Chapter 56: Red Flag [4]
The student cafeteria wasn’t as crowded as I’d expected.
Maybe it was the high prices, or maybe the staggered class schedules kept the lunch rush from hitting all at once. Either way, I was thankful—fewer people meant fewer eyes on this awkwardly mismatched group.
"You two are roommates? That’s kind of rare, isn’t it? I heard most early arrivals get scattered across different buildings."
Ryen’s voice carried a light, friendly curiosity as he looked between me and Leona.
"Right?" Leona chimed in cheerfully, already halfway through her tray. "We didn’t plan it or anything, but it just worked out that way."
As expected, Ryen was easygoing, the type who could spark a conversation with a rock if left alone long enough. He kept the conversation flowing, bouncing between questions about classes, dorm life, and what food was worth trying.
Leona matched his energy effortlessly, smiling and chatting like she was catching up with an old friend instead of meeting the protagonist of a novel for the first time.
Even Nora chipped in here and there, mostly quiet but adding a comment or laugh when Ryen nudged her into the conversation.
And me?
I was too emotionally compromised by grilled eggplant to form a coherent sentence.
I’d picked it up without thinking, expecting that same soggy, slimy texture that haunted my childhood memories at the orphanage.