Later on, after coming back from class, I hit the cafeteria to get lunch. I was a bit late, post lunch rush, which was nice. I didn’t have to fight for a seat or even sit with people I wasn’t too familiar with. It wasn’t a big deal in Leopold to sit with strangers as we all had ALOHA in common, but I was still a bit shy and unsure of myself.

Sitting down at one of the long tables by myself, just a few other people milling about, I poked at my serving of steamed broccoli and thought about Lisa. She was probably downstairs in the ALOHA office by this time, just a floor below me. I wanted to go down there and see her and talk with her, joke with her, all that, but I didn’t want to seem too needy or too eager or whatever. I thought about what it might be like to kiss her. While she had kissed me twice on the cheek, I was becoming more interested in her lips. As I rehearsed what I might possibly say to her to prompt a real kiss, my daydream was doused when I saw a slender figure sit down across the table from me.

It was Kai, one of the boys that Jisoo had been hanging out with. He slapped his tray down on the table and smiled at me.

“Mind if I sit?” he asked, although he had already sat.

“Sure,” I said. “Kai, right?”

“Yep,” he said. “And you’re Jennie,” said Kai, pointing a fork at me.

“Yep.”

“Did you start working on that essay for English 201H?” he asked, digging into a boat of cheesy pasta with red sauce.

“Yes,” I said absently. “I’m doing mine on To The Lighthouse by ia Woolf.”

“I haven’t read it,” said Kai. “Is it good?”

“Very,” I said. “It’s kinda weird and post-modern, but I enjoy it. I read it for a presentation I did in AP English in high school.”

“Are you humble bragging?” said Kai with a wry smile.

“No!” I protested. “Okay, maybe a little.”

“Well, I was in AP English, too,” he said, fussing with the various plated foods on his tray. Then he picked up his glass and took a sip of water.

“That’s how we both tested out of the usual first year English course, I guess,” I said.

“Mm hmm,” he intoned.

We sat together in silence for a few moments, focusing on our lunches.

“You sure you don’t mind that I’m sitting here?” he asked suddenly.

“No,” I said. “No, I’m sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

“Want to share?” he said, shrugging. Kai was an interesting looking boy. He wore an almost too short white t-shirt with an iron-on picture of Winona Ryder, like he’d made it himself. His hair was a dyed silver, and he wore black plastic eyeglasses on his nose.

“Share what?” I said, accidentally missing part of the conversation.

“Your broccoli,” he said, leaning over with his fork, making like he was going to take one of my florets.

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding,” he said. “Share. I mean, share what’s on your mind. School problems?”

“No,” I said. “Just… it’s nothing.”

“Okay,” he said evenly, returning to his meal.

“Did you make that t-shirt?” I asked.

“I didn’t sew it or anything,” he said. “But I did print this picture out of Winona Ryder onto transfer paper and then ironed it on.”

“Are you sweet on her or something?” I said coyly, my shyness melting slightly as we stumbled through our conversation.

“Yeah,” he said. “Who wouldn’t be?”

“She’s probably a little old for you,” I said.