2014-06-03 - Granola Bars Aren't Lunch
| Title: Granola Bars Aren't Lunch | |
|---|---|
| Summary: Sometimes, there is such a thing as a free lunch. | |
| Who: | |
| Where: Ohtori Academy | |
| OOC - IC Date: 23 January 2014 - 6/3/14 | |
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Lunch hour at Ohtori Academy. A time for bento lunches to be eaten out in the gardens, or delicious hot meals from the cafeteria, or perhaps taking a private motorboat out to a seaside restaurant. To large degree, it depends on the student's pocketchange.
Firmly in the first category is Mai Tokiha, who is hunting through the corridors, bentos dangling from one hand. Yes, the plural - not one but two lunchboxes, one larger than the other. There's a look of consternation on her face - something bothering her for whatever reason, and so she's seeking something. Or someone, as the case might be.
The corridors are a bit crowded, as class has just ended. Overcast weather outside has many students questioning what to do with their lunch break - the risk of rain forestalls picnics among the gardens, for instance. Still, Mai's hoping that her target hasn't gone too far from his classroom yet - and after darting past a pair of students a year her senior, she spots him. "Chiba-san! Do you have a moment?"
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
The eleventh-grader hasn't wandered far at all, in fact: he's navigating slowly toward the arched-ceiling open pathways leading to the cafeteria, only about fifteen feet from his last classroom, bookbag clasped over his shoulder, book in his other hand. No coat, just his uniform jacket; glasses; preoccupied look. It's hard to tell if he's skirting people without looking, or if people are skirting him because he's Mamoru Chiba. Either way, there's no bumping into anyone that goes on.
He looks up in surprise at Mai's voice, flipping the book closed neatly and lowering it, stopping in his tracks. He gives her a crooked grin after determining that her face isn't doing any of its 'upset' things. "I have an hour. What's up?"
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Mai takes a second to catch her breath - because making that kind of speed through the corridors did take some effort - and holds up the bentos with a smile. "I had a bit of a mixup with my brother's schedule, so I wound up making one lunch too many. If you don't have your heart set on whatever today's cafeteria special happens to be - want to have lunch together?"
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
A moment of looking amused because Mai's out of breath and he's not, because he is who he is. Then, "God yes," Mamoru says fervently, swinging his case around and unclasping it to shove the book inside.
People are already turning to look because the cold upperclassman's actually engaging, here, having a real reaction, smiling. He ignores them all. "Your cooking's amazing and I'm actually caught up to where I'm comfortable for afternoon classes, so I don't actually have to study over lunch today-- where to? Cafeteria?"
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Mai is either uncaring or ignorant of how this appears to anyone else nearby. Mamoru is her friend, she had a lunch that needed eating, and so she made the offer. It's great to see him in a good mood, and her smile brightens just that much more. "We could - though with the weather forecast, I expect it'll be crowded. There's always risking outside, or... actually, how about the courtyard?" Inspiration has struck.
"It's open to the elements, but there's sheltered seating around it. Might be quieter than the cafeteria, at any rate." She adjusts her grip on the bento boxes, cradling them in one arm. "Any of those work, really. Up to you."
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"Courtyard," the boy votes immediately, then strikes a 'Yukon HO!!' pose, dramatic as all shit, pointing in the right direction with a face of grim, heroic determination. As they start thataway, he hazards a sidelong glance at Mai, corner of his mouth twitching upward. "I don't like crowds, I was actually going to just eat a couple of granola bars and have a coffee in an empty classroom." Pause, and he pats his case. "I have two. Cans, I mean, if you want one. You can have a granola bar too if you really want one, but they're pretty uninspiring."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Mai snickers to herself for a moment, then moves to follow - leaving the students in the corridor, and the remnants of an aloof reputation, behind. Rounding a corner towards a stairway, she gives Mamoru a mock-glare - though still grinning. "A granola bar? That was really your plan?" She jabs a finger in his direction - though not aiming to actually hit him. At least not this time. "That's not a lunch, that's emergency rations. Do I need to give you a lesson in nutrition?"
There's a pause. "That said, sure. It'd be nice to have a snack for tonight, I picked up one of Akane's shifts last-minute."
It's not too far to the courtyard. The flowerbeds, flagstones, sporting equipment - all left forsaken and abandoned in light of the looming rainstorm. Archways are present around the edge, almost like a corridor circling the area with pillars and benches for the observers. They're just as abandoned as the courtyard they watch, and Mai takes a seat on the nearest one. "Well, I was worried about this being enough food - but if you were seriously going to have granola bars for lunch, I think anything would be an improvement." She sets the smaller, pink bento in her lap; the larger, blue bento box goes in the middle of the bench, between herself and where there's a spot for her companion.
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
For a moment there's mild outrage. "They don't let you eat diner food if you work at a diner?!" He digs in his school bag as they walk, and finagles both granola bars into Mai's jacket pocket very firmly. "I know it's emergency rations. But I had a good breakfast, and I was planning on eating properly when I got home," Mamoru defends himself.
When they get there and Mai takes a seat, Mamoru sets his case down and takes out the cans of coffee, putting one next to mai and the other next to the blue bento box, and then gracefully folds himself into sitting tailor-style on the bench, facing her. Yes: he hasn't bothered taking his glasses off. No, they're not conveniently reflecting the sky and obscuring his eyes.
"I was," he says as he opens the box with unabashed glee, "really going to eat granola bars for lunch. And never worry about me having enough to eat-- I don't waste away if I'm not constantly packing it in, I just like food."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Mai has to rub the back of her head sheepishly. "I can order something on my break - and there is an employee discount - but it still comes out of my wages. I usually just get a coffee, as I don't even have to bother the kitchen for that." She tries not to fidget as Mamoru puts those 'emergency rations' into her pocket, and just settles on giving him a satisfied nod at his defense.
Mai turns to face Mamoru, opening the can of coffee first. The thought crosses her mind that, as goofy as the glasses might look, they kind of fit - but then she's left grinning at Mamoru's glee, and opens her own bento. "Well, I figured you had to get that tall somehow - but eating habits are eating habits. It doesn't have to be a fancy lunch, but seriously?"
The two bentos are, for the most part, identical except for portion size. A little under half of the available space in each box is taken up by rice - cooked that morning, sprinkled with a bit of toasted sesame seed. The remainder is a variety of items, arranged in a rough chromatic order. At one end, there's a small portion of cooked fish, browned with a honey-miso glaze. Beside it, a handful of cooked green beans, forming a fence against which rest several segments of bright yellow rolled omelette. Shredded carrots form a small mound on the other side of the omelette, providing a resting place for a few halved cherry tomatoes.
Mai readies her chopsticks, then blinks at one of the items she'd forgotten about including. After a moment, she gives Mamoru a sly grin. "Well, I suppose it's a good thing I didn't track down Tsukino-san instead of you - hopefully, you're still able to enjoy the dreaded carrots."
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"I usually pack or pick up a lunch on the way, unless the cafeteria's going to have something amazing that day," Mamoru explains, glancing up at Mai as he carefully sets the lid aside and pulls out his own chopsticks, manifesting them from his school bag a lot less magically than he pulls a cane out of a cape. He grins lopsidedly again, then just sort of admires the aesthetics of the bento for a moment.
His expression pretty clearly reads 'wow, it's so pretty!' though that's not something he's going to say out loud. No, no. Instead, he smirks for a second, poised to dig in. "Unlike certain wild bunnies, there are no foods I don't like. I might be hesitant to try something like natto-flavored candy or chocolate-covered ants, but..."
Mamoru snaps his chopsticks together. "Itadakimasu!"
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"Itadakimasu!" Mai was a bit rushed this morning, and didn't have as much need to appreciate the aesthetic - she starts off with a cherry tomato, followed by a bit of rice. Only after getting in those first few bites does she continue her conversation. "Well, that's a relief. Even if you weren't quite as helpless as Mikoto, I was worried I might have to take over feeding you or something." Honestly, her roommate sometimes...it's as easy to make three lunches as two, but Mikoto's always get a lot of rice.
A quick bite of the fish - last night's supper, still pretty good cold. "No worries, I don't have much interest in trying either of those. Bleh. Chocolate-covered coffee beans, maybe - I heard about those from the chef at Linden Baum, I'm thinking of trying to make them sometime. But ants? Nope." Mai starts carving out another piece of rice, pondering. "How is the wild bunny, anyway?"
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
Meanwhile, Mamoru is trying not to scarf his food. He can manage, actually, to just thoroughly enjoy it, quickly, without going overboard on stuffing his face, but it takes effort. Omf nomf nomf. He shakes his head firmly at the 'take over feeding him', not willing to talk with his mouth full. It's after he swallows that he says, "While I would love to eat your food basically all the time, that's really not necessary." It's accompanied by an affectionate half-smile, head tilted slightly.
Moment of brief unfair's over with very quickly as he raises his eyebrows, setting the bento down on his knee as he fishes his phone out of his pocket. "Chocolate covered espresso beans. Awesome, but they dry your mouth out crazy fast." Thumb thumb thumb, text text, and he's talking while he's texting. "I think she's okay. A bunch of her friends and I went to the opening of the new VR gaming place, and it turned out the guy who hurt Madoka was using it to drain gamers of energy. I'm not sure when they got out, since I was kind of busy at the time, but there were a whole slew of mahou shoujo there so it turned out okay, and she's in school today--"
His phone beeps back, and he smirks and shows Mai the last three lines. 'I'm a cute bunny!! Tell her I'm doing cute' 'OK I WILL' 'GOOD'
- @};--`--,--~MAMOCHAN: mai wants to know how the wild bunny is doing
- @};--`--,--~MAMOCHAN: how are you doing?
- /(=' - '=)\~USAGI: Wild bunny?!?!?!?!
- /(=' - '=)\~USAGI: What
- @};--`--,--~MAMOCHAN: remember?? at that crazy dinner at her dorm. she thinks you're a wild bunny. like her roommate is a feral cat girl.
- /(=' - '=)\~USAGI: I'm a cute bunny!!! Tell her I'm doing cute
- @};--`--,--~MAMOCHAN: OK I WILL
- /(=' - '=)\~USAGI: GOOD
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
Sometimes, a lunch is meant to be scarfed. And while Mai isn't quite abandoning all manners like Mikoto might, she has picked up a thing or two about eating quickly. It's good food, and Mai has a moment's guilt about getting the day mixed up. Though there is the tradeoff that she gets another outside opinion...a very positive one, from the sounds of things. Mamoru's praise is met with a half-smile of her own, and a brief hot flush on her face. "Well, so long as you're not eating granola regularly, I'll let it slide. With that said - do you want first dibs on any extra lunches I happen to have?"
Mai takes a sip of her coffee, and considers. "You've tried them, then? A particular favourite, or just 'not bad'?" Mamoru brings up some mysterious attack, and Mai winces. "I ran into Eri-chan, waiting for news on this 'Madoka' at the hospital. Glad to hear things turned out okay in the end this time, though -"
And further questions are cut off by the phone's beeping, and Mai just starts giggling. "Oh dear. I might have to invite the two of you over for supper again one of these nights - she makes a great guest." She flashes a grin.
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"I definitely want first dibs," Mamoru says after swallowing again and pocketing his phone; he's almost done. He's eating just slowly enough not to get a stomachache from eating too fast. "And basically, chocolate-covered things are incredible, but the best is chocolate-covered chocolate. The coffee beans? Kind of like-- if they're there I can't stop eating them, but I don't deliberately seek them out due to the aforementioned thirst problems they create."
Okay, the last of it, he definitely scarfs down, and it's with immense satisfaction that he re-closes the box, wraps his utensils in a napkin and puts them back in his bag, then pops open his coffee can. "And she is always, always down for food. I'm going to try and get her to come to our study group-- I know she has her own, but her grades are still terrible, and I want to help. I'm pretty sure I can bribe her with cooking."
<Pose Tracker> Mai Tokiha [Ohtori Academy (10)] has posed.
"It's a deal - I'll try to fire you a text next time it happens, if only to save me the dash to your classroom." Mai grins, and works at finishing her own lunch - the fish is gone, and she's gathering up the last of the carrot. "I'll keep that in mind. Though honestly, coffee's pretty good too - and I both thank and curse you for introducing me to that ice cream flavor."
Mai takes the empty bento box once Mamoru's done with it, closing up her own. "The poor wild - or cute - bunny. Well, I'll see what I can come up with for a schedule - I want to make sure my roommate's there to meet guests next time, rather than risk her barging in through the window at who knows what hour." She takes up her coffee can, and takes a sip. "As for the study group...give me a bit of advance notice and you're free to use my cooking as the bribe any time."
Mai pauses halfway through taking another drink, and then outright grins at Mamoru. "That is, assuming you're willing to risk her digging into your share of the food!"
<Pose Tracker> Mamoru Chiba [Ohtori Academy (11)] has posed.
"If it comes to that," Mamoru says with grim resolve, "I'll eat my share at the top of a lamp post."
