This is bad.
Really bad.
“Mina, what are you eating?”
“This frosnleihm steak.”
“Alright. Ranold?”
Aliya brought her attention from Mina to me. The girls sat across me, while I sat alone on my side of the table.
“Umm… Go ahead and order first. I’ll head to the toilet-”
“Alright, three frosnleihm steaks with ice tea.”
Don’t order for me!
“Three fronleihm steaks with ice tea coming right up.”
The waiter turned around and headed toward the cashier. I waited for him to walk away before facing Aliya who sat across me.
“What are you doing? Those things…”
Cost nine EC, leaving me with one EC left!
I thought of saying, but the sight of Mina caused me to hold my words.
I guess maybe I’ll enjoy this steak, just this once?
I let out a chuckle, hiding my true thoughts from the girl sitting beside Aliya. Seeing my face, Aliya let out a wry smile. Mina stared down at the table, taking glances at us every now and then. Aliya grabbed her phone and quickly typed something in, before returning it to the table. I felt my phone vibrate. I swiftly took and checked the notification before returning it to my pocket.
“So, anyway…”
Aliya said trying to start a conversation. Realizing how uncomfortable Mina probably felt around me, I decided to pretend I was in my own little world so that the two girls can comfortably have a conversation. I grabbed the menu, one that the waiter didn’t bring back with him, and started paying attention to every single picture and price.
It made me sick just seeing the prices.
Nine EC was on the cheap side. The menu went up to twenty EC. The drinks, the things that I thought would be my lifesaver, costed around two EC for the basic ones like plain water and coke. These things costed like thirty cents in the supermarket. How did they become this high? What were these people doing to them? Had drinkable water risen so high in cost to the point ice cubes would cost an extra one and a half EC?
If people refused to buy overpriced stuff like these, the world’s economy wouldn’t be-
“Don’t worry, this is normal for him.”
“It… it is?”
Looked like my plans to lay low didn’t go well. Leaving my anger at society aside, I glanced at the place we were in. The steakhouse had a cafe kind of look to it, with many parts of its interior covered with wooden platings. A large brown fan, matching the color of the wooden ceiling, spun slowly as it push cold air toward us. The walls differed as they had a grayish bricks look. We sat at the front side, near a large floor-to-ceiling window. Apparently, our steakhouse sat at a strategic position, I could tell from the number of people and cars going around the front of our building.
“Umm… Ranold, is it?”
“Hmm? Yes?”
I looked at Mina, who struggled to start a conversation. She seemed fine with Aliya, so why was she so scared of me? Was it really because something happened in the past, something related to men? I wondered where I even got that assumption from. I didn’t watch much TV, and I don’t remember reading any stories related to it.
“Are you… close?”
“With?”
“Aliya.”
Why was she asking me this? I mean she could’ve just asked Aliya instead. I looked away from the street, only to realize that Aliya was gone.
What is she doing, leaving just the two of us!?
I exclaimed silently, before nodding to Mina’s question.
“We’ve been close since five years ago.”
I looked at her while clasping my hands and dropping them to a table, like a salesperson ready to explain their product.
“So, here’s the story-”
“-Are you not tired of spreading that story all over the place?”
Aliya said as she returned from wherever she went.
“What’s wrong with it? Besides, where have you been?”
“The toilet. I literally told you that I went to the toilet, but you departed into your own little world again.”
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
She sat down beside Mina, facing her.
“It’s just that I saved him once. That’s all.”
“I… I see…”
That’s it? Really? Am I really the only one that thinks highly of you? Not even yourself?
I was about to voice my internal complaints when the waiter brought us our drinks. He set down three ice tea on the table, one for each of us. I couldn’t believe this simple drink cost two EC, while some tea from the supermarket would cost probably forty cents. I couldn’t do anything now that it stood upon me, two of its ice cubes staring deep into my soul, so I was forced to take a sip.
Aliya said through the messaging app that she would pay mine, and I hope she was serious about this one. Well, if she wasn’t, I could just either run back to the dormitory and take the extra one EC I need or maybe I could help wash the dishes? What would the hourly wage here be, and how long would I need to work before I can get enough money to pay the extra one EC I needed? Or maybe I could drop my phone or wallet here as insurance? Would someone steal my phone if I left it here?
“You know, Ranold, the way you keep creeping into your little world like that scares me sometimes.”
Aliya said while nonchalantly drinking her expensive ice tea. When she noticed me doing that, was it because she spent a really long time with me, or was it just that obvious?
“Your own mind is a comfortable place to retreat from the outside world.”
“Such a shut-in thing to say.”
I shrugged and went silent. The waiter brought our steaks and set them down on the table, still sizzling hot. I reached for the fork and knife and started slicing it apart and mixed it in the sauce. I stabbed a piece and brought it up to my mouth. I blew on it and waited for it to cool down a bit, before bringing it into my mouth.
As I chewed it, my tastebuds actively tasting it, one thought circled around my head.
It’s great, but not worth the nine EC.
I realized there was no use complaining and stabbed my fork into another piece. As I continued eating, I overheard the two girls’ conversation. It contained nothing important, mostly around basic stuff like place of birth, hobbies, and the like. I didn’t even understand why she decided to invite me out in the first place. Maybe she felt bad about leaving me alone in the school?
She really didn’t need to be that considerate, though. It would be better if I hang around the cafeteria alone, maybe I would catch some friends of my own that way? I ended up finishing the meals first and waited patiently for the other two to finish.
“That was good…”
Mina said with a certain shine in her eyes. I guess she acted differently after eating steak, huh?
“Couldn’t agree more.”
Aliya continued. I mean, those two girls weren’t wrong… it was just…
My poor wallet…
“You two wait here, I’ll pay.”
I remained silent, as I received a stern warning about this before. I couldn’t believe just how much she managed to type in a such short time period. Mina didn’t say anything either and just sat there, looking satisfied.
“Done, you guys ready to go back?”
Aliya asked, tucking the receipt into her pocket.
“Alright.”
Mina and I stood up and we followed Aliya out of the steakhouse. We walked back toward the school, the road no less crowded compared to before. As we retraced our steps, I looked down at the red sidewalk below me. Now that I think about it, even this sidewalk contrasted with the gray cobblestone that I could see around my hometown. Lifting my face up, my sights caught in the looks of the buildings that lined up beside the road. Everything felt different compared to the area around my home.
I really am in a new place.
“So, what did you want to talk about?”
I asked Aliya, who sat in front of me. It was just the two of us, sitting in the corner of an empty-looking cafeteria. She told me in her message that she wanted to have some serious talk after finishing lunch. She accompanied Mina back to her room before meeting up with me here.
“About you, of course.”
“Me?”
I asked while pointing to myself. She then looked around the cafeteria, making sure no one was eavesdropping, before pulling herself closer toward me.
“You know, high school only comes once in your life.”
“... And?”
“I know that steak before was probably too expensive for you, but I think you should enjoy your life more.”
“Enjoy my life?”
I feel like I’m enjoying it so far.
“What do you mean?”
Aliya sighed and shook her head.
“I mean stop worrying about me, my family, and every damn little thing. Look, I don’t care if you want to pay back my kindness or whatever, but this is high school. We’re equal here, and this should be the best time of your life. Enjoy it a bit, live free a bit. Make friends, have fun, that kind of stuff.”
“I’ll try.”
“Good.”
She then raised up from her seat.
“Wait, that’s it?”
She furrowed her eyebrow at my question as if I just said something unbelievable.
“Hmm? What else were you expecting?”
“I don’t know…”
“I’ll see you later. Gonna go rest a bit.”
She waved toward me and left the cafeteria. I decided to also return to my own room.
Pushing the lock into my room, I opened the door and entered. I turned on the lights and turned on the AC. The room felt hot, so I sat down on the edge of the bed, letting the cold air from the AC cool me down. After a while, I stood back up and closed the window, stopping the cool air from escaping the room. I then threw myself onto the bed, the comfy mattress caught me as I sunk into it.
“High school…”
I mumbled as I stared up at the ceiling. The white-colored ceiling felt boring somewhat, maybe because I saw a lot of white things in this school. Felt as if they stopped bothering and decided to paint everything the same color, before throwing in a meaning or two to look cool. This was an educational institution, after all.
If the school didn’t have a meaning to every little thing, how would they be able to push the students to study complex stuff? I mean if I knew the things I learned were meaningless, I would probably be less inclined to learn. But if I realized everything in life had a meaning, I would be more willing to learn.
To find the meaning of life, to find the meaning of my existence in this vast world. Was this what Aliya meant when she asked me to stop thinking about her? Was she saying that I shouldn’t exist just for her?
I guess that made sense. But if I didn’t think about her, what did she expect me to think about?
I’m not intelligent, strong, or unique in any way possible.
What should someone like me think about, when the future I had been thinking about all this time involved her. Maybe she wanted me to find that future here, in this school?
“I have no promises.”
I turned around and closed my eyes. The sound of the AC above me lullabied me into sleep.