Before Oredell could respond, she weakened her voice shyly, "But I do apologize for being overly escalatory, especially since it is our first direct encounter. I am not great at socializing with most individuals on a casual level..."
"No, it's okay..." Oredell wanted to say something and forcibly remained silent. 'I guess I am also at fault for being an easy target for her rage-bait honesty, and I did waste a good lunch break on talking points...' he thought to himself.
The bench suddenly became silent. However, Tanisha intervened with a forced chuckle and commented, "It's sure getting late, huh?"
"...Yeah, we should be pushing 6 PM by now."
Oredell awkwardly switched his attention to numerous students passing by their spot, making their way to the inner cafeteria.
Aurelia stood up abruptly and redirected her indifferent eyes to the cafeteria. The students of the Netherlands could be seen in a coordinated group.
"I will take my leave now, Oredell and Tanisha. And again, sorry if I appeared rude to you, Oredell. Excuse me."
She left with her empty plate in hand without looking back.
'Did her mood just change? I guess we were not on the same wavelength as I thought... Or did she believe we were entirely criticizing her individually? I think we accidentally portrayed it that way. Mm, how convenient for her to become oblivious to normal sarcasm and satire when things were lighting up in the end... Or maybe she just wanted to find a reason to leave for something; who knows?' Oredell leaned back against the tree trunk and finished his now cold meal.
'All three of us are horrible at socializing, honestly.' Tanisha looked at her retreating back and then turned his head in confusion.
"...Were we overly casual with her?"
Oredell didn't answer and just smiled in the breeze, closing his eyes to the sensation. The burger on his lips tasted a bit sweeter.
Slowly, the sun set down the horizon completely, drawing the purple night as it descended like a curtain upon the world. Most of the lights on campus were lit up, and even the lights of the capital city in the distance. Tanisha raised a leg up on the bench and leaned his chest on his knee, sipping his drink quietly. Several minutes passed without either speaking.
Yawning slightly, Oredell slowly rose from his seat and stretched his limbs.
"It should be time. Thanks for the help, by the way. I really appreciate it."
Tanisha looked up and smiled widely.
"It wasn't trouble at all. Glad I could help a fellow loner and sleeper." He slowly stood up and patted his pants.
"Although I didn't expect we would run into Aurelia and chat. Small world we live in," he pondered dramatically.
Oredell breathed a sigh and silently nodded his head, sharing his thoughts.
Eventually, the both of them left the outer side of the cafeteria and returned to the hall.
Tanisha once again heartily thanked Abba for his assistance, and Oredell followed suit.
Strangely, Tanisha stiffened awkwardly and mumbled softly with more visible exhaustion.
"Looks like our social status has taken a bit of interest from our fellow folks..."
Oredell followed his gaze to see some students from his school and even Tanisha's peers glaring in their direction secretly as they passed by. 'What? Have you people not seen three individuals eating before?' he mocked with his eyes and strolled out of the cafeteria, the breeze feeling a bit colder.
Tanisha decided to escort Oredell back to his dormitory. As they made their way back to the dormitories, he lit up as he remembered something.
"Wait, I actually remember a rumor from one of my class leaders that the school trip of the Proto-Undergrounds will be accompanied by several international schools at the same time. So, it won't be our usual grouping with China, England, and Nigeria."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, apparently our group missed the slot since we will be arriving first thing in the morning. The lucky others will join during the day..." Tanisha rubbed his hair with a bummed expression.
"It happens."
Oredell shrugged his shoulders but his eyes were unbothered.
"I wonder if the Netherlands would be one of them?" Tanisha asked himself.
"Well... I think it's highly possible since Aurelia joined our class today."
'However, I am still not entirely sure why she participated alone during this lesson, but I believe there are some hints of its reason...'
"You might be right, and it would be nice if we could talk more. Hopefully, we can be officially friends."
Oredell looked straight into his eyes and chuckled.
"You want to be friends with her?"
Tanisha smiled warmly, "Why not? Our trio dynamic is pretty interesting and I like to see how it can develop from today."
"Mm, I'm okay with that. But let's hope it doesn't escalate into another debate over societal expectations and personal agency ever again. If we tried that in public, the teachers would drag us onto a podium..."
Tanisha knitted his brows and softly sighed, "Sure enough..." He shot Oredell a stare and added, "It depends if you two polar opposites can mend your differences and be nice to each other."
"I wouldn't hold my breath on that..." Oredell smiled and looked at the stars flooding the night sky. Eventually, they reached Oredell's dormitory, which was lit with golden lights all over and even encountered a secret couple passing by.
Tanisha tapped Oredell's shoulder playfully and took his hand in a shake.
"Although sleeping in may seem tempting in the fresh morning, make sure to set your alarm properly and don't wear headphones before bed."
Oredell raised his eyebrow and returned his handshake, "...Are you advising me or yourself?"
Tanisha made a small saluting gesture and ran off to his own dormitory. Oredell lowered his eyebrows and shook his head. Turning his back, he rubbed his hands as the darkening sky dropped the lingering warmth around him and caused a dejected sigh from his lips.
Oredell strolled into the dormitory building and his pupils instantly dilated as the antique golden lamps radiated every inch of space in the alluring elegance lounge.
The professors were nowhere to be seen except the lingering students chatting around the area. The professors were most likely dining around, still enjoying their food and rest from duties.
Just as Oredell was going to check out at the receptionist, two fellow students with golden ribbons around their shoulders blocked his path. "Cipher, I heard you missed the earlier handouts today. Please be more proactive with the rest of the classes and don't remain locked up in your room," one of them spoke out plainly.
'I will take that into consideration if you two actually do your fricking job.' Oredell passed them indifferently.
He could hear a faint click behind him when he reached the counter. After checking out, Oredell caught a glimpse of a professor with a staff member holding a covered plate. They were waiting patiently before the leading staircase into the upper floors.
He recognized the professor as Mr. Harper. "You finally arrived, Oredell Cipher." Oredell bowed respectfully as Professor Harper gestured at the covered plate.
"Here. As I promised, you can have the portion I exclusively ordered for you. It's a bit longer than expected, but it's here now."
Oredell's mood brightened as he took it heartily.
"Thank you, Sir. I just arrived anyway."
"Then there are no problems. However, I recommend you take a taste first before diving in since it's my choice, and if you don't like it, well, just eat it anyway because it's very expensive." Oredell bowed again as he left.
The nearby students who were able to overhear the transition were shocked and bewildered in confusion. "Why did he get an ordered dish over us?" one of them asked out loud.
He ignored the question since the student didn't ask him directly and hummed happily to himself as he went up the stairs. On his way, Oredell encountered some female students using the elevator at the end of the hall to return to their rooms.
His covered plate earned some glances from those around him, but he still moved to his corridor indifferently.
When he reached his door, he heard faint whispers about him at the end of the hall. He could somewhat understand the root of the whispers, and the reason annoyed him.
It seems some of the talking points were centralized around the trio consisting of himself, Tanisha, and Aurelia. Though Tanisha's looks earned him some mercy in those gossips, there was a clear bias against Oredell himself.
Not wanting to undermine his mood, he quickly unlocked his door and entered the dormitory with warm food on his plate, entering his stuffy room suddenly feeling a lot more exhausted from the sight.
He strolled to his neat table and laptop, placing his warm food down.
He opened the cover as steam poured out of the dish.
It was Sunday roast with roasted potatoes, stuffing, cauliflower cheese, and Brussels sprouts.
Accompanied, of course, by the old Yorkshire puddings.
Oredell's lips drooled a little, but he quickly restrained himself and cleared most of the notebooks to a safe area. He forcibly looked at his laptop and browsed his video files for a movie to watch.
Satisfied with his selection, he settled down, picked up his fork and butter knife, and then smothered the dish with rich gravy from the meat, using horseradish sauce for the beef. Afterward, he enjoyed a tasty meal and watched one of his peak movies while gazing at the stars from his window.
Now done, he patted his stomach and placed the empty plate near the edge of the table, making room as he rearranged his notes and clicked on an open tab in his browser, which showed various articles and a Wikipedia page about the Proto-Civilization.
"Let's be ready for tomorrow..."