Lunch break

“Hahaha, amazing! You really don’t disappoint Mr. Kazushi!”, Remi-sensei says as she stood up while clapping her hands.

“Uhh, thanks…”, I replied whilst feeling my body stiffen probably because I am not accustomed to being showered with this much attention.

I look around me; all my classmates’ eyes are still glued on me. I proceed walking towards my seat, trying to keep my chin up and look confident but I guess my shyness is interfering with that (it was more or less, the most awkward walk I’ve done in my life). By the time I got seated, Remi-sensei has already called on the next student. And one by one, the eyes directed at me gradually shifted their directions towards the student presenting. I let out a sigh of relief and relax myself as I watch the other students being called.

“Alright, thank you very much, take your seat”

Almost immediately after those words left Remi-sensei’s mouth…

*bell rings*

Remi-sensei pulls out the remote that she used earlier and clicks it once again. The room reverted to its original state, all the seats were ordered the same way they were positioned when we got here.

“Okay, that’s lunch. See you kids after lunch!”

Remi-sensei says this as she walks out of the room.

After that, my heart beat raced as I realized something…I forgot to carry my packed lunch. I slap my palm into my face in frustration.

‘And I even bothered to wake up early just to make that lunch… Guess I’ll just go and look for the cafeteria’

‘Maybe I should ask Kido-san to come with me’

I turn to my side to face Kido-san, who is seated next to me.

“Hey Kido-san, do you wa- “

“Zora! Come on let’s eat lunch! I’m starving!”, Kido-san’s older sister, Tsuchida, was shouting while standing near the classroom’s door.

“Coming, neesan…”

“See you later, Kazushi-kun.” Kido-san bowed and took off towards her sister.

“No wait can’t I come wit- “, she was already too far for her to hear me…

‘Great! Welp, solo lunch it is then…’

I grab my bag and proceed outside to look for the cafeteria. This building has a simple and organized design so I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t get lost.

I wonder how famous I am among the students here (I might be acting too proud of myself after I found out from Remi-sensei that I was the top rank during the practical part of the entrance exams). Nonetheless, I shall avoid too much attention from people. Being the center of attention can often times be troublesome.

I was slowly strolling through the main corridor, lost in my thought. Then suddenly…

“Ohhh, Mr. Kazushi! Looking for the cafeteria?”

Remi-sensei appeared out of the corner of my vision and she gave me a pat to my right shoulder. That made me jerk a little and snap out of my trance. It took me a couple of seconds to recover from being staggered from that sudden greet from Remi-sensei. She tilted her head a little bit, probably wondering why it’s taking me such a long time to answer her simple question.

“Y-yesss ma’am”, I rub the back of my head while laughing awkwardly.

“Ahhhahaha, I see… Just keep walking straight from here and about one block away from the exit sign, make a left turn.”

“I actually just finished eating my lunch there. Today’s menu had my favorite spicy tuna sandwich! Yum!”

‘She already ate lunch?! So fast! She just left the room like 5 minutes earlier than I did’

“Ahhh maybe I’ll try those sandwiches too, thank you very much Remi-sensei!”

“No problem! See you around Mr. Kazushi!”, with that, Remi-sensei waved goodbye and continued walking.

I followed Remi-sensei’s instructions and about 5 more minutes of walking, I finally see the cafeteria.

I don’t really know what to expect for in a cafeteria (since, like I said, I’ve been homeschooled). This is the first time I’ve been in a cafeteria, and I guess all that I can say is that it is pretty clean and organized. Also, there’s not that many students in here, maybe most students carry their own homemade lunch.

‘Hmm the other students seem to be lining up over there, I guess I’ll go ahead and do the same’

I proceed and walk up to the line of students.

“Tchh, I can’t believe that lunch I packed was not enough for me...”, murmured the little girl in front of me.

‘Wow! Is she some lost grade-schooler? Hahaha’, I thought to myself and then giggled a little.

I guess that girl noticed me giggling because she now turned to face my direction. She didn’t say anything though. She instead just gave me a fierce and threatening look. Then she rolled her eyes to the side and went to face the front of the line again.

“What can I get you miss?”, said the lady in the stall.

The little girl in front of me was now the front most person in the line. The other students who were in the front end of the line already got their lunch served and they proceeded to the tables and seats in the cafeteria. Most of the students actually went outside the cafeteria though, I overheard some students talking about this place near the garden where most students prefer to eat their lunch.

“I’ll just have a bowl of miso soup please.”

“Are you sure that’s all you’ll have, miss? It’s not good for a young growing lady to starve herself”

“No, I uhh, I had a heavy breakfast”

“Okay, if you say so”

The cafeteria lady served her the soup she ordered and now it’s my turn to order.

“What can I get you sir?”

“I’ll have that stir-fried pork and some daikon salad please”

“Okay, wait one minute please”

I receive and pay for the food that I ordered. I get out of the line and my eyes browsed the room for a good spot to seat in and enjoy my meal. While walking around carrying my food, some students were glancing while whispering something to the peers they were eating with.

‘Ahhh, I have a hunch on what they might be whispering to one another. It’s either they are mad at me for that time I froze the stadium ground, or they are talking about how I got the top rank.’

I just shrugged off all those glances and continued looking for a seat.

Most of the tables have at least two people occupying them. A single table here could be used by a group of 4 people. But then, I’d feel out of place if I sit next to a pair of students who are at least acquaintances. So I’m trying to look for a table with at most just one person in it.

I finally saw a table with just a single person eating on it and so I hurriedly approached the said table.

“Excuse me, may I sit he- “, I paused as I realized that this person seated here was the little girl who gave me a mean look back when we were in that line.

“Uhh, never mind…I’ll just go- “

“Sit!”, she said in a commanding manner while wearing a serious look on her face.

“O-o-okay”, I answered and took a seat like she told me to.