Mal feels like an idiot. When Evie had told her to come back to the cafeteria for Taco Tuesday she never asked the girl what time they were meeting. The overflow seating area where Mal, Jay, and Carlos sat every day for lunch turned into a sports lounge every night. As long as there wasn't a tourney game on, it was just about as classy as you could get on the Auradon campus. However, it's operating hours were between 6:30 pm and 11:30 pm. Mal has a huge window of time that Evie could have meant to meet, and she can't be expected to go right away and just sit there until the other girl arrives, however long that may take. That would be ridiculous.
Mal's boots stomp loudly on the stairs as she flies down to the first floor of her dormitory at approximately 6:25pm. She had spent longer than necessary staring at her reflection and touching up her simple makeup, and now she is in a hurry. Thank god for her impressive reflexes, because there is a takeout container flying into her hands before she can even register Jay yelling "Think fast!" She scowls at the warm box.
"I'm going out to eat," she states, walking to civilly return the food to the table her best friends are huddled at. They already have a video game all set up, and they were likely expecting to compete with Mal tonight.
"What?" Carlos asks, noodles hanging out of his mouth. His big, brown eyes get even bigger, and she swears this boy is a real puppy. She can see his heart breaking right in front of her face. Jay, on the other hand, is wearing a different expression.
"But we already got you Chinese," Jay bites, eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. Mal understands that their financial situation doesn't always allow for such a treat, but she doesn't have time to feel bad about it.
"Well you should have asked first," she counters before continuing her trek to the front door. "I'll eat it later," she adds more softly in assurance. She doesn't hear Jay's protest, quickly closing the door behind her. The brisk October wind nips at her face, and she hugs her worn leather jacket closer to her body as she increases her pace. She's survived colder temperatures in less, she reminds herself, and powers on to the destination.
She makes it to the cafeteria in 12 minutes flat and immediately scans the room. She lets out a breath as she spots a familiar head of blue in a booth towards the back of the room. Red-brown eyes meet green, and Evie's fingers dance in a flirty wave. In a few long strides, Mal is at the booth, and she quickly slides into the seat across from the other girl.
"Hey, glad you could make it," Evie husks with a smile, and Mal lets out a timid agreement. "I already ordered us a big plate of loaded nachos to share, I hope that's alright," Evie says, and Mal is so nervous that she's not sure if she wants to eat everything in sight or nothing at all. Taking in the girl in front of her, she decides on the former.
"Sure, yeah, of course, that's fine," she rambles, and Evie's lips quirk in clear amusement.
"I figured it was safe considering you said Hispanic food is your favorite," she chimes, a hint of challenge in her voice. Mal's hands feel a little damp as she balls her fists under the table and laughs nervously. "It's not totally authentic, but, it's the closest thing around. At least Auradon seems to make an effort to put some real, homey flavors into their dishes," Evie explains. Honestly, Mal is pretty lost, so she concentrates on appearing as though she understands. "Now, let's get some tacos!" Evie exclaims with a clap, eyebrows rising. Mal smiles suddenly and obediently follows blue to the taco bar.
The two busy themselves with fixing their tacos with various toppings. Mal restricts herself to two tacos for now, knowing she'd feel bad if she doesn't eat enough of the notably more expensive plate of nachos that Evie took the courtesy of buying for them.
When the girls make it back to their booth, the nachos are already there waiting for them. The plate rivals Jay's head in size, and 'loaded' is certainly not an understatement. Mal is not even sure she can see any chips, and there's food piled on the nachos that Mal can't even identify. Evie stares at it like she might just eat it all herself. Glancing down at her bland choice of taco toppings, she realizes she may be in trouble. Mal checks out Evie's plate in comparison and cocks her head.
"I didn't know you could get burritos for the same deal on Taco Tuesday," she wonders aloud. Immediately, she knows something is wrong because Evie looks like she might burst. Mal's face falls as she realizes the girl is trying her best not to laugh at her. Great. She's embarrassing herself already.
"Mal, these are soft shell tacos," Evie clarifies, smile wide. That smile would have given Mal butterflies if she didn't feel like jumping out the nearest window. She sighs in defeat and decides to drown her sorrow in her own tacos. The hard shell crunches loudly under her teeth, and the entire shell seems to shatter with the pressure. Mal does her best to catch the contents as they fall, but now her hands are covered in toppings. She doesn't have to look at Evie to know her amused expression is still intact. Mal sets what's left of her taco back on the plate and sits for a moment, eyes closed and chewing the bits of taco she managed to get into her mouth. She breathes through her nose and regains her composure. After a moment, she rises from her seat and walks over to the bathroom.
The cold water running over Mal's hands is grounding, and she finishes scrubbing the food remnants off of her hands and dries them. She sighs at her flushed reflection and exits the room. She grabs a fork on the way back to the booth, and Evie's worried face greets her when she gets back. "You okay?" she asks, hand quickly finding the other girl's in worry. Mal revels in the girl's soft, warm touch.
"Yeah, I'm fine," she assures with a quick, faux smile. Evie smiles softly and keeps her hold on Mal's hand for a moment to show she is being genuine. As soon as she lets go, Mal picks up her newly acquired fork. The sudden sound of smashing shell makes Evie jump a little, and Mal continues pulverizing her tacos. Once satisfied with her work, she shovels up the pieces of taco and shoves a forkful into her mouth. Thankfully, she stays clean. A triumphant grin creeps across her face. Bitch ass tacos will not ruin Mal's date. Evie laughs hesitantly and continues picking off the mountain of nachos.
"So, what brings you to Auradon?" Mal asks before guiding more tacos into her mouth. Evie finishes her bite of nachos before answering.
"Well, my mom and I moved here from Columbia when I was little, so I decided to spend some time studying there to connect with my roots," she answers honestly. "It was an amazing experience, and I'm really glad I went.
After I got back, Auradon just seemed like the best school near home. It has an amazing science program and offers some courses in fashion and design,"
"Oh, so you're a science nerd, huh?" Mal prods with a playful smile. Evie's cheeks darken slightly, but she smiles regardless.
"Yeah, you could say that," she admits, smiling down at the table.
"What branch are you interested in?" Mal wonders.
"Chemistry," is Evie's quick and easy reply. Mal can't help but be impressed. She recalls nearly failing her high school chemistry course due to the challenging material.
"So," she starts, head resting on her hand casually. Evie leans closer at the sudden change in Mal's demeanor. "You sensing any chemistry here?" she asks, voice serious but the faint hint of a grin hiding on her face. Evie barks out a laugh at the sheer immaturity of the come-on. She shakes her head incredulously.
"Well, enzymes in our saliva are catalyzing the breakdown of the chemical bonds in our food so that our body can-" she begins, but Mal quickly stops her with raised eyebrows and a hand in front of her face.
"Whoa, whoa!" Mal alerts. "Forget I asked!" she chuckles, and Evie simply laughs at the overwhelmed girl across from her. "Okay, how about we talk about something else," Mal decides. "What do you miss the most about Columbia?" she inquires after a moment of thought. To that, Evie looks to the ceiling for an answer. She hums in contemplation.
"Well right now, I really miss the sun," she decides. Laughter reverberates between the girls. Mal sighs.
"Yeah, what Auradon lacks in sunshine in the fall and winter it's people make up for twofold with their personalities!" she adds, faux excitement coating her voice. Evie's answering giggle is earnest.
"Yeah, I've noticed that the people around here are very...cheery," she answers. After a moment, she adds "What about you?" Mal's body stiffens. "What brings you to Auradon?" Evie clarifies. Mal chews her food for a moment and then sighs.
"Well, I'm here to study art. It's always kind of been my escape," she admits. "Auradon's tuition is kind of a nightmare, but thankfully, I was admitted with a full tourney scholarship along with my best friend, Jay," Mal continues, and Evie can't picture the tiny girl playing a sport that can get so rough. "We both have part time jobs here on campus to help Carlos attend Auradon with us. Our parents aren't really supportive of us, but we don't want their help anyway," Mal continues, finishing up her tacos. Evie's heart melts from the admission. Knowing how much the boys mean to the girl, she nearly regrets making Mal leave them behind. The mental picture of the boys' faces covered in sauce earlier that day at lunch, however, reminds her that she stands by her decision. Maybe another time, when she didn't want Mal alone.
Evie's thoughts are interrupted by the sight of Mal's body going completely still. The girl's empty fork is inches from her face and her eyebrows are furrowed. The haze in her eyes informs Evie that the girl is not mentally present. "Mal?" she says hesitantly, leaning into the girl's field of vision. Green eyes quickly find red-brown, and Mal is snapped out of her stupor. The girl clears her throat a little, and reaches for her soda.
"Yeah?" she squeaks before draining about half her glass in one gulp. Evie's eyebrows rise.
"Are you okay?" she inquires. The bottom of the cup harshly collides with the table.
"Yeah, I'm fi-" Mal starts, but is cut short by a cough. Green eyes go wide and frantically search their surroundings. The longer they scurry around, the more wet they become. Her complexion is also beginning to redden.
"Are you sure? Mal-are you crying?" Evie asks, head ducking down to get a better look.
"What? No, I'm fine, I swear," Mal assures between coughs, but a tear sliding down her cheek betrays her. Evie surveys the table and finds an indent on Mal's side of the loaded nachos. Nachos loaded with queso, salsa, jalapeños, and hot sauce, among other things. It suddenly clicks. She quickly places her glass of milk in front of the increasingly uncomfortable girl. Mal doesn't even register the motion, looking on the verge of a panic.
"Mal, drink!" Evie commands, pushing the glass closer. The distressed girl quickly accepts the drink, and its contents are drained in no time. Once finished, the girl sits back and tries to catch her breath. Evie settles back into her seat and crosses her arms, smug grin creeping slowly across her face.
"Too hot to handle?" she inquires after Mal appears collected enough to take some blows to her pride. Mal sputters.
"Pfft, no, I just-I just had a chip caught in my throat," she explains excitedly, hand waving into the air. Evie is not buying any of it. She casually unearths a chip from the pile and takes a large, unladylike bite. Mal's wide eyes look on in disbelief. Evie moans dramatically, and she takes her time sucking the sauce off her fingers. Mal's eyes are firmly trained on her mouth.
"You know what would be really good on this?" she asks. Mal's head shakes silently. "Devil's spit," Evie answers, eyes glancing at the hot sauce perched on the table. Mal eyes the three skull and crossbones symbols adorning the label with uncertainty. "You wouldn't mind if I put some on, would you?" Evie asks, eyes daring Mal to protest. The girl's throat bobs. She steels herself and shakes her head again. Evie takes that as a no, and busies herself generously applying the extra hot sauce to the nachos. It's not like Mal is going to eat any of the rest of it anyway. She then takes another large bite and revels in the kick of the flavors. Mal's face remains expressionless. "You've gotta try it!" Evie exclaims, grabbing a particularly coated chip and holding it across the table and up to Mal's mouth.
Mal inhales through her nose and leans in to bite the chip. Evie's eyes increase nearly twice in size at the action, and she wastes no time in taking her empty milk cup and running off. Mal doesn't even notice because she feels like someone literally set her mouth on fire. This must be what dragons feel like, she muses through her panic. Before the inside of her mouth and throat completely erode, Evie is dutifully in front of her with two full cups of milk. Mal takes them graciously and downs them with ease. By the time she's done she's got a milk moustache, but Evie doesn't have the heart to embarrass her further by informing her.
"Are you trying to kill me?" she asks Evie calmly, and the other girl can't contain her giggles.
"I didn't think you'd actually do it!" she exclaims, hand attempting to conceal her smile. Evie's laughter is infections, and soon Mal is joining in.
"I never back down from a challenge," she claims, chest inflating with pride. Evie takes in the girl before her and nods.
"I believe that"