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Marlon too had been looking forward to lunch, the instant he had woken up and realized with an inward groan that it was a school day. Still, he was happy enough remembering the other day and all the fun he had with Eolande. He was betting that she hadn't forgotten about her promise to make him lunch; after all, he could just hear her saying, you can't possibly be expected to do well on the wrestling team with the slop they feed us in the cafeteria! He still wasn't sure if becoming part of that team was such a good idea, but his new friend seemed so keen on it, and it would enable him to learn at least a little more ways of balancing out; after countless trips and slips of course.

Right now he was heading out to the cafeteria, glad that the day was at least half over. At least it seemed like most of the student body had forgotten about the nerd pile-up he had caused in the hallway; either that or he was just not noticing the looks as much. He spotted Eolande's shiny two-toned hair almost immediately and began to make his way toward her, not bothering to speak or wave until he was almost right in front of her. "Hey."

Nodding and smiling a little, Marlon follows Eolande closely, knowing full well just how densely a crowd of teenagers could pack into a place even as spacious as a lunchroom. He was glad to follow her outside; it was so much quieter and more pleasant outside in the sunshine than it was inside with the thrum of a hundred conversations buzzing around you like one gigantic beehive. Not to mention the sun was so much gentler than the lights overhead that always contributed to the hubbub with their own infernal buzzing.

"Sweet and sour chicken sounds fantastic. I like all kinds of food, personally, but I've never been too keen on soups." He bit his lip at the mention of a cell phone and shook his head. "Well, the last time I had friends to call me, I was too little for a cell phone, and because of that, I've never really asked for one. Probably something my parents are thrilled to death about. They themselves never seem to worry about contacting me or anything; I have their work number, even if they don't answer half the time." He pondered for a moment as he looked around, wondering which spot Eolande was going to set them in. "I suppose now that I have a friend to actually call me, I could ask my folks for a cell phone."

The spot looked absolutely perfect for two people wanting to just share a quiet lunch away from all the dregs of humanity. Marlon beamed as he sat down close to the bush. "Well I suppose so. Of course, you'll probably be expecting her to be trying to find out all about you and junk. She's really social you know; even gossip about her own son is still stuff for her to talk about. Just to give you a heads up."

He accepted the bowl of white rice and settled it on his lap as he took a fork and began spearing pieces of chicken and putting them onto his rice. "This really does look good; thanks for doing this for me." He eyed the containers that contained the fritters and the wafers. "And we even get more than one dessert; that alone puts it miles above the cafeteria's food."

Taking the offered container of sauce and handing over the container of chicken, Marlon shrugged as he drizzled sauce over his chicken and rice. "My mother's.....well she's...." He held up his fork close to his face, pretending it was a long cigarette while doing his best imitation of a voice both sultry and high. "A rising star in the world of models, flush with talent and beauty." Clearing his throat, he turned a little pink and stirred his chicken and rice together furiously. "Don't get me wrong; I love my mother, but sometimes I really don't think that modeling's a good job for her." He hastily took a bite of the chicken and rice before continuing. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to unload on your like that. But I am glad for you that you'll be able to set out and do what makes you happy."

He smiled at Eolande as he followed her gaze to the containers. "Of course I'd want to keep having lunch with you; hardly anyone ever sits with me, much less makes me lunch. And even if you were a lousy cook, I'd still want to hang with you because you're nice." His eyes widened and he smiled wider. "I like fruits; sometimes I eat some of the ones my mom uses in her smoothies. I think.......I could definitely have dinner with you one night."

"Well, I wish I knew her a bit more, or rather she knew me a bit more, but I guess it's loads better than a mom who goes out and parties and comes home smashed or something." That being said, he too fell quiet and concentrated more on eating his lunch than talking. The chicken was delicious, and with the rice and sauce it was definitely more filling than the cardboard pizza that the rest of the masses was eating in the cafeteria.

He nodded as he set the now-empty container aside, a few little grains of rice sticking to the sides. "Well, I wouldn't complain, just so long as it wouldn't be too much of a bother for you, making a lunch like this every weekday. And I'll be sure to speak to my Mom about a cell phone tonight when she gets home." He blinked at her suggestion for the next day. "What, you mean, play hookie?" It only took him a second before he smiled and nodded. "Sure, why not? I don't think I have any big tests tomorrow; one day can't hurt. Hey, and even if I did, what does it matter? My folks don't really care, just so long as I don't flunk. "

Equally happy to let the matter drop concerning parents, Marlon looked eagerly at the dessert containers. He could just smell the wafers and the heady smell of chocolate and caramel mingled with the apple. Even the best dessert the school cafeteria had to offer couldn't possibly compare with this. For the first time in what seemed like a long time, he felt like th absolute luckiest person in the school.

Something he knew he could let someone else be tomorrow. "Alright. I'm way past the age where Mommy sees me off to the bus, so I shouldn't have any trouble doubling back. Oh also, let's make it a light load instead of the usual backpacks; nothing tips off a truant officer like a nice backpack." His face lit up. "Alright! We can have snacks and stuff too! We'll make a real day out of it! Would you.... like me to bring anything?"

Marlon chuckled as he helped himself to an apple fritter and dipped it in the chocolate sauce. "That sounds pretty plausible, and I doubt he'd try to see us home and then to school, not with all the other students probably playing hookie and not having a ready-made excuse." He laughed a little before popping the fritter into his mouth and waited until he had swallowed it before replying. "To be honest, since my Mom's a model and all, she has almost all health food around the kitchen. But she knows I'm not gonna eat any of that, so I have my own stock of junk food, except when my Dad tries to get into it."

Selecting a wafer this time, Marlon nodded. "I like fruits and vegetables just fine, but it wouldn't really seem like playing hookie if we didn't at least have SOME junk food, you know? Something the higher ups don't want you to have. I like all kinds of chips and soda, except grape soda. Just never cared for it."