Maybe she's not so bad

Luxia takes a bite out of her sandwich.

"So... Malakai... how was your weekend?" she asked. Hao Sheng stifled a laugh at her attempt at small talk.

Malakai looked surprised. Oh uhm, it was pretty good. Nothing too bad happened, "he said awkwardly. "Uhm, how about you?"

Hao Sheng looked at the two of them, amused. He took a sip of his juice to hide his smile.

Luxia scratched her head, "My weekend was pretty good, I guess."Nothing out of the ordinary."

For a while, there was an awkward silence that was filled with the sounds of them eating. Or in this case, just Hao Shenv and Luxia.

"So are you also going to the party on Saturday?" Luxia suddenly asked.

Malakai scratched his head, still a bit guarded. "Well yeah, I am. That's sort of my scene, if you haven't heard, "he said.

Luxia smiled. "Oh cool. "Hao Sheng and I were thinking of going as well," she casually mentioned, opening another container filled with small fruits with a small smirk.

Malakai turned to Hao Sheng, eyebrow raised.

Hai Sheng shot Luxia a look, and she innocently shrugged. For heaven's sake, he just wanted to eat in peace.

He wiped his mouth. "Corrections. She wants to go, and being the good friend I am, I'm accompanying her", he said dryly.

Luxia turned to him, aghast.

She folded her arms across her chest, "You make it sound like I'm the only one who wants to go."

Hao Sheng grinned. "Well, aren't you?" he asked cheekily.

Luxia huffed. Well, as far as I remember, you didn't seem to mind too much when I asked you." She picked up a grape, plopping it into her mouth.

Hao Sheng rolled his eyes dramatically.

"That's because, as I mentioned before, I'm such a good friend," he said to Malakai, "come on back me up here, after all, you know me best."

Luxia also turned to Malakai. "Don't tell me you're going to side with him!" she said, throwing her hands up in mock frustration.

Malakai found himself smiling at their banter. He leaned his elbows against the table as he smiled.

Well, I don't know... you do look like the one who's more invested in this between the two of you, "he drawls, looking in Luxia's direction with a playful smile.

Luxia also smiled. Well, of course you'd say that. You're being biased because you're both boys. I'm outnumbered here. We need a girl in this group to even out the numbers, "she says, pouting.

Hao Sheng laughs. "You're only saying that because you know he's right," he says smugly.

Luxia rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at Hao Sheng. "Whatever. I know the truth deep down and that's enough for me. "

"Sounds like something a loser would say...", he dramatically whispers loudly.

Luxia just smacks him lightly on his arm and smiles.

She looked over at Malakai, who didn't have lunch, and held out the other half of her sandwich.

Don't you have something to eat? You can have my sandwich, if you want, "she says." "Unlike SOMEONE here, I'm actually willing to share my food."

Hao Sheng looks up at her and rolls his eyes. In my defense, I offered to go with him to get some food in the cafeteria, and he declined. It's not my fault, "he said, holding his hand up in mock surrender.

Luxia wrinkled her nose at him. That's because it's cafeteria food. No matter how high-profile this school is, the food here is only as good as the food you'd find in a 3-star restaurant. It's honestly disgusting if you ask me."

Hao Sheng scoffed. "How long have I been gone that 3 star restaurants are considered trash now?"

Luxia shrugged. What can I say? I'm a girl with specific tastes. And the food here doesn't suit my taste, not to mention how unhealthy it is! "

Hao Shwng lightly shoved her shoulder. "Seems to me that you're just picky," he smiled teasingly.

Luxia sniffed. "And what of it?" she asked, looking slightly miffed.

Before Hao Sheng could retort, Malakai interjected. He felt like if he didn't stop them now, this would go on forever.

He handed the sandwich back to Luxia. "Thank you for caring, but I'm really okay. I usually don't eat much during lunch, anyway, so it's fine, "he said with a kind smile.

What are you talking about? Skipping meals isn't healthy, "she tried to hand the sandwich back to him.

Malakai held up his hands to block her. "No, no, it's really alright. But thank you, really, "he said sincerely."

Luxia wordlessly took the sandwich back, but before she could put it away, Hao Sheng grabbed it out of her hands and put it in front of Malakai, along with an apple and a bottle of water he fished from his lunchbag.

"Eat", was all he said before he turned back to his own food. His tone left no room for argument.

Malakai wanted to protest but then stopped at the pointed look both Luxia and Hao Sheng gave him.

He felt a smile crawl onto his face as he looked at the food. Well, one meal wouldn't hurt.

"Thank you...", he said softly, taking a small bite of the sandwich, a warm feeling settling in his heart.

Seeing that he was eating, Luxia turned away from him with a satisfied look and also focused on her own food.

"Wow, so you listen when Hao Sheng tells you to eat, but when I do it, you refuse. If I didn't know any better, I'd have thought I was the problem, "Luxia says sarcastically, smiling to let Malakai know she was just playing around.

Malakai hummed. Well, I think it was just instinctual, honestly. Even as a kid, he was the one making sure I ate even when I didn't want to.

Luxia raised her eyebrows. "Wait, you guys have known each other since childhood?" she asked, surprised.

Hao Sheng glanced at her, a chill going down his spine. What is she up to now?

Hao Sheng narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah... we have," he answered, apprehensive. Luxia's eyes gained an excited glow.

"Oh... so you'd say you guys are, how do you say, childhood friends?", she directed her question at Malakai.

Yeah, you could definitely say that, I guess. We were pretty much inseparable back then, "Malakai says casually, seeming not to notice the change in Luxia.

"Cool, cool," Luxia nodded. "So you guys are old friends. That's cool. "

It was when she said those exact words that he figured out what she was getting at. This sly girl was trying to cheat information about Saturday out of Malakai.

Just as Luxia was about to ask another question, Hao Sheng stomped on her foot under the table, giving her a sharp look.

Luxia looked at him puzzled. He mouthed "drop it" to her and she just rolled her eyes, with a smile, but didn't ask anything pertaining to that again.

"Anyway, can you tell us a bit about what to expect on Saturday?" she asked Malakai.

Malakai looked at her puzzled.

"Why me?" he asked, taking a sip of the water.

Luxia smiled sweetly. Well, I mean, you're the only one here who's been to these types of parties before, so...

Malakai sighed. Well, I mean, I don't know what to tell you. It's just the usual stuff you can expect. There's alcohol, food, music and dancing. It just gets rowdy as the night continues, "he says nonchalantly, resting his head against his hand.

That didn't seem to discourage Luxia, though. She looked just as chipper as before. "That sounds cool. I can't wait to experience it."

Malakai smiled slightly. I guess it does seem pretty cool the first time, but I've been going so long that it's all the same for me.

Luxia smiled shyly. It's just that I didn't really go out much, and well, it's senior year now, so I decided that I wanted to experience this at least once before graduating, you know?"

Hao Sheng laughed fondly. "Well then, I guess I better make sure it's the best party of your life".

They shared a smile before turning back to their food.

For the rest of the lunch break, they talked and joked around as they finished off their food. Hao Sheng and Luxia treated him like he had been part of their little group all along, making sure to include him in their conversation.

Overall, Malakai would say that he had a great time. Is that what it was like to have normal friends? Well, as normal as they could be, anyway.

It had been quite a long time since Hao Sheng left, so Malakai had forgotten what it felt like to enjoy other people's company, as after that he got mixed up with the 'wrong crowd'.

Hao Sheng and Luxia seemed to get along really well and were fun to be around. Luxia seemed to be pretty nice and generally funny.

Although he wouldn't exactly say he completely let go of his reservations about her, he could admit that she was pretty cool and he wouldn't mind hanging out with her again...

Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't so bad after all.