Healthy Encounters and New Meals [Open]

[Deleted]

Brittny yawned and politely covered her mouth. She had been up all night catching up on Student Council work, while listening to music. Her music helped her to stay awake and focused on her work, but she had fallen asleep at two in the morning. Luckily, she had woken up at seven, finished the papers, and delivered them by eight. Now that she had five hours of sleep under her belt, she was starving. Brittny paused and raked her mind for the last food she had eaten. She had dinner at six, a snack at eight, and...... Nothing! No wonder she was starving. Her stomach reminded her why she had come to the dining hall by growling in an uncouth manner. She spotted a nearby buffet. The only thing on the buffet was breakfast. She recalled why she usually didn't eat breakfast from the dining hall. Brittny hates breakfast. The eggs made by restaurants and hotels were gross, the meat often had a tough outside layer, and the fruit was outdated. She sighed and walked over to see what she could scavenge from the disgusting line of edible substances.

A stack of plates sat at the end of the setup and she grabbed one, starting to slowly walk down the line. Fruity yogurts and whole milk. No. Chunky hash browns, stiff scrambled eggs, and odd hewed sausages. No. Filmy hard boiled eggs. No. Cut fruits sitting in a multitude of unknown juices. No. Ah... Brittny came upon a strip of greens. She wasn't a fan of salads, but at the moment, this looked as good as her Last Meal. Olives, ranch, carrots, nuts, tomatoes, beans, and cucumbers adorned the buffet table along with other healthy choices. Brittny put lettuce on her plate, then moved on to take carrots, nuts, cucumbers, croutons, and olives. To top off her masterpiece, Brittny layered her salad in ranch dressing. 

She he then moved on to select her drink. There was apple juice, orange juice, grape juice, coffee, and water. Others might expect Brittny to choose the coffee after staying up all night, but another thing she disliked was coffee. Brittny grabbed a cup and pressed the dispenser that filled it up with a purple juice. Taking her tray of salad and grape juice, she turned to look for a seat. Only a few students were scattered around in groups of twos and threes. Brittny didn't know any of the students present, so she chose an empty table and sat down to enjoy her meal in peace. Apparently that was not going to happen because she could feel someone's gaze and their footsteps told her that they were walking her way. 

[Stephen Paulinski]

     It had been one hell of time, here at Ashford. A few days ago, the air was filled with the sounds of screams, guns, and, the most haunting sound of all, bullets hitting flesh. A few days ago, there was so much sound and chaos. So many died. Now… it was over. Life went on as usual. The sun was shining just like it always did. The campus was almost completely rebuilt. Whenever the fight was brought up in conversation, or even hinted at, the subject was completely changed. It seemed that everyone and everything was trying to forget the war. Everyone, except for Stephen.

     How could anyone just forget what happened? Everything was still fresh in Stephen’s mind. He needed to talk to someone about it. He couldn’t keep it in anymore. But, whenever he tried to bring it up, he was either ignored or glared at. His initial reaction would be to ignore them and talk about it anyway, but lately, Stephen was trying to curb his anger and other emotions. It was his emotional outbursts that caused all of his problems. It was his emotional outbursts that almost destroyed his friendship with Camila. It was his emotional outbursts that always got him hurt. It was his emotional outbursts that got Deven killed…

     While Stephen had not technically killed Deven, he stilled blamed himself for his death. He could have saved Deven. He could have pushed him out of the way. He could have prevented his death as opposed to using him as a shield to absorb the incoming bullets…

     The scene replayed in Stephen’s mind as he sat on his bed. It had every night before he went to bed, and every morning when he awoke. Most of it was a blur. All he remembered was walking in on Deven telepathically choking Camila. The next thing Stephen remembered was punching Deven repeatedly in the head as he was completely engulfed in white flame. Stephen had never been this angry. He could see that Deven was trying to use his telekinesis to fight Stephen, but he was so enraged that no amount of mental assault affected his mind. Stephen remembered the sight of Deven’s severely burnt face, the smell of the blacked flesh. Finally, Deven let out a shockwave that knocked Stephen back into a wall. Deven walked slowly towards Stephen, wearing what looked like a smile. Then, an agent entered the room behind Deven. Stephen could have warned Deven. He could have moved him out of the way. He could have saved him. But he didn’t want to. Deven had tried to kill Camila; he didn’t deserve to live.

     Stephen shook his head before the next image could enter his mind. He absentmindedly touched his right side. Deven may have absorbed most of the bullets, but one had cut through him and buried itself to the right of his belly button. Tears started to flow from Stephen’s eyes. If his stomach hadn’t started rumbling, he would have stayed there all day.
While Stephen didn’t feel like eating, he knew that he had to get something in his system. He hadn’t eaten ever since the battle. He had either been in too much pain or disgust to eat. But, now that he had given his wound some time to heal, and time had blurred his emotional scars some, Stephen felt like he could finally eat some solid food without throwing up the complete contents of his stomach. Boy was he ever wrong.

     Stephen had absentmindedly piled his try high with anything he could get his hands on. He didn’t pay attention to anything he grabbed, but he was sure that he’d have at least one thing on his plate that he’d enjoy. After he grabbed everything he could carry, he began to search for a table. Specifically, he was searching for Camila. He hadn’t seen her since the funeral, and even then, Stephen had not talked to her. Throughout the whole funeral, he had kept his distance from everyone, because he was ashamed that he had caused the death of a fellow classmate. Then, he didn’t want to talk. Now, he needed to speak his mind to someone. He needed to speak to Camila.

     Unfortunately, she wasn’t at breakfast. Not many people were. In fact, Stephen did not recognize anyone at any of the tables. So, with a sigh and a shrug, Stephen picked a random table to sit at. There was only one other girl there. He walked toward her from behind, so all he could see was her chocolate brown hair draped over her back. He walked silently towards the seat opposite the girl, his eyes focused on his food. He couldn’t believe some of the crap he grabbed. Amid the semi-rotted fruit and soupy scrambled eggs, he managed to pick one slightly appetizing treat: badly burnt bacon. Stephen didn’t really care for burnt bacon, but, from what he had, it was the only thing that looked even remotely edible. So with a sigh and a quiet, “Down the hatch,” Stephen bit into the burnt pork. What followed was a scream of pain and a string of expletives, both the English ones that he was all too familiar with and the Spanish ones that Camila had taught him. Stephen clutched his injured side and rocked in his seat as tears welled up in his eyes. Stephen could feel his arms start to itch. To prevent going up in flames again, he channeled all of his anger into a fist that he struck the table with. With a grimace, Stephen opened his eyes and wiped the tears from them.

     The girl had green eyes. They were pretty, but not in the same way Camila’s were (though he would never admit that to Camila). Her eyebrows were arched in some combination of anger and confusion. Stephen felt terrible for bursting out in front of this new face. Casting his gaze away from her, he gave a half-hearted apology.

     “Urm… sorry about that. Being shot and all kind of prevents me from enjoying solid food...”

[Deleted]

    The footsteps crept closer until a boy came into view. Brittny watched the boy in confusion. He was a disheveled male with white hair and blue eyes. The boy sits down across from her with a mountain of unappetizing food stacked high on a single tray. Without saying a word, he starts eating. Rude. Brittny ignored him and picked up her fork to resume her "breakfast." She stabbed an olive, some lettuce, some carrot shavings, and a little bit of cheese onto her fork. The mass was difficult to assemble. She was about to take a bite of her hard work when she heard a gut wrenching noise. Her fork clattered onto her plate to the disappointment of her open mouth. The assortment of delicacies sat in a clump of chaos on the plate and table. Looks like her breakfast was not going to be as peaceful as she had thought. Brittny searched for the source of the awful interruption to her enjoyment. 

    The boy sitting across from her made a disturbing face and sound. What was wrong with him? Perhaps he had bitten into one of the disgusting pieces of charcoal and cried out in pain. Not many people could handle that level of burnt fat. Bacon is a food that hardens easily. Brittny squinted her green eyes. Not only had this arrogant boy sat down without asking, but he was now making a ruckus that could wake the dead. 

    She stared coldly at him. Anger flared and her mouth pursed. Was this his idea of an introduction? He looked away in what appeared to be embarrassment. This surprised her, but she had yet to forgive him. Interrupting someone's meal was not a crime void of punishments. Brittny would have to teach this boy a lesson in manners. 

    Her fists tightened and her mind prepared a long lecture as the boy opened his mouth to speak. Brittny paused to listen and instantly felt ashamed. He spoke of his inability to eat solid foods due to the bullet wound. This must be one of the students who got injured in the recent battle. Pity and concern built up, but she didn't know what to say to the male. 

    Instinct took over and Brittny replied to the white haired boy. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that you were injured." She wanted to help him, but she first needed to know his mindset. Tilting her head towards the long row of uninviting edibles, she asked, "There is yogurt and milk over at the buffet, why didn't you choose one of those if it hurts to eat solid food?"

[Stephen Paulinski]

     Stephen saw anger flash in the girl’s eyes. He saw her fists tighten as he explained himself. After he finished his pathetic excuse, he held his breath and braced himself to be struck. Oh, dear God, Stephen thought in worried anticipation, Does every girl on this island have anger issues?

     Stephen let out a relieved breath when the girl took on a more sympathetic guise. When she suggested he try some less solid food, he let out a happy laugh. He felt happy that someone, in the midst of all the madness, cared enough about his well being, even though they never even met, to suggest to him how to ease his pain. He would have continued laughing, had not the pain in his side swelled up, causing him to plunge into a coughing fit. During this fit of pain, however, he was sure to keep his voice down as much as possible and not swear. The girl deserved that much, whatever her name was.

     ”Thanks for the idea,” Stephen said with a genuine smile after his fit subsided, “It’s really great to meet someone who actually cares about others, especially after all that transpired here a few days ago...” At that statement, Stephen found himself closing his eyes, quickly brushing away the tears that were forming in his eyes, and trying as hard he could to repress the memories of the battle that were attempting to bubble up to his subconscious. With a shake of his head, and a short laugh, Stephen continued. “Anyway,” Stephen said with an even bigger, albeit slightly fake smile, “If you don’t mind giving me a second, I’m going to take your advice...”


     About a minute later, Stephen returned with a new tray, this time with a bowl of plain, vanilla yogurt, and a tall glass of skim milk. “So,” Stephen said, addressing his newly acquired company, “Now that I’ve shouted obscenities in front of you, and you gave me some helpful advice, I think names are in order.” With a smile and an outstretched right hand, the white-haired boy introduced himself. “Hi! My name’s Stephen Paulinski. What’s yours?”

[Deleted]

    The boy sitting across from her was very odd. He gratefully accepted her sympathy and her advice. Most males were too prideful for that. Brittny listened as he sounded surprised that she was being kind to him. She raised an eyebrow and thought, Well I am the Student Council Secretary, but said nothing out loud and just observed. He seemed to like doing all the talking anyways. 

    Brittny's eyes started to wander before the boy broke into a fit of coughing. She slightly jumped and started to glare again, but decided against it. Judging by the way his eyes had teared up talking about the incident that took place a few days ago, he must have been through a lot. Brittny turned her head away until he stopped and got up to get soft foods. 

    As he left, she glanced back down at her food. There were three lettuce pieces, an olive, and a carrot slice on the table. The rest had been lucky enough to land on the plate. She tried to ignore it, but she was a perfectionist after all, plus Brittny realized she didn't grab any napkins. Brittny hurried to grab some before the other guy got back. She started using her hand to swipe the wasted food into her outstretched napkin. When she had collected all the excess, she crumpled the napkin into a ball and sat down to take her first bite. 

    Again, the strange white-haired boy interrupted her. He came back to the table with yogurt and milk. Sticking out his hand, he said something that Brittny was sure was supposed to break the ice between the two of them, but didn't. She heard him introduce himself as Stephen Paulinski. Brittny nodded her head to him and stood to take his hand. "Hello. I am the Student Council Secretary, Brittny DeBeau."

[Stephen Paulinski]

     Her response was so formal, so cold. Stephen quickly surmised that he wasn’t making any progress in easing the tension after his earlier explosion. Oh, great, he thought sadly. I swear to God, making friends used to be a hell of a lot easier for me…

     Despite the frigid response, Stephen kept his bright and broad smile, hoping that, somehow, his happy look would rub off on her and make her less stiff. “So,” he continued, after they had finished shaking hands, “You’re the new student council secretary, huh? Well…”

     Stephen’s voice trailed off momentarily, an almost silent “...lll” sound perpetuating from his lips while he thought of what to say next. He knew that being apologetic and being nice had not changed this girl. With a mental shrug, and a, What the hell? flashing through his mind, Stephen decided to say something Brittny would hopefully find humorous.

     “...lll,” his chant came to an end as he formulated his next sentence, “Glad to see the position switch over to seemingly more capable hands.” He should have left it at that. He should have just left well enough alone. Unfortunately, his mind sometimes moved slower than his mouth, and he said, “The position’s more suited for people with brains, unlike Rex. I guess that’s why he quit.”

     It took a second for Stephen to realize what he had just said. When he was saying it, it didn’t sound so bad, but now that he reflected on it, he realized how much of a jerk he was being towards Rex. With a little blush, and placing a hand over his eyes, Stephen fought back the itching in his arms and stammered an explanation as best and as fast as he could. “I-I don’t mean he’s stupid or anything, I just mean he’s not that intelligent. And by that, I don’t mean he’s not smart, I just mean he’s not that book smart. Sure, he’s probably a smart guy, I mean, I never knew him, I just heard things about him. I’m just saying that, from the so few times I’d heard people talk about him, he didn’t seem like the brightest tool in the shed…” Stephen’s voice trailed off at that moment after he realized that his explanation was probably making him sound like an even bigger jerk than before. With a sigh,Stephen sat down. His eyes were fixated upon his tray, and he was rubbing the upper part of his bare left arm with the hand of his other sleeveless arm.  A huge blush of embarrassment colored his face.

     “Ummmmm...” Stephen began holding the end of the monosyllable. He didn’t want to say anything else stupid, but he also didn’t want to leave this conversation the way it was so far. While grasping at air for an adequate sentence to continue the conversation, Stephen took a spoonful of the plain yogurt on his plate. Not sure of what else to say, Stephen just said the first thing that came to his mind, all while displaying an embarrassed, yet friendly smile: “This yogurt is awful.”

     So much for not saying anything else stupid, Stephen thought sarcastically.

[Deleted]

    Brittny sat and quietly inspected her food. The salad had become unappetizing. She sighed and set down her fork. Her green eyes rose to look at Stephen sitting across from her. He rambled on about the last secretary, Rex. She had never met him. Brittny had only recently come into office and he had been gone for a while. Stephen continued to stumble on about the matter before fading into silence. He seemed very uncomfortable. 

    The girl wanted to escape the awkward situation, so she started looking around. Not many other students sat nearby. Brittny sighed. No one was going to come to her aid. Stephen looked like a nice guy and all, but he was clumsy with his words and ignored personal boundaries. Maybe they could be friends if he was able to spit out his sentences. 

    She watched as he paused. Brittny wanted to say some things, but by the looks of it, he liked the sound of his own voice. Her spine touched the chair as she leaned back. Her breath escaped her and she closed her eyes. A small hum started in her throat and her mind showed her the sonar map of the lunch room. Stephen was taking a spoonful of the yogurt and shoving it in his mouth. Brittny watched his face contort in a grimace and her humming faltered. A smile crept onto her face and she opened her eyes. 

    Stephen's next line made her giggle a little. And that was why she never got food from the buffet. Especially breakfast. Brittny startled in shock at her reaction and a flush invaded her cheeks. Hopefully Stephen wouldn't notice. 

[Stephen Paulinski]

     Stephen smiled triumphantly. Finally, he had gotten a positive reaction out of this girl. He saw her expression changed from one of mirth to one of embarrassment. Stephen knew that he had to say or do something in order to keep the good mood going, or it would soon be killed by her embarrassment. “What?” Stephen asked with a joking tone and smile, chuckling a bit himself, “Are you not allowing yourself to laugh in public?" Maybe she's self-conscious about her laugh, Stephen wondered. In an attempt to alleviate her embarrassment should this be the case, he said, "You have a nice laugh. You shouldn’t be embarrassed by it, you know.” Stephen punctuated that sentence by knitting his hands together and placing them under his chin to support his head.

     For a few seconds, Stephen looked into Brittny’s eyes. Well, he wasn’t actually looking into her eyes- he was just staring off into space while trying to think of what to say next to keep the conversation going- but anyone who didn’t know Stephen’s true intent would probably confused his gaze as looking intently into Brittny’s “windows to the soul”.

     “So,” Stephen said after those few seconds, still not quite sure what to say, but, for fear of awkward silence, decided to say something, “What’s your power?” Just to ensure the conversation would have more life to it, he hastily tacked on after that: “When did you get here?”

     I’m just a regular conversationist, ain’t I? Stephen thought sarcastically, silently laughing at himself for his difficulty with coming up with any points of conversation.