\TUESDAY/
. . .
[Cyan] Ready?
[Ember] Ready.
*Cyan and Ember go out for lunch.
[Cyan] So, where do you want to go for lunch?
[Ember] Where do you want to go?
[Cyan] I don't know.
[Ember] Then, there's this place I know, follow me.
[Cyan] Okay.
*Cyan follows Ember as Ember navigates the alleys.
[Cyan] \observes the surroundings\ (There is such a path here? And these many stores.)
*Cyan and Ember reach the place.
[Ember] \raises her arms\ Tada!
[Cyan] A door?
[Ember] \grins\ Let's go in. \opens the door\
[Cyan] (A food court?) Wow. \looks back and closes the door\
[Cyan] (The door locks out the outside light.) \turns away from the door and into the hall\
[Cyan] (The lights are bright and soft. It feels like an indoor afternoon park.)
*The large room was filled with stalls. On the right you will see stairs leading to the next floor also serving food.
*It is a place that smells like fine dining, where different hints of food aroma occupy the air, but subtle enough, to not be overwhelming.
*There are tables and chairs in the middle and corners.
*Around them is enough space to accommodate four lanes of people without making them feel crowded to walk through.
*The tables are not limited to one stall but are for everyone inside the food court.
[Ember] See! Lots of choices.
*The place has different cuisines, from tacos, pasta, pastry, rice, salad, barbeque, pizza and even fries.
*It feels like a buffet, but less fancy, more modern.
[Ember] See anything you like?
[Cyan] (Hmmm.) Why don't we tour every stall first. I'd like to get a closer look.
[Ember] Okay. \goes to the nearest food stall\
[Cyan] \follows Ember and checks out the food stall menu\
*Cyan and Ember go around the first floor until they have checked out every stall.
[Ember] So, have you decided?
[Cyan] There's a lot of choices. \thinks\ What do you recommend?
[Ember] \thinks\ I think I know just the thing.
*Ember strolls past Cyan, towards the stairs as Cyan follows.
*Ember goes up to the second floor and arrives in front of this stall.
[Ember] This one. \points\
[Cyan] Chicken and pasta?
[Ember] Yeah. This place got the best chicken.
[Cyan] Really? Alright I'll take that, what about you?
[Ember] I think I'll have the same.
[Cyan] Let me save a table.
[Ember] Alright. \remembers\ Money! \opens hand\
[Cyan] Oh, right. \hands Ember money\
*Ember falls in line, while Cyan finds a table.
*Cyan walks away from Ember and finds an empty table.
[Cyan] \notices an empty table with a nice view of the food court and walks towards it\
[Cyan] \confused\ (Why does this table look old?) \looks around\ (Huh? Cracks, dust, dirt?)
*Cyan sees the normal state of the place.
[Cyan] \turns around and looks for Ember\ (Huh?) Why? \notices\
[Cyan] (The place around Ember, feels alive.) \turns away again and into his direction\
[Cyan] (And this place. Is it dead?) \realizes\
[Cyan] (Ember's filter really giving me bias, huh?) \sits down\
*Ember came back with a ticket.
[Ember] Here's the ticket, help me carry the food.
[Cyan] (This one place I thought dead, suddenly feels alive again.) Okay.
*They both sit down and prepare to start eating.
[Cyan] Bites.
[Ember] So what do you think? Delicious right? \grins\
*The chicken tastes like it was never frozen, fresh and locally sourced.
*The chicken's tenderness hits just right between succulent and yielding.
*The chicken's seasoning is quite vague. The chicken tastes simple, but the underlying seasoning has a note unique to describe.
*It almost feels like the chicken is one you'll find served in a Michelin Star restaurant.
[Cyan] \amazed\ Wow. You're right. \bites some more\
*They begin eating lunch.
*In a crowded food court, two students maintain a seamless conversation as they eat.
*Finishes eating.
[Ember] Let's get desserts.
[Cyan] Alright. Do you want the cake over there, the crepe over there, or the caramelized apple over there?
[Ember] No. Let's go to 7/11.
[Cyan] 7/11? \realizes\ You want dark chocolate, don't you? Okay, let's go.
[Ember] \grins\
*They both get up, walk away and go out the front door.
[Cyan] \before leaving, turns around\ (This beautiful place. If I come back without Ember, would it still be beautiful?)
*Cyan turns around again after he says goodbye to the place.
*They both go to 7/11.
*Ember buys a dark chocolate bar while Cyan buys a donut.
*Outside of 7/11, Cyan and Ember walk back to school.
*People rush past them in both directions.
[Cyan] \walking then realizes\ You really love dark chocolate, huh?
[Ember] \stops\ \stares at Cyan\ I like dark chocolate. I don't love it.
[Cyan] You don't love it?
[Ember] I love you is for something that can love you back. I love dark chocolate, but dark chocolate can't love me back.
[Ember] That's why I like dark chocolate. \turns and stares at Cyan\
[Ember] And, \grins\ I love Cyan.
*That statement was not a typical romantic flourish, but a quiet, intellectual decree.
*Ember's words suggested reciprocity. It suggested that Cyan must be capable of loving her back.
*It placed a profound, unexpected weight on him.
*Cyan instinctively felt that Ember's love was not a passive comfort but an active responsibility.
*Her definition shattered the typical definition of love, forcing him to acknowledge that their relationship was not as simple as it seems.
*Cyan momentarily paralyzed by the emotional magnitude of the girl standing before him.
*He searches her eyes, not for passion, but for a hidden joke, finding only the complete sincerity of her grin.
*But Cyan doesn't know that. He hasn't processed it in words.
[Cyan] \happy!\ \unsettled?\ (I'm happy but, why is there something else?)
[Cyan] \realizes something feels off\ \stares at Ember\
[Ember] \waiting, staring\
[Cyan] \brushes off thoughts\ \puts his right arm under Ember's left arm, and his left arm over Ember's right arm\ \hugs Ember\ I love you too, Ember.
[Ember] \smiles\ \hugs\
*Settled down.
[Cyan] Want to get coffee?
[Ember] Venti?
[Cyan] Why not.
*Cyan and Ember go to the coffee shop.
*They order to go, and wait until they get their coffees. And pace out because they're close to being late.
*Cyan and Ember go back to class.