The middle school cafeteria was exactly like a low-level beginner village in a cheap RPG game.
Sitting alone at my table near the windows, I took another bite of my slightly greasy, cardboard-tasting pizza and observed the ecosystem. You had the loud, energetic jocks claiming the center tables like territorial bosses.
You had the popular girls gossiping in the corners, acting like elite merchants trading secrets. And then you had the regular, everyday NPCs just trying to eat their lunch without triggering a random encounter.
It was loud, it was chaotic, and I was perfectly content being a background character.
As I sipped my chocolate milk, the cafeteria doors swung open. My eyes naturally drifted over, and I spotted a familiar mop of dark hair and thick-rimmed glasses.
It was Alex.
She walked into the cafeteria holding her bright red plastic tray like a protective shield. Her eyes darted around the massive room, her expression tight and slightly anxious. I watched as she bypassed the popular tables, completely ignored the noisy cheerleader groups, and slowly navigated toward the back of the room, looking for an empty spot.
My eyebrows shot up. I stopped chewing for a second, my mind working fast.
Eh? I thought, genuinely surprised. Isn't she the top student in the entire seventh grade? In all the webnovels I've read, the genius top scorer usually has a massive faction of followers, or at least a dedicated group of scholarly lackeys. Why is she walking around alone?
I realized then just how little I actually knew about the social dynamics of this world. I had only watched the pilot episode of Modern Family. I knew the basic character traits—Phil was goofy, Claire was stressed, Haley was popular, Alex was smart, and Luke was… well, special. But I didn't know anything about their actual lives outside the house.
Watching her subtly shrink her shoulders to avoid bumping into a group of loud boys, it clicked. Being a genius in middle school didn't make you a faction leader; it made you an outcast. She was intimidatingly smart, probably corrected the teachers, and likely made the average students feel dumb. No wonder she didn't have a friend group.
She looked a bit lonely.
I sighed internally. I was supposed to be a lazy guy, staying out of trouble, but my old nineteen-year-old conscience pricked at me. She was my little sister now. Seeing her wander around like a lost lamb just didn't sit right with me.
I sat up slightly and raised my hand high in the air, giving her a very obvious, wide wave.
Alex, who was scanning the tables near me, caught the movement. She froze. She looked at me, her brow furrowing in confusion. Then, in a classic, awkward middle-school move, she literally looked over her own shoulder to see if I was waving at someone behind her.
Finding no one, she turned back to me and pointed a hesitant finger at her own chest, mouthing, 'Me?'
I rolled my eyes playfully, gave a firm nod, and patted the empty seat across from me.
She hesitated for a solid three seconds. The gears in her genius brain were clearly turning, trying to calculate if this was a trap. The old Luke would have probably pulled the chair out from under her or flicked a piece of pepperoni at her forehead. But finally, seeing my relaxed, expectant expression, she tightened her grip on her tray and slowly made her way over.
She sat down opposite me, placing her tray on the table with a soft clatter. She looked incredibly uneasy. She didn't say a word, just immediately unwrapped her sandwich and started eating with robotic precision, keeping her eyes glued to her food.
The silence stretched on for a minute. The cafeteria roared around us, but our table was a bubble of quiet awkwardness.
I finished my slice of pizza, wiped my hands on a cheap paper napkin, and leaned forward. I reached across the table and lightly poked her arm with my index finger.
"Oh? Why so grumpy, Alex?" I teased, my voice casual and light, a lazy smile playing on my lips. "Let's just chat. Didn't you want to say something more about Grandpa Jay and his hot new fiancée in the car? Come on, spill the tea."
Alex stopped chewing. She swallowed hard, clearly startled that I was actively trying to initiate a normal, gossip-filled conversation.
She looked up at me, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing slightly as her defensive instincts kicked in. "Um... shouldn't you be off somewhere else? Where are your weird, jocky friends? Or the kids you talk about comic books and space aliens with? Why are you sitting all alone like m—"
She clamped her mouth shut instantly, her cheeks dusting with pink. She had almost slipped up. Like me.
I pretended I didn't notice the slip. I just leaned back in my chair, stretching my arms over my head with a loud groan, feeling my back pop.
"Hmm? Those guys?" I said, waving a hand dismissively. "They're boring. Talking about the same cartoon episodes every single day gets old. Honestly, I've just started to enjoy my own company more."
I rested my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my hands. "Besides, I'm thinking of expanding my horizons. Maybe I'll join a club or get into some extracurricular activities after school. Just like you."
Alex blinked, clearly thrown entirely off balance by my vocabulary and my sudden ambition. "You? Expand your horizons? Luke, last week your 'extracurricular activity' was trying to see how many grapes you could fit in your mouth until you threw up on the driveway."
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Guys, just released extra chapters and u can check it out on p@treon (patreon.com/Haruto_27).