Joe looked through the window one more time and frowned as rain came down in gray, rippling sheets He didn't care much for eating in the gymnasium. It smelled of sweat and leather and was always stuffy, especially on a day as humid as this. He usually had lunch out front, away from the echoing shouts and thumping gloves, but today, the bench in the back would have to do.
Wincing slightly at his aching legs, he took a seat and opened his paper bag. Blinking, he looked through the contents – a tin of beef, a large carrot, and… well, it was probably a sandwich before someone smashed it.
Someone nearby cleared their throat, and Joe looked up.
One of the other boxers stood in front of him, holding out a brown bag of his own. He said something in English, but his German accent was too thick for Joe to understand. Finally, the other boxer gestured toward the bag in Joe's hand.
"Oh!" Joe quickly traded lunches. "I… sorry, Mister…" Ugh, what was his name? "I… He… it is not…"
The German waved his hand dismissively and sat down some distance away.
Joe relaxed a bit and started on his own lunch. Nibbling on the edge of his watercress, cucumber, and cream cheese sandwich, he stared up at the ceiling and listened to the rain (or was it hail now?) thudding against the roof.
After a few minutes, he noticed the other boxer wiping his moustache and crumpling up his bag. The German met his gaze with a quick, sidelong glance.
"Euh…" Joe shrank back just a bit. "You… 'ave…" (No no, he needed to remember the "h." "Fog up the window pane," like they said.) "You have hungry?"
After narrowing his eyes for a moment, the German almost smiled. "No. But I am hungry."
Ugh. Joe searched for some words of apology, but the other boxer turned toward him a bit.
"I am not really hungry," he said, much more slowly this time, like large, heavy raindrops. "But I eat quickly." He gestured toward Joe's sandwich. "You eat slowly. Are you hungry?"
He looked at the ground and searched his memory. "Are." "Am." "To be." "Être."
"Yes. I am hungry," he said slowly and hesitantly. "You are not hungry." He thought a moment before counting on his fingers. "Bien. 'Are' and 'am.' Right?"
"And 'is,'" the German added.
Joe sat up a little straighter. "Th… thank you. For…" He shrugged and grinned. "Well… thank you."
Nodding, the German returned his smile. "Now have a sandwich," he said as he stood and walked away.