To the cafeteria. With people.

Going to the cafeteria meant making that trip back again, only this time we had a better idea of where we were going. It was somewhere between the north and east buildings, and other than being bigger, it actually looked very familiar.

“It looks almost the same as the one in high school, doesn’t it?” I asked Eric.

“Right? I was thinking the same,” he said, nodding.

The cafeteria was large and with many long tables, had white tiled flooring and tall windows along both sides that let us see out to the gardens. The place would give off very… liminal spaces vibes if not for them.

“Wait, you two are from the high school division?” Ruby asked us.

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I guess none of you are,” I said.

Since our high school and our university are part of the same conglomerate, it was easy for us to get in, but that doesn’t mean they don’t accept applicants from outside. Hyogen University is one of two universities in the city, with the other closest alternatives being about four hours away in other towns. It makes sense that plenty of people would choose to stay and come here instead of leaving. Steven, Ruby and Luna obviously didn’t go to school with us, which meant they had to apply from outside.

“Ugh, I’m jealous. The entrance exam was way too difficult…” Luna said, grumbling. “We applied to a music course! What do we need to know math for!?”

“I barely passed my math test…” Steven said, forcing a chuckle.

There was a long line at the counter to buy lunch, but it moved fairly quickly. The options for meals was pretty diverse, too, going from simple sandwiches and junk food to plates of pasta or even stew.

“We didn’t have as many options in school,” Eric said as we waited in line.

“I think Alice said it had to do with regulations regarding what can and can’t be served in high schools,” I told him. “She was frustrated that she couldn’t do anything to change some of those awful options.”

“Who’s Alice?” Steven asked me.

“Um… My girlfriend. She was our student council president and worked to make as many changes as she could, but she didn’t get to do much regarding the cafeteria.”

“Shit. Straight and taken… I can never win.” Steven groaned and shook his head, but even I could tell it was mostly a joke.

“Wait, so your student council could make changes?” Ruby asked. “Like, actual changes? Ours barely did anything.”

“They did have some amount of power, but if they tried to do anything the principal didn’t approve of, they’d get ignored. Basically, they had to have a really good proposal or overwhelming student support. She managed to bring back our school’s talent show.”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Eric told me, shaking his head. “Don’t bring that up. I’m still trying to forget that damn talent show…”

“You do realize that reaction makes people ask questions, right?” Luna said. “So? What happened?”

Eric flinched, but with Steven, Luna and Ruby all looking at him expectantly, he gave in to the pressure and told them. “We signed up as the music club and played a song… but we were going through some really awkward and uncomfortable things and we didn’t practice, so… it was a disaster.”

Luna looked at me with narrowed eyes. “You seem unbothered by that.”

“Hm? Oh, didn’t play with them,” I told her.

Eric nodded. “Yeah, Oliver played on his own and did far better than us.”

Ruby also narrowed her eyes. “So you left the music club alone?” she asked.

“I was only ever in the music club for a semester during freshman year, and this happened in our senior year,” I told her. “When did he say I was in the music club?”

“Oh, um…”

“Sorry, but even I assumed you’d be in it,” Steven said, smiling wryly. “Why did you leave?”

“...” I sighed and was about to answer, saying that there was a guy I didn’t get along with and leaving it at that. But Eric…

He groaned, his face hardened as she pursed his lips. “We… bullied him out,” he admitted.

“...” Steven, Luna and Ruby winced, glancing awkwardly between Eric and me.

“Are you… actually friends or did I just assume?” Steven asked.

“...”

“It was a long time ago and a lot has happened since then. We’re… friends,” I said.

That seemed to clear the air, thankfully. Eric himself seemed both surprised and relieved. But to be honest, I wasn’t 100% sure I meant it. I mostly said it to prevent Eric from looking like the bad guy. He did follow Julian’s lead, even when they started that rumor that I’d cheated on the girls right before the talent show, but even so… It’s fine. I’ve always said I wish I could be the type of person that could let bygones be bygones, so… I need to keep putting that into practice.

Then, out of nowhere, I got smacked on the back of the head. A light smack that didn’t hurt at all, but it made me turn around and look. There, I saw Isabelle walking past us with a group of two guys and two other girls.

She pointed a finger directly at me. “Don’t be friends with that guy. He sucks!” she said.

“Says the one who stood us up!” I said back.

“You were late!”

“By 10 minutes at most!”

“Still late!”

“Don’t talk to me!”

Isabelle stuck out her tongue, then kept walking with her group.

My own group looked at me with eyes that asked ‘what the fuck was that?’

“Um… That’s my sister.”

“Sister?” Ruby asked with a raised eyebrow. “Twin sister?”

“Yeah. She manages… the channel, mostly. And edits the videos…”

I began regretting mentioning the channel, considering what Luna and Ruby already thought about me and the way we handled it. But then again, Steven wanted to talk about it, and I also wanted to ask him about his music.

Luna and Ruby looked at each other with small frowns, but beyond that they didn’t say anything.

Soon enough, our turn at the register came. I bought a plate of pasta.

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