Colin's posts

"Ah... got it." Nate replied, as they carefully crossed the road and made their way towards the car... where Nate could clearly see the 'spider decor' than Lunet had mentioned before.

"All right kids, get in." Jake said.

"Yo." he then greeted Nate, as they did so.

"Hello." Nate responded.

"Name's Jake." Jake introduced himself.

"Nathan. Or Nate." Nate replied.

"Cool." Jake said. "So where am I taking you guys, little missy?" he asked Lunet.

"Actually... I am." Jake responded after a moment.

"Seriously, you caught me JUST as I was about to pull out of a drycleaner's parking lot." he told her. "Anya needed one of her dresses cleaned, and this one's the most reliable for... well, HER clothing, anyway." he went on.

"Where's your location?" he asked.

She responded, and he laughed a little.

"Wait... hold on a second..." he mumbled.

The two of them then heard a honking sound from a nearby car, and he looked to see someone waving at them from their vehicle across the road.

"Looks like that might be the one you just called." Nate said to Lunet.

"Your friend saw me." Jake confirmed.

Nate was silent, stunned for a moment.

"You are... amazingly perceptive." he said. "I was JUST about to say that if that's too rich for you, then that's all right." he told her.

"I mean, I know they're not exorbitantly expensive or anything, a buffet can reasonably only charge so much and continue to stay in business, but among buffets, they're up there." he reasoned.

"...but... I mean... well, if you're sure about this." he went on.

"Also, yeah, I remember where they are." he confirmed.

"It's... about a 10 minute walk from here, but there're a few weird twists and turns, considering we're walking." he said further. "Seems it's a lot simpler to drive there, but... well... don't own a vehicle." he added at the end.

"R-Really?" Nate asked.

Lunet nodded in response.

"W-wow..." he said.

"Well... there's this one place..." he muttered. "It's an Indian buffet-style. Lotta butter chicken and chicken korma, and all that." he went on. "The temp agency sent me there because they had a massive pile of dishes from a sudden massive group entering the place, and they needed serious help cleaning them." he continued.

"I got paid, and they even let me take home some leftovers afterwards. They were divine." he went on.

"So yeah, that place would be great." he told her.

"The... Oasis Jewel, I believe it's called."

"......" Nathan was silent again for a moment.

"...heh." he then chuckled. "Fair enough." he said.

"I can't argue that." he told her.

"Thanks." he said further.

Lunet could hear it now. There was a little more of a spring in his step, and a little more levity in his tone. It wasn't massive, but it was SOMETHING.

"A full stomach after lunch would feel amazing."

"....okay." Nate replied.

He then took a large breath, held it for a moment, and then exhaled it slowly. He did this a few more times, before standing up again.

"Okay." he repeated, now sounding more composed.

"But... why...?" he asked, as they started to leave the room.

"Why help me? I'm just some... random student in a few of your classes, yeah?" he asked her.

"Why would you go this far as to help me?"

"I... I..." Nathan stammered, before his stomach rumbled. Loudly.

"...I can't deny that I haven't had a filling lunch in a while." he said.

"I usually just cram a sandwich and some coffee down my throat, and work through lunch break." he admitted.

"...and then, after class lets out, I do some more hours at the agency, then have a... well, an okay dinner... and then I get my schoolwork done, and then I get to sleep for the night." he told her.

"...morning..." he mumbled.

"Okay, I get about 5 hours a night." he then admitted.

"But... if I don't do the agency work, I won't be able to afford going here." he told her. "I have a partial scholarship, and my folks don't have the money to support themselves, and my sister, AND my way through University." he then said further, before sitting down in the closest chair, and sobbing lightly.

It seemed like this had been building up for a while.

And his stomach growled. Again.

"...heaven help me, a filling lunch would feel good." he then said, which was as close to an accepting of her invitation that she was going to get.

"No! No, that's not it!" he said.

"I mean... yes." he then said further, before pausing.

"No! No, NOT yes!" he insisted, fumbling over his words some... before they heard the professor's voice in the now-empty (save for them) room.

"Nathan, dear, I think it's time you come clean." she said. "After all, no man is an island." she finished, before leaving the room.

"..." Nate was silent, before sighing.

"Figures she would know." he said. "She DOES live pretty close to it." he muttered.

"Close to WHAT?" Lunet asked.

"...Jobs-2-Go." Nathan admitted.

Lunet had heard of the place. It was like a temp agency, but one just walked in and asked for work. They generally always had something, and the pay-split was... well, it was fair. It wasn't GOOD, but it was okay.

"Ah! N-no!" Nate exclaimed, almost as a gut reaction.

"...er... sorry, didn't... mean for it to come out QUITE that insulting, nor do I mean it as such." he then clarified.

"I mean, I can't go to lunch." he told her.

"I can't afford to sit down and eat." he continued.

"I have wo-errands to run." he said further, starting to say one word, but almost-expertly changing it to another word... not that Lunet didn't pick up on it, though. She heard it.

"Thank you for the offer, though. Maybe some other day." he went on.

"Just... it can't be today. These are errands I can't afford to miss. At all." he insisted.

"Ngh, whu??" Nate murmured, jolting to awareness.

"...oh." he said.

"...actually... fell asleep this time." he sighed.

He was then silent for a moment, before looking at the clock.

"Oh!" he exclaimed.

"It's noon!" he said... curiously, not using the term 'lunch time', as 99% of the others she talked to or overheard did.

"Sorry! Thanks for waking me!" he then told Lunet.

"I can't afford to sleep until my next class." he reasoned, getting out of the chair and hastily putting away his things.

"Ah-haha..." Nate tried to laugh it off, but she could hear the strain in it.

"Just tired." he said.

"Got a... busy schedule and all..." he told her.

And while that was true... for ANY university student... she could hear the weight in those words.

He meant that... probably more than anyone else she'd ever met that had said that.

"Seriously, just... so much to do in 24 hours, wish I had more hours." he went on, trying to laugh it off again... before it turned into yet another yawn that sounded very much like the previous one.

"Oh, of course." Nate replied.

"I would certainly hope you have help at home." he told her.

"But... still... software development, when you're completely blind..." he mumbled.

"Guess anything really IS possible in this world." he said with a small laugh.

Then he yawned. And she heard it. It was... a big one. A yawn of someone that... didn't quite get enough sleep last night, but it seemed like he was already ready to fall asleep.

"Sorry." he apologised.

"That just needed to happen." he admitted.

Nate was... stunned, to say the least.

"Ah... I..." he stammered.

"Holy..." he mumbled, as his brain processed all of this.

"Wow." was all he managed to say.

"And you're... you're in University. And it seems you're doing... quite well for yourself." he went on.

"That's truly amazing." he told her.

Nate was silent for a moment, before steeling himself.

He then turned around and looked at her... to come face-to-face with the eyes of someone that was blind.

Completely. 100%

No signs of reaction in that. At all.

"....!" he was silent, and suppressed an exclamation of surprise.

"I... I..." he stammered.

"But... you're..." he stammered further, before shaking his head.

"So... not a thing?" he asked.