Another Foodie

Time passed quickly, occasionally whilst Zayd was covering some topics he found a little confusing, he asked Minoru for help.

Sometimes, they would end up getting a bit off-topic. A few times, the conversation from earlier continued.

Their classmates teased Zayd and Minoru as they witnessed Zayd and Minoru wearing a similar outfit and being so close with one another. They were smiling and giggling quietly, having fun.

"Zayd-san, Minoru-san, are you two a couple?" A female classmate sat nearby whispered over to them.

"No, however, I think me and Minoru-san get along well. We have a common interest, so it's easy to talk to her." Zayd refuted.

"Then why are you two wearing matching outfits?" Another classmate joined the teasing.

"No, no, it is a coincidence. That's all it is." Minoru replied this time. Her face had reddened significantly from all the teasing.

"Alright, leave it there. Our Class Monitor's face has gone as crimson as a tomato." Zayd said to put a stop to the teasing.

---

It was noon, the study session had ended, but Zayd had more stuff to do. Packing up his things, Zayd got up. He put his backpack on and carried his Gym Bag.

'Alright, first things first, boxing gloves. Where can I find some?'

As Zayd thought, Minoru spoke, interrupting his train of thought.

"U-um Zayd-san, do you want to go eat lunch together?" Minoru said with a brief pause in the middle of her sentence. After she finished speaking, she bit her bottom lip cutely as she looked at Zayd for his response.

"Sure, I don't see why not," Zayd said. Momentarily, he noticed a glint in her eyes that he knew all too well from Himari, his gluttonous friend.

'She's a foodie...' Zayd's gaze towards Minoru changed ever so slightly.

"Great! I know the perfect place to go to that's not far from here. It's got some of the best food at a lower price than those other overpriced places."

'Yep. I can confirm, Hoshiko Minoru is a food lover. I want to know how much more we have in common. It's nice to have a friend my age.'

"Alright, are you ready to go?" Minoru said as she looked very joyful.

"Yeah. Lead the way, Minoru-san." Zayd said.

---

On the entire way over, Minoru had this big grin plastered on her face.

They attracted attention from people on the street with their matching outfits. Old men and women sighing, "Ah, how blissful youth is."

"Do you hear what all the people are saying, Minoru-san?" Zayd said as a thought came to his mind.

'I want to tease her so much.'

"No, what are they saying?" She replied.

"I've heard someone say we look like such a good couple," Zayd said as he looked at Minoru's face, anticipating her reaction.

"Ah, I-I see. They're wrong, though. We're not a couple." Her reaction was different to that which was in the Library. She fidgeted with her fingers as her face once again grew in rosiness.

"Yeah. I suppose a real couple would hold hands - like this." Zayd said as he grabbed her hand in his. For a second, she froze before continuing. Her face blushed further as it spread to her ears too.

'It's quite comfortable.' Zayd thought. 'Her hands are so soft and warm.'

Her head hung low as she stared at the ground. Amazingly, she still knew where she was going.

"Am I making you feel uncomfortable, Minoru-san?" Zayd said as he felt he had gone too far. Feeling bad, he let go of his hand. They remained silent the rest of the way after he received no reply.

Upon arriving at the shop, it looked nice on the outside as they went in. There was a quiet aura to the place.

There were plenty of people inside, but they were silent. Usually, in places like these, it was loud. People would all be talking.

Minoru seemed to have recovered mentally from the hand-holding. Her confidence returned in full force.

"Zayd-san, can you look down so you can't see any of the food? I want to surprise you." Minoru inquired.

"I'll close my eyes instead. Push me to where we need to go from behind me like you're driving a car." Zayd suggested for fun, and Minoru nodded in agreement.

They headed to a table of their own which they barely managed to get to without Zayd tripping several times, and Minoru said sorry each time.

So far, Zayd had no clue what food they sold when Minoru asked him a question.

"Zayd-san, can I please order for you? Trust me- I know-" Minoru said as she held a menu before she was interrupted by Zayd.

"Go for it. Surprise me!"

After she ordered, they didn't have to wait long before Zayd could open his eyes.

Before he did so, however, a tantalizing scent crept up to his nose as he breathed in.

When Zayd finally opened his eyes, there was a glorious sight to behold.

A gourmet beef burger on a plate sizzled slightly as a cook had prepared it just a moment ago.

It glistened with juices as Zayd observed it.

"Wow. It looks amazing."

Minoru did not reply. As his gaze turned to her, she was in the middle of taking a big bite from her burger.

As she closed her eyes and moaned in elation, she opened her eyes once more as she saw Zayd staring at her with a grin. Feeling embarrassed by his gaze, she wanted to hide.

"Are you enjoying that burger?" Zayd said. The answer was obvious.

Minoru nodded and proceeded to take another huge bite.

Zayd finally picked up his burger. The anticipation of the flavour he was about to experience already ran through his mind. Would it be salty? How would the flavours link together and merge? What were the sauces?

Zayd had many thoughts in his mind that were all over the place.

He chose to ignore them.

His mouth opened wide as his taste buds prepared for the arrival of food. Zayd's salivary glands had already gone into overdrive.