Eloa pressed his palm against the cashier plate, grabbed his tray and turned around. He hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath, and then cautiously made his way across the noisy cafeteria, trying to find an empty table. He didn’t consider himself shy, but neither did he want to be caught up in the banter of a large group, at least not on his first day here. He hoped to be able to spend a few moments relaxing, trying to take in the events of this morning, and preparing himself for the afternoon schedule.
He spotted a nearly empty table. A girl was sitting alone, her head down, apparently reading something. He approached from behind and said, “Do you mind if I sit here?” as he swung his tray down a few feet from her. She didn’t respond. He glanced over at her as he eased into his seat. Her eyes were closed and her hands were crossed over each other and pressed against her chest close to her neck.
“Are you okay?” Eloa asked her. Still she didn’t move.
He glanced around. Nobody else seemed to have noticed her despondency. He watched her for a moment longer before reaching for her and gently shaking her shoulder. “Hey, is anything wrong?”
This time she stirred. One hand came up, a finger pressing against her lips. “Shhhh,” she said quietly before moving her hand back down to its original position.
Eloa paused and listened intently. What was he supposed to hear? Straining his ears to find sounds below the din of the room, he closed his eyes. Was there a faint hum? That was just the lights, wasn’t it? He opened his eyes again, and was relieved to see her head rise up slowly, her arms fold down into her lap, and her head swing around to face him.
“Hi, I’m Yrial,” she said, thrusting an arm toward him, a smile forming on her lips.
“Oh. Okay,” Eloa stammered. “Uh, I’m Eloa.”
She smiled again. “I know.”