Jordan was jolted out of his hunger-induced vision of medium rare ribeye by the English teacher, Mr. Williams. He noticed that the rest of his classmates had exited the gym and the doors were now shut. Mr. Williams was talking about the plan for the rest of the day. They would have free time until dinner, which would begin at 1800 sharp. He made some other comments about being responsible and what it means to graduate from MacArthur's Academy. Jordan didn't pay too much attention to that part. He had a lot of practice filtering out what Mr. Williams said from his four years in the high school building. Anyways, if the professor said anything really important, Jordan would hear about it sooner or later.
When Mr. Williams finished up his talk, Jordan quickly sought out Lincoln. Upon catching his eye, the two bro-hugged.
"What's up, man", Lincoln asked.
"Feeling like the big grad wolf, you?" Jordan said.
Lincoln smiled and punched his arm. Jordan had a bad habit of making atrocious jokes. Although, if you asked him, they were at least a little bit funny.
"I'm feeling pretty good, you know me. I was thinking of shooting some hoops for a bit. Looks like we have a couple of hours before dinner to mess around. You down?"
Jordan glanced at the clock. It looked to be around 1430.
"Sure, why not", he replied.
Three hours wasn't enough time to start anything substantial. Shooting hoops was as good of a way to pass the time as any. Luckily, the school had an outdoor court in addition to the gym. The gym would be occupied for a while, as it was being cleaned up after the ceremony. They shot around for a bit, then played some horse and a bit of 1 on 1. After a couple of games, Yvette showed up. The three of them played a couple of friendly games of 21. As usual, Yvette won most of them. It was a fun way to spend the sunny afternoon. Before he knew it, the time reached 1700. They all went their separate ways to rinse off and get ready for the graduation dinner.
By the time Jordan and Lincoln left the boys' dormitories, it was rapidly approaching 1800. They were at risk of running late for the banquet, but at least Lincoln's hair was perfectly styled. Jordan thought his friend was far too concerned about his looks. He really didn't have much to worry about. Lincoln didn't have movie star looks, but he was fairly handsome. In addition, he had the persona of "a guy you want your daughter to date". Not that any of them had parents to care about that kind of thing. Jordan let a wry smile reach his face as he recalled this long running joke of his. Some of the other students refused to talk about their parents. Some were angry, others sad. He wasn't exactly sure how he felt, but he figured he couldn't do anything about it anyway. Might as well have a good time with it.
Jordan's wry smile faded as they rushed to the cafeteria. The academy was oddly strict on punctuality. When they arrived at the doors, Jordan took a glance at his watch and let out a sigh of relief. They made it with a minute to spare. He took a moment to compose himself and catch his breath. Lincoln calmly swung open the door and stepped through. Before it could swing shut, Jordan followed.
The cafeteria was arranged unlike anything he had seen before. It was usually filled with many rectangular tables for the students to eat meals at. These had been removed, and replaced with a smaller number of circular tables covered in white tablecloths. As they got closer, Jordan saw how they were set up. There were ten tables in three lines of four, with the furthest line from him having the middle two tables removed. In their place was a small clearing with a podium, with a large projector screen erected behind it. The four tables closest to them were filled with teachers and other staff of the academy. There were a couple that he didn't know by name, but he had seen them around before. The second row of tables was where his fellow classmates now sat. These were already quite populated, with only one of the tables having any open seats. "Looks like we're the last to arrive", Lincoln remarked.
Jordan and Lincoln rushed to sit down. Jordan immediately understood why these seats were the last to be filled. To Jordan's left, Thomas and Willow were engaging in minor PDA. Jordan was used to it, but that certainly didn't mean he wanted to see it. He pointedly turned his focus to the other side of the table. Hunter was perched on the seat across from Jordan. He seemed very interested in the cafeteria's new setup, his expression indicating that he was deep in thought. To his right was…her. Kira.
His breath caught. Jordan hadn't expected to be next to her after he and Lincoln entered the gym with so little time to spare. She caught his eye and smiled. He felt his lips jump to mimic the act. They lingered like this, for a perfect moment. Which, of course, was interrupted by Lincoln.
"Ugh. I took so long getting ready because I was hoping I wouldn't have to sit next to you, Jordan", he said, sighing. "Ah well, at least Kira is here to protect me from your horrible jokes".
At this, Lincoln flashed a smile Kira's way. Jordan let his gaze swing over from Kira to Lincoln. As he did so, Jordan got the feeling that something was strange.
He looked around again, trying to pinpoint the source of this feeling. His survey finally reached the front of the room. He hadn't noticed it before, but the two front tables were filled with strange people. The table on the right was filled with serious-looking men and women wearing business suits. The only person among them he recognized was Principal Waters. She seemed engrossed in a conversation with a man donning a deep red tie. A set of younger people populated the left table. The women at this table wore classy dresses and the men wore button-ups and slacks. Jordan found himself wishing that the blonde woman with the blue dress had chosen a slightly less modest design. He caught himself before he could fall into that rabbit hole. Jordan also recognized one person among this group. Charlie. Charlie graduated from the academy a couple of years prior. He was an athletic type, so they had played sports together on occasion. Due to his age advantage, Charlie was always on a different level than Jordan.
Jordan finally finished his survey of the room. Although seeing Charlie today was weird, it didn't really explain his persistent perception of wrongness. He almost let himself fall back into normal conversation. Then it hit him. He checked out his table one last time and began to count out the occupants.
Jordan. Lincoln. Kira. Hunter. Thomas. Willow.
That made six of them. Jordan looked to the adjacent table of students. He began counting off.
Parker. Evelyn. Mila. Nash. Yvette. Xavier.
Once again, six students. He moved on to counting the next table over.
Aurora. Charlotte. Forrest. Grace. Uma. Zane.
Jordan's suspicions were starting to be proven founded. He focused on the next table, hoping to bring more clarity to the situation.
Briggs. Dawson. Olivia. Quinn. Russell. Sofia.
That was it. Among the students' tables, 24 of his graduating class were accounted for. But there were supposed to be 26 graduates. He searched the rest of the cafeteria, but to no avail. Jordan felt his stomach sink. It was almost five minutes past 1800. Everyone should have been there by now. That wasn't the only thing that had Jordan worried. If it was only tardiness, Jordan would have been able to move on. What really had Jordan worried was the table setup. Four tables were set up for the graduates. Each of these tables had exactly 6 chairs. The tables would not be able to hold 26 students. Therefore, the absent students were planned for, Jordan concluded. And the banquet would be more exciting than he'd hoped.
At exactly 1805, Principal Waters stood up and took control of the room. Unsurprisingly, everyone was waiting to hear what she would say about the feast.
"Hello everyone. I'm sure you've heard enough speeches for today. I know the chefs have been preparing something special, so I wouldn't blame you for looking forward to it. In fact, I expect many of you are hardly listening to what I have to say."
Jordan normally would have appreciated the principal's teasing. But he was less appreciative of the direction of this speech. He was feeling specifically called out this time, and he couldn't handle that on his currently empty stomach. But the principal continued.
"With that being said, I want you to appreciate this moment. Life is wild. Things happen that you never expect. You can never fully prepare for everything. But fresh-cooked food can always propel you forward. Savor every bite and every moment of this dinner. You never know when your next good meal will be. Now, for the moment you have all been waiting for. Let's eat!"
Principal Waters sat back down. On her cue, the chefs began wheeling out trolleys of food out to the tables. Jordan's eyes almost flew out of his head. From what he could see, none of the trolleys held entrees. There were a couple which contained different salads and dressings, some with bowls of soup, and others with bread and butter. He tore his gaze away from the trolleys, grinning stupidly. He locked eyes with Lincoln, who was sporting the same unabashed grin. They were going to be treated to a proper full-course meal.
When the trolleys finished their rounds, the table had amassed a small fortune of appetizers. Jordan himself had grabbed a little of everything that passed into his area: a cup of clam chowder, a small plate of Caesar salad, and some rolls of fancy bread. He even scored a personal favorite, a portion of nachos. He was careful not to grab so much as to ruin his appetite, but he had a burning desire to try everything. Lincoln had followed a similar mindset, and his part of the table was covered in plates and bowls of his own. Kira chose differently, only grabbing a fairly sizable salad. She looked amused at the boys' antics.
"You sure you got room for all of that?"
Jordan looked over and waggled his eyebrows playfully. Polite society considers speaking with food in one's mouth to be quite rude.
As Jordan was finishing up the last of his nachos, the chefs made their return to the cafeteria with more trolleys. This must be the main course, he thought. His nose soon confirmed it. Exactly what he had hoped for. Steak. The sight of the plates didn't let him down either. A thick and juicy steak, complemented by garlic mashed potatoes and brussel sprouts. He had few complaints about the usual fare, but today was something extra special.
He picked up his fork and knife. As soon as the plate hit the table, he attacked. He stabbed the fork deep into the chunk of meat. It sank down, giving Jordan a firm grasp on his prey. Next came his knife. He grasped the stainless steel handle and pushed the serrated blade down onto a corner of the steak. With a series of sharp motions, he sawed through it, separating meat from meat. He brought the first bite to his mouth. The taste confirmed everything his nose and eyes told him. This food was delicious. After savoring it for a moment, Jordan renewed his assault on his plate. He paused a moment before putting each bite in his mouth. Each forkful was a battle in his war. Victory had never before tasted so sweet.
"I gotta say, Jordan. You scare me a bit when you get into a meat trance", Lincoln said.
Lincoln tried to put on a veneer of concern, but he couldn't hide the playfulness from his expression.
"I could say the same about yourself, Lincoln. Not partaking in this slice of heaven is very suspicious. Makes me think you're trying to hide something…"
"The only thing I'm trying to hide is my belly after eating too much bread as an appetizer."
"I wonder who could have seen that coming?"
Jordan and Lincoln both swung their heads over to Kira. Jordan was the first to respond.
"If it isn't Kira, goddess of wisdom. Please, impart your wealth of food knowledge upon us."
Kira gave a quick smirk, then straightened her back and slipped into a regal accent.
"I always love to help my loyal followers. Listen closely, as I will now show you the true path to food enlightenment. Lincoln, Jordan, you are both quite similar. You take things you enjoy and partake to excess. But–"
Kira flourished her fork.
"What you are truly missing is balance. On their own, this plate of steak, potatoes, and brussel sprouts is good. However, taken together in a single bite, one can enjoy something far greater."
She capped her statement off with an example of her wisdom. She swallowed, then gave an exaggerated sigh of satisfaction.
Jordan locked eyes with Lincoln.
"She's definitely the weird one, right?"
They all laughed together.
