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Sticky tables were annoying. That was an understatement. You would be sitting at a nice comfortable table eating your food, and then once you placed your arm down on the table, you noticed that it wasn't nice and smooth as it should be. Normally it was sticky. Not in a way like glue, just like someone had attempted, and failed, to clean off some soda. Why was it that a nice school such as Forest Hill had this problem? Dahlia placed a thick paper napkin between her elbow and the surface of the table. In front of her sat a half eaten grilled cheese sandwich, a cup of soda, and two chocolate chip cookies that sat on the tray with the sandwich. Lunch was a favored time for her. Normally she would eat more then this, but she had been snacking on Cheetos all afternoon.
In her ear sat one white ear bud that indicated she was listening to music. The wire hung down and coiled into her pocket where a tiny blue MP3 player sat as music blasted through her ears. The music couldn't be heard from the outside thankfully. Dahlia had a tendency to put the music too high to the point where others could hear what she was listening to. All American Rejects ended their song and the player quickly changed over to Bowling for Soup. Every song Dahlia listened to corresponded to the mood she was in when she uploaded the music.
The cafeteria was fairly crowded, even for a normal day. The sound of gossiping groups mixed with conversations filled with banter floated through the air and echoed through the large room. Dahlia had been lucky enough to snag a small section of a large table off to the edge by herself. She had a tendency to forget socializing when food was placed in front of her. She was no stranger to food, even if the food served here was not favorable. Dahlia was a picky eater most of the time. She had taken up cooking in order to find things she would actually eat. It had broadened her feasting horizons greatly, but only when she cooked. Whenever she ate in public places or when someone else cooked, she tended to eat the plain parts of the meal.
There was a loud noise as one poor soul dropped an empty cup, making it bounce across the floor. For one second, the room became quiet. These small moments never lasted long. Within a few seconds there were a few laughs and a couple of cruel comments before the normal chaos known as the cafeteria ensued. Dahlia had turned to see who had dropped the cup, but was unable to see the face. Instead, she turned back to her sandwich. Her small fingers picked it up and brought it to her lips. Her mouth took a rather large bite from the sandwich, leaving bridges of cheddar cheese between her mouth and the piece of bread. Dahlia quickly wiped away the strings while she chewed. Grilled cheese was the one thing she had no problem eating here. It was also because of this, she had gained a few pounds her freshmen year.
The music changed to Gorillaz and Dahlia’s foot tapped to the beat as she picked at her cookie. Lunch was turning out to be more routine then she had hoped this year. Now whenever she came to the cafeteria she ended up either listening to music or reading a book. Normally it was listening to music, she never wanted to place her poor books upon the sticky service. Every once and a while some curious, brave, or psychotic person came and decided to socialize with Dahlia. She, of course, welcomed them with open arms and was always ready to take up a conversation.
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&&headphones and sticky tables, open
