attention seemed to lie elsewhere.
I sat down across from her. Unlike yesterday, she didn't seem the least bit surprised to see me.
Her unwavering agitated expression didn't make me irritated like it used to. Now I felt as though I knew it wasn't really agitation that was being shown on her face, but something else that I couldn't decipher.
"Here." I slid the paper bag towards her.
Slowly she unwrapped the top and pulled out a sandwich. "What, are you trying to poison me?"
"No," I answered. "I just thought that since you save your lunch for someone else I might as well make sure you don't starve."
She was quiet for a moment. I never doubted that she would respond, but on no occasion would I have thought I'd hear that word escape her mouth. "Thanks."
I began picking food off of my own tray and eating in a silence that I couldn't decide if it were comfortable or not. After a moment of self thought, she opened the plastic bag that the sandwich was in and took a bite. "Thanks." She said again.
"You already said that," I told her, taking a sip of my water.
She shrugged. "You never answered."
There was a hidden expression under her face, and while that always seemed to be true, now it become clearer. "I meant to," I replied. "Just a little caught off guard."
She was quiet for a moment. "Because I said 'thanks'?"
I shrugged. "I guess I just got the impression you didn't want me around."
