Lost In Purple

Chapter 3: Lunch Break

A few days pass and things feel a little easier. Waking up has been a breeze these past few days and the scaring material we've been learning has been easy sailing. Bruiser and I have also been getting to know each other a bit better. He's an EDM fanatic and was obsessed with track and field in high school. Makes sense considering how much energy he has in general. There's a part of me wishes he could share that energy because I've been having a harder and harder time not crashing after noon but I'm still kicking either way. Over the past few days he's also learned a little about me. I tell him about how I've always been an artist and musician. Ever since I was little I had always enjoyed drawing/painting landscapes and portraits along with playing the violin and piano. Funny enough, I told him that as we were exiting the Scaring School on a sunny day to see the elaborate MU landscape.

"I would've never had expected you would be so regal Miss Melanie," Bruiser mentions after a couple twitches.

"Yeah, unfortunately I had to sell a lot of my art supplies along with my piano and violin to help pay for my tuition this year so I guess I should say that I used to play them," I respond melancholically.

Bruiser's disappointment reveals itself as his eyes droop and his body arches down a little. "Awwwwwww. I wanted to hear you play one day."

I laugh and pat his right shoulder to show him some empathy. "It's alright. I promise that I'll play for you some day ."

Bruiser shows his understanding and relief by smiling. I must have really impressed him to make him that excited about my talents. Not going to lie, he's probably one of the first monsters to actually have an interest in my talents which makes me feel really happy. I continue to descend the staircase with Bruiser beside me and I'm ready to see him depart towards the cafeteria.

"Hehe, I want some pizza today. Would you like to come with me Miss Melanie?" Bruiser questions.

"You go on ahead, I'm not too hungry yet. I'll see you later," I tell him as he waddles backwards.

Bruiser nods in understanding and runs away while hysterically muttering, "Food food food food food." He must have been really hungry to just bolt like that. That's totally not creepy or anything but that's just how he is.

I run up to my dorm room to drop off my backpack full of notebooks and handbag filled with writing utensils before thinking about eating something. I mean I'm not that hungry yet, but maybe in a few minutes I will be. All I know is that I never get routinely hungry these days and have to roll with the punches. I do give eating at the cafeteria a thought but I remember that the cafeteria isn't really the place for me. There's this thing in the monster world where about 90 percent of the population can eat spoiled food and the rest can't. I'm one of those monsters that can't, so you know, I'm 'Spoiled Food Intolerant.' I'll swear to my grave, that when I toured the campus, I saw a bin of spoiled food get tipped back into one of the serving tables. I'm more than certain I'll end up in the hospital if I eat there so I decide to pick another place.

I don't remember any particular restaurants in the area that looked tasty when I was touring the campus so I decide to just go exploring and find one nearby. I grab my wallet that's looking a little impoverished and strut out of my dorm room. For some reason, it's busier than usual so I try my best to avoid running into everyone on my way towards the campus' main street while keeping my head down low in order to steer clear from socializing. There's many students resting on the ground with their friends all over campus, some groups playing with hacky sacks or playing a wide arrangement instruments. This campus is clearly a paradise for everyone which is incredible to see. I keep weaving my way in and out of all the students until there's a large pocket of empty space.

"We meet again freshman."

I look up to see Johnny standing in front of me, right in the middle of the campus Quad smirking and leaning a little to his left. Everyone is consciously avoiding him and taking a large detour around him which is very odd. Are people really that scared of him? His eyes pierce through me as they glow purple due to the nearby tree's shadow. "Oh... uh, hey," I mutter lightly while raising my hand and giving him a light wave.

"Why is it that I keep running into you these days? Don't tell me you like me?" Johnny asks giving me a toothy grin and placing both his hands to his chest.

I'm shocked at what he just said, and it must have been obvious since Johnny is quick to laugh at my expense. I'm guessing my ears are down and my shoulders are tense. I think I'm blushing unintentionally as well.

"In your dreams senior," I reply while furrowing my brows and attempting to hide my emotions. I'm confused because he already seems so different today than the the last time we talked. I maintain a fair distance away from him because I feel like I'm going to break some sort of rule if I get any closer.

"Keep telling yourself that freshman, I know you think otherwise," Johnny grins followed by a wink.

I growl and attempt to storm past him but he blocks my path. "Where you off to in such a huff?" He questions.

"Nowhere important," I snarl.

"Tsk, Tsk," Johnny pronounces, "Quite the temper you've got stored inside that tiny little body of yours." He leans down to get a tad closer to my face keeping that smug look on his face. "If I had to guess, I'd think you hate me for being curious. Might want to be careful, I've been told I have pretty hefty bite."

I growl after crossing my arms and looking off to the side. "I could take you."

"Oh-ho-ho can you now?" Johnny says while leaning back and puffing out his chest. "Just like your scaring I'll believe it when I see it."

I rest my head on my right arm, my left one holding it up. He really did not believe me when I said I was in the scaring program. "Whatever. Can I go to lunch? Or are you gonna keep annoying me?"

I see Johnny return to his normal posture and think of an answer. "Hmm, I don't know. If it means I can go with you, then yes you can," Johnny answers.

I'm shocked again. Somehow I didn't see it coming and embarrassed myself again. I just really don't understand why he would even care about me or what I do considering he doesn't believe anything I say.

"Y-you want to go to lunch with me?" I ask.

Johnny nods.

"You don't want to go with literally any other girl, or one of your ROR henchmen? L-like why ME?" I stammer.

Johnny walks over to my side and wraps his arm around my shoulder. "Cause your interesting. A nervous little wreck like you randomly joining the scare program who also can't decide whether to be kind and considerate or tough and arrogant. What else could it be?" I think it over for a second. I have been having these weird bursts of confidence lately.

Johnny pushes me forward to the front gate and begins walking next to me. "I also think I should get to know you better if I'm to refrain from reporting a suspicious figure loitering behind the School of Business."

My eyes widen and my ears immediately perk up. "You're going to report me? I thought you said you'd take the blame."

Johnny's smile vanishes when I say that. "Well that depends on your answer. Also, if it helps you make your decision... I know a good place in Westpine to eat."

I have a little mental breakdown right then and there. I don't really know where Westpine is, and work through this new ultimatum given to me. Do I not go with Johnny and risk getting in trouble, or do I go and be at the mercy of pure unbearable torture? Since I've never gotten in trouble before at school, and the fact that my Dad would be furious with me for not staying out of trouble, I feel like I have to go with Johnny.

"O-ok, I guess you can go," I mumble.

"Say again freshman?" Johnny teases.

I groan and cross my arms in frustration. "You can go to lunch with me. But only if it means you pay."

Johnny then says something that reminds me of Faust and makes me want to punch him square in the face. "See that wasn't so hard."

It takes about 10 minutes to walk to a well-maintained street where all sorts of apparel stores and restaurants are located. The street is lined with flower planters on the ground and hung along the lampposts. The sidewalk is made of dark grey bricks, and every building looks like it was just built. This is clearly a rich part of the city and it's clearly some sort of outdoor mall. Johnny then shows me a beautiful rustic steakhouse in the center of the street that seems to have just opened. The architecture is very modern, and the walls look like they were just painted.

He pushes open the door for me and allows me to enter. The restaurant is decorated with many wooden statues, western paintings, and a large tree with teal leaves sitting in the middle. The restaurant is also flooded with small chandeliers that brightly light the entire restaurant. He follows me in and notices the worry painted across my face. "Everything alright?"

"You can pay for something like this? This place looks super expensive," I interrogate.

"Oh yeah, I eat here fairly often. At least I did back in high school at another location," Johnny retorts, "Did you think I was going to take you to some fast food place or something."

"Well kind of. I don't really picture you frat guys eating healthy. I always assumed your diets consisted of Pizza, Ramen, and Beer," I clarify.

Johnny grasps his heart like he's having a heart attack. "Wow. That hurts. For your information, we RORs keep a very strict diet and have routine workout sessions."

I roll my eyes and cross my arms. Here he goes being an intolerable smartass again. "Your such a baby."

"Says the one who's too afraid to even go outside," Johnny retorts.

I sigh. "I get it, I'm weird."

"Oh lighten up freshman. I didn't actually mean that," Johnny argues.

He talks to the host and we're soon seated next to the front windows. I notice that the streets are starting to become busy as people start leaving work for their lunch breaks. Johnny reads over the menu carefully while I sit there not really sure what to order. Since we were one of the first few people there, our waiter came out in under 2 minutes to take our orders. The waiters eyes are partially closed and walks with one arm in front carrying a white cloth and the other behind his back. Stereotypical rich person. Yay. I begin to panic because I start feeling rushed.

"Sir, madam, what drinks may I start you off with," The waiter asks with a regal sounding accent. Now I truly wonder what kind of establishment Johnny dragged me into.

Johnny's eyes dart up to me and then to the waiters. His demeanor changes and voice softens to illicit a wealthy cadence. "I'll have a Craindre Mousseux, and she'll have a water. As for our main entrees, I'll have the Bacon Wrapped Pork Tenderloin, and she'll have the Cherry Balsamic Sirloin," Johnny elegantly answers. I just sit there in awe having no idea what happened. I'll admit that it was actually kind of attractive seeing him order seriously and act like a super rich boy.

The waiter bows respectfully, takes our menus, and leaves us to ourselves.

"You look surprised freshman," Johnny says with a smirk.

I have no idea how to even answer him. I'm so unfamiliar with this kind of environment and I feel so out of place.

"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting you to talk like that...ever," I reply.

Johnny smiles, sits back against the chair, and crosses one leg over the other. "There's more to me than you think there is, I'm not just some backwater hick who has a lust for fear."

I look down at the table to avoid eye contact. I realize that saying that wasn't the greatest idea especially since the last time we spoke he talked about how he and the rest of the RORs are misunderstood.

"So freshman. I'd like to know more about you," Johnny asks.

"M-me" I ask.

Johnny nods. "Yeah you know, where you're from, what you like to do. Since we've been seeing each other quite a bit lately I feel like I should know who you are."

"Oh, um, I'm not really that interesting," I laugh trying to swipe that question off my shoulder.

Johnny closes his eyes and puts his right hand to his chest. "No really, I've probably met every single student on campus but none of them are as mysterious as you," Johnny insists.

I slightly panic because I feel like I should have something impressive to say about myself but nothing comes to mind. "I, uh, come from a pretty small family down in the Cormeadow area and I like to draw. There's nothing really more than that if I'm being honest," I answer.

Johnny raises an eyebrow while thinking. He obviously deduced that Cormeadow is one of the poorer places in Monstropolis.

The waiter comes out with a glass of water for me and pops open a new bottle of the wine Johnny ordered only to pour about half a glass. "There's got to be more to you than that."

"No not really. I mean I do like to go to new places but I only ever did that with my parents, and even then that was a pretty rare thing to occur," I respond before taking a big gulp of water. I try to maintain a formal posture, but I end up slouching a little.

Johnny narrows his eyes, looks off to the side and grumbles in disappointment.

"Sorry senior, but that's the life of a valedictorian hermit," I say apathetically.

Johnny chuckles at my unexpected outburst. "I guess that'll make learning about you more fun then. Maybe, with me being around, you'll even discover something new about yourself."

I laugh nervously back to him. Eventually our food is served and I'm reluctant to eat what Johnny had impulsively ordered me. I've never had such fancy food before so I don't know if I would have the refined palate for it. I find enough courage to stab a piece of the meat and cut it to a bit sized piece only to find myself living amongst the angels high above the clouds. The meat was super tender, juicy, sweet yet tangy, and savory.

"I knew that would be a good choice for you. It was a favorite of mine back in high school," Johnny admits.

I just nod in agreement and say, "Thank you good sir."

I slowly chew my way through the large plate of meat until nothing is left. I've never had a lunch like that in my life, and can only assume Johnny has had the privilege to eat like this over the course of his entire life. I see the receipt and for just the two of us the total cost was around $150. I definitely wouldn't have been able to afford that so I'm thankful Johnny was generous enough to pay. Johnny finishes his dish, and then leaves a large tip for the waiter. Now I see what people mean when they say that the RORs were born with silver spoons in their mouths.

"Want to go anywhere else or are you bored hanging out with me?" Johnny says opening the door for me to leave.

"You have the time to go do something else? Don't you have class or something?" I interrogate.

"Yes, but I can ditch just for you if you'd like freshman," Johnny responds leaning in close to my face and speaking seductively.

I don't know why but I basically turn into a strict yet concerned mother. "Nope, nope nope nope, your going class whether you like it or not!" I jump behind Johnny and begin pushing him back in the direction of MU.

Johnny partially stumbles with every push which means I've clearly caught him off guard. "Wha- Melo-"

"No excuses!" I yell.

Johnny finally cracks and starts laughing with no restraint. He then turns around to look me in the eyes with a genuine smile and says, "Alright then let's go." He picks me up from my legs and swings me around to his back where I then grab onto his shoulders. He leans down into a a quadrupedal stance and takes off sprinting. He weaves in and out of obstacles and a few individuals while I try to keep my head down partially because of embarrassment but to also make sure nothing smacks me straight in the face. However, Johnny does a very good job of staying clear of things that could so there was nothing to really worry about.

It would be insane to say that doing this wasn't fun, because he ran about as fast as a car did. I felt free, and it was one of the first times in a long time that I felt like I was doing something crazy and adventurous. It takes about around three minutes for us to go a couple blocks and find ourselves back at the entrance of MU. Johnny doesn't stop though. He continues to run through the campus' main street causing everyone to not look at him, but me specifically. Like before, I try to keep my head down. He dodges oncoming students and jumps around those going the same way all the way up to the dorms.

Right as we get to the steps he stands up to his normal bipedal posture and swings me back around in front of him like it was effortless.

"There, you happy princess?" Johnny says with his signature smugness.

"I'm literally going to kill you. At first it was fun, but now everyone on campus will think I'm crazy," I whine.

"As long as you keep talking to me, you'll have to deal with it. So get used to it freshman, cause I'm not letting you get away that easy," Johnny says smiling while turning around, "Anyways, I have to go to class here in a few minutes so I'll see you around."

"Alright," I sigh slowly developing a smile, "When will that be?"

"How about next week? We're throwing another party because we can. I think it's about time you experience a real party. Oh and make sure to bring Bruiser."