Chapter 6: Food

"OK, BB. Where d'ya wanna eat?"

Ahh yes…eating out in the mall. The possibilities are endless. The mall is, like, the one place where you can find food from almost every different country and ethnic background. First you have the standard American food. This is served everywhere in this fair country of ours, and really offers o excitement.

And then we start dwelling into the exotic foods. You have your Chinese, Italian, Arab, Mongolian, and etcetera. The list goes on and on. Now, the Chinese food in the mall is actually pretty darn tasty. Despite the fact that they chop up more than their fair share of my animal brethren. I could never even look at that place for more than a few seconds.

Pizza in the mall is always good. Of course, pizza anywhere is usually good. Considering it doesn't have any animals on it. Which, I'm sad to say, it usually does. Most Americans, lacking the ability to turn into animals, fail to see the evils involved in cooking them. Cyborg is by far the worst of these sick individuals.

I look up at my big mechanical buddy. He already has his eye on the aforementioned Chinese food. I can almost hear his stomach rumbling in anticipation of all that meat. Of course, how am I going to find a place that has vegetarian friendly food? Hmm…let's see…Mickey D's? Oh hells no. Sbarro? Nope. Wait! Quiznos. I think I'll have a nice toasty sub. I wave at Cyborg and head over. The spotty youth behind the counter asks me what I want.

"Just put a salad on some toasted white bread please."

The troubles of being a vegetarian in the modern world. Spotty hands me my food and I pay for it. I still don't get it. We've saved the city a gazillion times over, and everyone still expects us to pay for food! You would think they would be grateful enough to let me have at least one free meal. And now begins my next challenge of the mall. Finding a seat.

Finding the best dining area is crucial for enjoying your mall experience. It can't have too many people right around, so you don't have to listen to everyone's conversations, which is a major hindrance on the digestion. And absolutely no babies should be within a thousand mile radius of you and your food. All the screaming and crying is enough to ruin any mood. And don't get me started about the baby with a full diaper that Robin and I happened to sit next to last time Starfire dragged us here. Heh. Robin still cringes when he hears the sound of a dirty diaper. And then we have the gangs. Sigh. At least, around here, the groups of thirteen to fifteen year olds who act like they are in gangs. In some ways, these are worse than actual gangs. Cyborg and I have the scars to prove that these little poser gangs are surprisingly more violent then the real gangs we've encountered.

Today, the mall's pretty crowded. Like, more than usual. I finally spot something familiar: Raven's violet hair. I pick my way through the tables, trying not to step on anyone's foot. I get to the table at the same time Raven turns her head.

"Oh, it's you. I want you to meet someone, Beast Boy."

I glance over her shoulder. Across from her is none other than…wait…who is this guy? I know I've seen that snow white hair before…

My eyes suddenly expand to the size of balloons as I recognize…

"Yes, Beast Boy, this is the man who saved us from Plasmus."

"Snow?"

Man, he looks different then I thought. Well, not that different. As soon as I heard that his powers were alike to Raven's, but opposite, I assumed he would look like an oppositely colored Raven. And, as far as I can tell, he does.

Snow looks like…well…a normal dude. The first, most obvious thing about him is that his skin color's the same as Cyborg's. I had expected a guy with white energy powers to have white skin. Hmmm…he's really Raven's opposite. And his clothes look like something a rocker would wear. Light colored leather jacket, and blues jeans the color of Raven's robe. His eyes, surprisingly, are about a shade darker then hers. Looking at his hair, however, I can kinda see why he was given the name Snow. His hair is in cornrows and down to his shoulders. The most noticeable thing is the fact that his hair is pure white. Snow makes eye contact with me.

"Heh. Snow's a nickname I've had for a while. My real name's actually Gideon. Gideon White. I guess that's why Snow seemed like a natural fit for me."

Gideon White? There's something about that name…I've heard it before…

"No. You haven't. But the name's similar to Gideon Wyeth, the main character in the video game that's running through your head."

Oh yeah. Advent Rising. Good game. And I should probably sit down. And I do. Wait! Did he just read my mind? Or maybe he just gets that a lot, and knows that everyone thinks of that game. I'll ponder this later.

"So what brings you to Jump?"

"Oh, just getting the most out of my life. Visiting places I haven't been before. Meeting new people."

He glances at Raven as he says this. Is it me, or do I see a hint of a blush? Odd, because it's Raven. I feel a growl growing in my throat. I quickly quell it. A lot of people don't know this about me, but I'm more Beast-like then I let on. For one, I can growl. And snarl, if I'm ever in the mood. And I have a completely different set of teeth, hidden behind my normal ones. These are needle sharp and made for shredding flesh. But I don't us them. As I've been telling Cyborg for ages, I don't eat meat. Anyway, my sharp set of teeth resides behind my flat set. Unless I get angry or scared. In those cases the flat teeth retract. It's a reflex, but I can do it on purpose if I want. Nothing scares little kids or Cyborg when he's beating me at video games quite like that. And this Snow guy was making the growl reflex start.

All this time I've been eating. I was hungry, remember? Anyway, I can tell Snow…Gideon isn't as thrilled to meet me as most people are. Maybe a joke…

"Dude, what's green and red and spins real fast?"

Gideon thinks it over, tapping the side of his head in thought. Across the table, I see Raven roll her eyes.

"I concede. What is green and red and spins real fast?"

"A frog in a blender!"

Gideon looks at me. And he isn't laughing. Jerk. Raven clears her throat.

"Beast Boy, why is it that you won't touch meat, but you'll tell a joke where an animal gets hurt?"

"Because they're just jokes, Raven. I know the frog wasn't really in the blender. And if you guys aren't going to laugh, I'll just take off."

"Finally."

I give Raven a death glare. And then grin at her…sharply. Showing my teeth. She gasps. Guess she hasn't seen it. Before she can get a remark off, I am up and heading for a trash can. But I can still hear Gideon whisper to her.

"Is he always trying to get you to laugh?"

"Yes."

"And does it ever work."

"Once in a really long while."

Muffled laughter. Then some more talking. I'm too near the arcade to hear it clearly. Just before I go in, the bouncer intercepts me. Oh yeah, I was kicked out. For good. I turn to head in the direction of a gaming store. I see Gideon and Raven talking. And Raven has a smile planted on her face! As I watch, she raises a hand to her mouth and laughs! Long and loud.