Chapter 9: Chapter 8: Lunchtime

With the bell ringing, everyone began packing up. Nobody could beat my friend Ava in terms of sheer speed, though. By the end of the first chime, she was finished putting everything in her backpack. By the end of the second chime, she was at the door, calling, “Hurry up Lily!” Before the third chime had a chance to start, she took off towards the cafeteria.

You would think there would be a rule about no flying in the halls, I thought, but nope. Ava’s going to be eating her food before I even get to the cafeteria.

Despite my silent grumblings, I was able to get my stuff gathered and out the door pretty quickly. Once I was in the hall, a different problem arose: People kept tripping over my tail! I could give a cockatrice a run for her money with my speed, but all that could do was shorten the amount of time it was a problem.

I got to the cafeteria in short order, reciting a silent apology to all the people in line behind me. I basically was the line! I snagged a pair of toasted rabbits and slithered out before I could get any more self-conscious.

Out in the dining area, I had to use my superior sniffer to sense Ava’s mana trail. I found her easily enough and settled myself in the seat to the side of hers, facing perpendicular to the way she was. We talked about our classes until she interrupted herself.

“Hey! Kirby! Come sit with us!” my harpy friend shouted, waving a wing.

Since I can only sense about two people deep in a crowd, our kobold classmate got quite close before I could pick her out.

“Uh, hi?” the dog-girl said, glancing at me and then turning back to Ava.

“Hi, hi! Come sit down!” Ava chirped.

The newly adopted friend looked my way as she sat down across from Ava, so I took the opportunity to reassure her. 

“Sorry, you’re too late; you’re her friend now. That’s just how she works.”

“Pfft.” I didn’t need to see to know she smiled at that.

“So, so! How did you know so much about the moons?” Ava plowed on.

“Oh, that?” Kirby’s cheeks glowed with mana as she blushed. “I’ve just been interested in astronomy since I was little. It’s not a big deal if you’ve known it since you were four.”

“But that’s so cool! Just because it’s no big deal for you doesn’t mean the rest of us would know it!” Ava pointed out, nodding with a serious expression.

“I’ve gotta admit, it’s pretty cool that you knew all that,” I said. “I was practically talking before I could slither upright, and I sure didn’t know that. Lean into it; you can’t go wrong pursuing your interests.”

“That’s my bestie for ya! Always saying crazy wise stuff like that!” Ava claimed before tearing into her lunch.

That caused me to choke on my own lunch, forcing me to take a drink of water before I could protest. “What are you talking about? I couldn’t claim to be wise even if I had another twenty years’ experience!”

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Kirby gave me a strange look, and I realized my mistake. Shit, I worded that badly. It’s not like I’m hiding it, but there’s no reason to go announcing “I’m a reincarnator!” to the world.

“And there you go again, Lily! So humble, and more often than not you sound like you do have those twenty years!” Ava said, cutting through my thoughts.

Welp, it was nice while it lasted, I thought, watching energy condense within Kirby as I further gained her attention. There’s no way she doesn’t at least suspect at this point. So long, anonymity.

Trying to redirect, I asked her, “So what other interests do you have? Anything fun to tell us?”

“Yeah,” Kirby answered, “I study history a bit. There’s a lot of cool things you can learn if you look past the textbooks. Like, did you know that a lot of prominent heroes were summoned or had memories of their previous life? On top of that, they apparently all came from a world with no monsters or magic!”

I carefully kept my expression in place. Two can play at that game, chica.

“What!” Ava broke in, oblivious to our mind games. “People from another world? That is so cool!”

“I know, right?” the kobold responded. “When I read it, I thought, ‘I wish I could meet one!’”

“Me too!” Ava said. “I’d probably ask them so many questions, like, what is their world like? Or, or, what their favorite food was!”

Definitely burgers. Can’t go wrong there, I thought. Pizza is a close second, though. 

“I know, right?! I even wrote down a list one time,” Kirby said. “How about you, Lily? What would you ask someone from another world?”

Caught off guard by being asked, I took a moment to think. “I’d probably ask what their hobbies are. That would give them a place to start on what’s similar and different, but it would also help for getting to know them. Ava’s question would work well, too.”

“So? What’s your favorite food?” Kirby asked with a shit-eating grin.

“Probably deer,” I answered. “What, you think I’m secretly one of those reincarnators?”

“I have my suspicions,” the canine smirked; “all the more because I never used the word ‘reincarnate.’”

Ah, what the hell, she’s basically figured me out. Which god set this up? Are you having fun? You know what, screw it.

I leaned over to her and whispered, “Between you and me, it’s actually cheeseburgers.”