There are four zucchini tucked beside one another, the mixture of meat and rice spilling out where they’re stuffed. A tomato-based sauce is drizzled over them. She even put a scoop of yogurt in a corner of the Tupperware.
I can’t help the smile on my face.
“Hey,” a voice says above me, and my smile slips.
I look up to see Jamie. His eyes are sparkling like he’s just gotten off a roller-coaster at Coney Island. He sets his bag on the seat in front of me and slides into the chair.
“Are you following me?” I place the lid back onto the Tupperware.
He laughs, but it’s not mean. “I just wanted to check in on you after the morning classes. You looked like you saw a ghost.”
“I’m good. Thank you,” I say with what I hope is a polite smile. He’s kind, but I don’t understand why he’s persistently after me like this.
Jamie considers me for a second. “Look, I’ve been where you are. Everyone here has known one another since at least middle school. Thistype of… atmosphere in the classes is all they know. I had to learn how to adjust. So don’t worry. I’ll send you all my notes for all the classes.”
“Why?” I ask. No one really helped me back in my old school, and I was fine with that. I didn’t think anyone here would either. “Is this a part of the buddy thing?”
“What? No.” His brow furrows. He tilts his head to the side, studying me more intensely. “It’s not really an effort. I’m writing the notes either way. All I’ll be doing is emailing them to you.”
“I thought…” I pause, not knowing how to put my weird feelings into words. Even Alexis hasn’t offered to share her notes, but I can’t blame her. It’s the first day of school, and emotions run high.
Jamie waves his hand for me to go on.
I shrug and then shake my head. “Never mind. Thank you for doing that.”
He smiles. “No problem.” He looks around the cafeteria. “Are you sitting alone?”
“No,” I answer quickly. I don’t want him sitting with me and asking questions. Conversations aren’t my strongest suit right now. “My friend…I’m reserving the table.”
He nods. “You got your lunch?”
I glance at the mehshi. “Right here.”
“Good.”
He doesn’t say anything else but doesn’t make any effort to leave.
I fiddle with my hands, staring at anything but him. He doesn’t look at me, just takes out his own lunch. A big glass box filled with two smoked chicken breasts, a side of rice and broccoli. The colors of his food would be muted even if I weren’t seeing them in gray. The pale white, the sad brown, and the wilted green. There’s no life, no richness.
“Building muscle,” he says when he catches me staring at it. He looks apologetic, like he committed a crime by bringing this flavorless dish outside the confines of his home.
“I didn’t ask,” I reply without thinking, and wince.
This boy is incapable of not smiling. “You didn’t have to. I can see you judging it.” He peers at my food. “It’s nothing compared with what you brought. Puts all the food here to shame.”
My cheeks heat up.
I wonder how he’d look with all the colors painting him. If he would be brighter than the others in this school. His colors deeper.
But before I can say anything, several trays are slammed onto the table right beside us.
“Jamie!” Nicole all but squeals when she sees him. She perches in the chair right beside him and leans on her hand. “You’re joining us for lunch, right?”
Alexis sits next to me and gives me a look that says,I told you he’s everyone’s crush. I return the look withGlad Nicole is happy.
Their food looks like it was prepared at a Michelin-starred restaurant. There’s black truffle on top of their perfectly swirled spaghetti, and their salads look crisp.
“Just checking on Jihad.” Jamie smiles. “But yeah, I’ll join you for lunch.”
