"Okay so, chicken mayo sandwich for Mer." I announced as I began handing out the food, "A berry smoothie for easily motion sick Keomi, breakfast burrito for Fabian, plain French fries and lemonade for Gene, and chicken cheeseburgers for me and River."
Then everyone started laughing and I had no idea why even River found it funny.
"What?" I asked nervously, "What's so funny?"
Keomi was laughing so hard tears began to pool in the corner of her eyes. "Come on guys!"
Just then Geneviève got up and handed River a separate takeaway pack with a knowing smile.
"Garden Salad, your favourite." Gene laughed and River thanked her.
"Okay, that's enough guys." River insisted and everyone turned away, Merilla and Keomi still laughing quietly.
"What is it?" I asked feeling slightly left out,
"I'm a vegan, Armani," River told me and just then I remembered I'd cut Geneviève off when she'd tried to tell me earlier at the diner and I suddenly felt incredibly guilty for not listening to her.
"Oh, I'm so sorry I had no idea!" I burst out in embarrassment, "If I had known I wouldn't have-"
"I tried to tell her but as usual elle pense qu'elle sait tout." Geneviève mocked digging into her fries,she thinks she knows everything.
"It's an easy mistake to make, I never told you," River assured me and I could feel his leg shift towards mine under the table. "And I'm not hungry anyways."
"What do you mean you're not hungry, this is a five-hour train ride, do you seriously not plan on eating anything?" I asked and his gaze shifted to the window,
"No." He simply said and I folded my arms in protest,
"You've got to be kidding me." I retorted in disbelief,
"Not in the slightest," River replied, sinking into his seat and buttoning up his suede black Burberry coat.
"Suit yourself," I advised taking a bite out of my burger, and it was good, really good.
By the time I was done scuffing down my burger River was staring at me like there was something growing on my face,
"Did you want some?" I mumbled, "I thought you were a grass eater."
"Believe me, I'm good." River laughed, his laugh brought heavy rainfall where there was drought, sunshine in winter, and hope where there was none. And it was just as rare too.
"So tell me River, as a vegan, you know the way we meat-eaters mouths water when someone's having a barbecue, does your mouth water when someone's mowing the lawn?"
"Hilarious." River mocked but he laughed anyway,
"I can tell you another vegan joke, I promise it won't be cheesy." I joked and even Geneviève laughed and she was sitting behind us with Fabian.
This was going to be alongjourney.
One of the workers on the train was handing out pages from colouring books and crayons to all the little kids. I begged him to give me a page because the artist in me was getting very bored very fast. I turned the image of Barbie in her dream house around so the sheet was blank. I began to draw an image of a clear sky, I drew the clouds and the blue of the sky, and I even added a little rainbow.
"Eat River." I insisted and he just glared at me, "I'm not kidding."
River sighed in defeat and opened up the garden salad Gene had ordered him and took one bite, then two, and closed the pack.
"You're insufferable," River concluded and I smiled. “I don’t like eating on trains, it’s uncomfortable you know?”
“Oh, yeah I can understand that.” I hummed in agreement.
Everyone else on the train had fallen asleep except for River and me. River was flipping through pages of The Great Gatsby and I continued my drawing. Silence wasn't really my thing.
