Barely a week later, Xenja was walking down the hall which was crowded as you'd imagine a lunch break at school to be, people running, pushing each other, noise everywhere, too much so for the silent girl. Instinctively her hand slid into the big pocket of her white coat, pulling out a pair of over-ear headphones, the large sort, totally unfitting her short figure. Self consciously adjusting her glasses and fixing her hair into a ponytail - feeling ignored and overlooked didn't mean her appearance mattered any less - she put on the speakers and muted the world around her.

Not uncommon for her, Xenja was walking alone, looking for the empty corners and hideaways this hall had to offer. She did not want to be heard nor seen eating, for no reason in particular except for the feeling of being watched by others, an irrational fear considering that most people ignored her on the regular. The pre-packed meal that was waiting in her bag obviously wasn't home-cooked, could she not remember the last time her mother had looked at a kitchen knife or even went grocery shopping for that matter. Though Xenja did enjoy both the daily takeaway meals and neat lunch packs - experience led her to expect a tasty lunch - homemade meals had a certain something that Xenja missed, something that gave the sense of family. It shows a special type of affection when someone makes you a meal by hand, an affection that you'll fail to find in a pre-made lunch box from the store. That's at least what Xenja imagined the difference to be like, could she not recall the last time when someone cooked for her.

Rounding corner after corner, the hallway became emptier until, at the very end, Xenja walked into a situation that made her turn and hide behind the corner she came from, fast enough to trip over her own foot. Three girls, all of them slightly older but way taller than her, were ganging up on a fourth one. Not a scene Xenja wanted to be a witness of. She made sure to keep away from people like these - the overly popular but just as bitch bullies - at all times, as being ignored was better than being targeted, in her opinion anyway.

"Leave me alone!" echoed a familiar voice along the corridor, coming through the headphones just as the current song was fading out. Xenja halted in place without delay and pulled those off her head, hoping her ears had been mistaken. Hoping that the voice which sounded pained as it cracked mid-scream was just incredibly similar to the one constantly on her mind.

Her hope was quickly shattered as she leaned around the corner to see one of the unknown girls pulling on a paper bag that a pretty blonde - Stevie, of course - was holding. As soon as the bag slipped from her hand, the stranger tore it apart and spoke, "Aw, would you look at that, your poor grandma made you a sandwich. And even the bread, it's self-baked, isn't it? How caring and thrifty... and dirt poor."

The other girls started snickering and pushed Stevie around when she tried to snatch her lunch back. Tears were prominent on her face - mixed with her black eyeliner - which seemed to amuse the bullies even more.

"Come on girls, let's not be mean to the little kid. She's hungry, isn't she?"

The bully held the bag in Stevie's direction, who didn't dare to approach the obvious trap, and instead took a step back.

It seemed like she knew what was coming, as she let out a faint quiver before trying to cover her face. Being powerless on her own, the girls on each of her sides gripped her hands and held the blonde in place. The boss bitch - Xenja's mind found that made up title very appropriate - took the sandwich out of the bag and threw it directly in Stevie's face before stepping on it once it landed on the ground.

Knowing that the bullies were about to turn around and pass Xenja's hiding place, she moved away. She felt her own tears rolling down her cheeks, the painfully lifeless expression on Stevie's face burned into her memories. Hiding in a classroom seemed like the best option, though running into a teacher enjoying their own break seemed like a drag. Xenja's mind had troubles deciding if the risk was worth it, but as the steps of three people started getting louder, she opened the door next to her and went inside.

To her relief, the classroom was dead empty, so she calmly awaited the girls' passing. As soon as the steps started getting quieter - boss bitch's high heels gave off a very audible clicking - Xenja dashed outside the room.

Moving her legs faster than usual, she went around the corner and saw Stevie cleaning up the floor, tears still wetting her hands as her sobbing continued.

Hesitating slightly, Xenja went closer and helped the broken blonde. Disbelieving, Stevie looked at the short stature as if God himself had appeared before her eyes, unsure which of both was more shameful. Picking up the last bits and pieces of trash, the silent girl started feeling awkward, could she not express her worry nor her regret for what happened as long as her hands were busy. Making a few quick steps to a nearby trashcan and throwing away the wasted meal, she rushed to get her board from the bag she had placed on the floor. While Xenja's silence was as common as the sleepless night that followed after an awful day, Stevie's loss of words seemed unnatural and had the short girl's heart racing with worry.

[Sorry I didn't step in] Xenja started writing, hesitation in her fingers, [I couldn't.]

Stevie, still too embarrassed to respond with any comprehensible sounds, just shook her head, trying to express that Xenja carried no fault.

[I have more than enough lunch, do you want to share? Noodle salad or sandwiches?]

Her counterpart let out a surprised 'huh' upon reading the offer, to which the short girl only nodded with a silent snicker, had she not expected such a genuinely confused reaction. Not even waiting for a reply - it seemed pointless to - Xenja sat down on the windowsill next to them and unpacked her lunch. A plastic Japanese-styled lunch box revealed a meal that was split into various sections, more than enough for two people to feast on. One removable bowl of noodle salad making up for one quarter, a few sandwiches in the second, and small snacks and a dessert in the rest.

Xenja didn't even question her sudden surge in courage, though she was nervous from interacting with Stevie, without a doubt. She just felt like this was the right thing to, and frankly, knowing how hard it can be to deal with people, it was what she wanted to do.

As weird as that thought sounded to her, she was thankful that the victim was Stevie, would she not have dared to even go near this situation if it was a stranger. While Stevie wasn't exactly a friend yet, she certainly was no stranger, so Xenja took some paper towels and plastic cutlery from her bag, put the fork into the noodle salad and handed her the bowl.

"Why?" started Stevie unsure, "Why are you sharing your food with me?"

Xenja only shook her head in response, herself not knowing why she was doing that sudden act of kindness.

"I... I can't accept this..." spoke Stevie, while obviously looking hungry enough. Xenja understood why Stevie rejected the offer, she herself would never accept someone's food without proper compensation.

So she picked up her board and wrote [I can't eat this much anyway. Please eat.]

With that, she took a sandwich from the box and took a bite. Stevie, although unsure, took the fork and also started.

Sitting on the last windowsill at the end of the hallway in silence, the girls ate and enjoyed the company. There was no need for words, just the presence of another person that had no evil intentions was a welcome change for both, and the occasional smile when their eyes met had Xenja wishing for more. She ate her sandwiches, Stevie finished the noodle salad, and then they shared the dessert - a sweet bun and yogurt with fruit, which the silent girl handed the blonde.

Only minutes after finishing, it was time to head back to class. Xenja didn't know how to end their small meet-up and was starting to feel awkward when Stevie spoke, "Thank you for today. Would it be alright to eat lunch together again tomorrow?"

Not expecting the invitation, the black-haired girl was taken aback but then nodded with a smile - a smile that would prevail on her face for the rest of the day.