"Lunch is ready!"
"Woohoo, finally!"
"I thought I'd die if I had to wait any longer."
"Oh my God, the smell is amazing. And seeing the dish itself? It's amazing!"
Julian, Liam, and Claudia noisily file into the kitchen and take their seats at the dining table.
"Maeve, this is too much," Liam says, though he is grinning widely, already reaching for a spoon.
Maeve laughs. "That's what you said last night about the pasta, but you finished the leftovers."
Claudia smacks her brother lightly on the back. "You need to stop eating so much. You're on a break. You're not even exercising. What happens if you get fat? I don't think you can clear dungeons anymore."
Everyone freezes.
Cutlery clatters awkwardly against plates. It is subtle. Brief. So brief that it could be dismissed as nothing.
The pause lasts only a few seconds before they resume moving.
Conversation returns. Casual. Forcedly normal.
Claudia frowns.
She is sure she saw them freeze.
But it was over in a flash.
