He scrutinized the freshly baked pepperoni pizza and a side salad awaiting him on the table alongside a coffee-to-go.
Dane’s stomach grumbled, but it would’ve been rude to start eating while his roommate still wasn’t there. He searched the dining hall and spotted Leon at the checkout, fumbling his oversized smartphone from his light blue jeans. Their eyes met for a second, and Leon nodded, confirming that he saw him. He held his phone to the contactless card reader and smiled at the older woman wearing a hairnet who worked the cash register.
Seconds later, Leon’s tray found a temporary home next to Dane’s. He had ordered the same things as Dane, except for the coffee—Leon’s was served in a porcelain cup.
“Forgot about it again?” Dane asked.
“I’m pro reducing waste, but it’s so inconvenient that they don’t even ask. Isn’t it obvious that I won’t finish a large coffee within the fifteen minutes I’m sitting here?”
“Guess we’ll just take a longer break,” Dane said with a smile, not minding if that became a reality. He wasn’t eager to rush back to the library just to run into that stupid prick again.
“How’s it going with Henderson’s paper?” Leon asked as he settled into the chair on the opposite side of the table.
“Good,” Dane replied, not wanting to delve into the topic nagging on his mind. However, his face must’ve given too much away as Leon wrinkled his eyebrows like a worried friend was obliged to. “Just had a minor mishap half an hour ago,” Dane added to get rid of Leon’s curious expression. “Almost got thrown out of the library.”
“Thrownout of the library? You?” Leon slid his chair closer and leaned forward, tilting his head to the side. “Come on, tell me the juicy details.”
“Nothing juicy there. They hired a new temp. The guy refused to help me find a book, and when I told him it was his job, he got all offended and threatened to call security if I kept screaming, which is super funny because I wasn’t.”
“I think I know who you’re talking about. There aren’t that many guys. Is he about my size, has a similar haircut and beard, and always wears leather sneakers?”
“You forgot to mention the shitty attitude toward me.”
Leon pointed toward the waiting line. “This guy?”
Dane turned his head and felt a quiver in his stomach as he spottedhimholding a beige tray with a Greek salad on it. The name tag was replaced by a brown bomber jacket over his black shirt, and a red baseball cap adorned his head. He looked even more handsome, like every college girl's dream, which drove Dane wild. People as mean as him shouldn’t be allowed to look that good.
“Why is he everywhere I go?” Dane shifted in his chair.
“That’s Ty,” Leon said, turning back to their table. “And I think he counts as one of the things people call juicy.”
Ty. What a stupid name.
Dane tucked in his upper lip as a lump formed in his throat. “You know him?”
“We go to the same calculus class.”
“Any dirt on him?” Dane laughed, but his question was only answered with pursed lips.
“You really dislike him, huh?”
“He didn’t do anything to achieve the opposite.” Dane lowered his chin and pulled it back against his neck. “So?“
Leon grabbed his coffee, taking a sip as if hoping to buy time to think about what to answer. His eyebrows drew together, and he slowly peeked toward Ty before his eyes met with Dane's.
“He’s a business major and plays on the baseball team,” he said, taking another sip from the oversized coffee cup.
“That’s it?”
“Yes. It’s not like Ty and I are friends.” Leon scooted closer and let out a deep breath. “I’m honestly surprised you have such a rough time with him. Ty strikes me as one of the friendliest guys on the baseball team. Maybe he just had a bad day?”
“Oh my god, if he’s one of the friendly ones, I don’t ever want to meet the rest of the team.”
A crash turned the volume of the cafeteria down for a second. Dane and Leon turned their heads to see what was happening like everyone else.
Right next to Ty, a skinny dude lay on the floor with soup all over his shirt and jacket, and another guy in grey joggers towered over him.
“Watch it, moron,” he scolded him and stomped away.
