still s t u t t e r i n g } Thundy/Eve

Eve clung desperately to her tray of food before someone else could knock it out of her hands.

It happened a few days ago. She'd just been minding her own business, stepping carefully out of the lunch line to avoid running into the swarms of people waiting to get their (admittedly gross) food from the lunch ladies, and a girl with sharp fingernails and a long nose came out of nowhere and pressed down hard on the end of her tray, splattering the contents all over her shoes.

Not today, though. This morning she skipped breakfast in her hurry out the door, and the idea of anyone ruining her meal (even in an imaginary situation) almost made her cry. She clung to her tray like a lifeline as she edged through the crowd, arms wrapped tight around the edges, not daring to let go as she moved towards her table where the world could easily forget that she existed.

Then again, the brown-haired boy who sat across from her was a part of that world, and she couldn't just disappear into the landscape when he was sitting there.

Every second of silence was awkward, but she knew that speaking up would make it even worse.

(Or would it?)

Whenever she felt like she was being a wimp about something, she always thought about trying to become a Career. To you know, toughen up a little. She'd considered it, dreamed about it, wondered what would happen, but she'd never signed up. Oh, she liked to walk up to the training center window and peek inside, but she'd never walked in.

Eve had to remind herself not to be a wimp some days, and this was one of them.

She picked absentmindedly at her food when she sat down, eating without realizing that she was doing anything.

(Don't look at him, don't look at him, don't look.)

If she looked, she might get the nerve to actually say something.

(And then she looked up, because she'd eaten too quickly and there was nothing left to do but sit there.)

(And she did say something, despite her better judgment.)

”Hi,” she said simply, fidgeting with her fork in hand. ”Are you..”

(And then she forgot what she was actually going to say.

And she fell silent.)