The Thief

things like ramen, katsudon, and beef curry on the menu. They didn’t taste quite like they did in Japan, but she had to admit it was nice to get some of her favorite comfort foods on occasion. Today, however, she was out of luck. Spaghetti, hamburgers, and some kind of chicken and vegetable pie. She distrusted the pale sauce that oozed from the crust.

Jul also looked disappointed at the menu.

“Could I get the spaghetti without any meatballs?” she asked meekly.

The lunch lady just scooped up a serving and handed her a plate.

“Thanks anyway,” Jul sighed, shoulders drooping.

Camille got a plate of the same and moved on to the drink fountain.

“Hey...um...” Jul said, picking up a bottle of water. “Can I sit with you? I’d rather not, um, sit alone. If you don’t mind.”

Camille saw her flick a glance to the end of the line, where Ryan and Sakamoto were at odds again. Jul had always sat alone until now. She was avoiding one of them? Her money was on Sakamoto. It must be because of what he’d done to her journal.

“Okay,” Camille said, getting a cup of some kind of fruity red drink claiming to be from Hawaii.

Once they sat down, Jul relaxed slightly, though she continued to survey the room, sipping absently on her water. Camille wondered what Jul’s purpose had been, asking for her company specifically. Was she supposed to be intimidating? Or had she just been the closest person at the time? Camille twirled her fork in her spaghetti, thinking that this really shouldn’t bother her. It didn’t matter either way, right? She was just supposed to keep an eye on the girl, for Gabriel. She didn’t need a friend.

Suddenly Jul went rigid. Camille glanced over her shoulder; Ryan was headed in their direction, carrying a tray, attention zeroed in on Jul. Camille looked at her, baffled.

“Umm...ahh...” Jul stalled, then her gaze landed on the two closest people. “Mac! Destin!” she said with forced cheer. “You guys should sit with us. You know. Take up all the chairs.”

Mac Dupree seemed too excited by her invitation to notice her unusual phrasing. “Absolutely!” he said, sliding his tray onto the table. His tall friend was more hesitant, but sat down as well.

Camille snuck another glance at Ryan. He had veered away, expression sour. Jul’s ploy had worked, whatever her reasons. Why on earth was she avoiding Ryan? Sure, he was in a perpetual bad mood, but he seemed pretty harmless from what she’d seen.

She turned back around, surveying the table. Whatever Jul was avoiding, she wasn’t sure this was better. The top half of Destin Heron’s face was permanently obscured by a thick curtain of dark hair; the bottom half was already hidden behind an American comic, something to do with spaceships and aliens. Jul’s attention was fixed on her spaghetti, single-mindedly pushing the chunks of meat out of the way. Camille was fine with tucking into her own pasta in silence, but it seemed Mac wouldn’t stand for it.

“Should have gone for the chicken pot pie,” he said.

“Same problem,” Jul shrugged.

Mac gestured to her plate. “Cold pasta, nasty tomato sauce, old hamburger meat.” He swept a hand over his own plate. “Chicken. Vegetables. Potatoes. A glorious flaky crust. They have absolutely nothing in common.”

“They both have meat in them.” Jul smiled sheepishly.

“You’re a vegetarian?” he said, like she had a horrible disease. “I am so sorry, you must live in pain every day.”

Jul shook her head, smiling. Her straight, dark hair swept around her shoulders. “I just don’t like meat, alright? That’s all.”

“Don’t tell me you are too?” Mac asked Camille.

In response, she speared a meatball and popped it into her mouth.

“See, look, even the gold ranger is more sane than you.”

Camille’s eyebrows went up. Did he just call her a Power Ranger?

“Being vegetarian is actually really healthy,” Jul explained.

“Well there’d better be some benefit if you’re going to pass up all the food that tastes good, I guess.”

“Keep it up, you’re doing really well,” Destin muttered.

“I mean, whatever,” Mac floundered. “It takes all kinds, right?”

He was so obvious it was painful to watch. Camille sighed and pushed away her pasta.

“It’s pretty bad, isn’t it?” Jul said.

Camille nodded, knowing Jul meant the food, not Mac. The dark-skinned girl could be pretty oblivious too, in her own way. Why am I still sitting with these people? she wondered, slumping down in her seat. Because if I leave, Ryan will probably come back. Maybe she could swipe a couple of cookies on the way out...

“Told you, should have gotten the pot pie,” Mac said loftily.

“Pot pie...” Camille muttered, trying out the name. “Weird sauce.”

“What? No, the sauce is awesome,” Mac objected.

Destin reached around his comic and nudged his untouched plate towards her. “You can have mine, if you want. I’m not hungry.”

Camille eyed the dish suspiciously. This ‘pot pie’ seemed to be having some kind of identity crisis. It wasn’t sure if it wanted to be a pie or a stew. It smelled alright, though. And she was really hungry...

“Thank you,” she said, reaching for it with her fork.

“How do you get that tall without eating anything, man?” Mac wanted to know.

“Magic beans,” Destin said, turning a page.

Despite the weird color, the pie thing was good, Camille decided. She pulled Destin’s plate closer.

“See?” Mac told Jul. “The pot pie claims another convert.”

“That doesn’t mean I - oh!” Jul exclaimed, staring behind her.

Camille felt something cold drop on her shoulder. Applesauce dripped down the front of her shirt. She looked up and saw a girl who might have been beautiful if she weren’t so smug.

“Oops,” Hayley Dupree said, standing over her with a tray of food and looking utterly insincere. “Sorry, my hand slipped.”

Immediately, Camille picked up her cup of punch and chucked it in Hayley’s face. Her expression was priceless. The red sugar water ran all down her white blouse.

“You little bitch!” she shrieked, swiping at her outfit frantically.

Mac was laughing loudly.

“My hand slipped,” Camille echoed her, grinning.

“Ugh!” Hayley shrieked, tossing her water at Camille. Ice skittered all over the table. The rest of the cafeteria had gone silent, watching them.

Camille shrugged. There were other ways to win fights than using her fists. She grabbed a handful of her spaghetti and flung it at the girl. Hayley dodged most of it - the rest hit her pristine little friend, who squealed and upended her tray on Jul. Apparently that was the starting bell for chaos.

“FOOD FIGHT,” someone yelled, and then the cafeteria was a warzone, handfuls of meals flying across the room. Jul sunk down in her chair, and Destin hid under the table. Mac managed to get a handful of jello into Hayley’s hair before she fled the room, yelling for the principal. Well. Might as well enjoy it while it lasted. She grabbed some more spaghetti, looking to tag Sakamoto, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Five minutes later, she was in Umino’s office, bits of ice still melting in her hair.

“What a charming interlude you’ve caused,” the principal said frostily.

“Hayley caused it,” Camille stated.

“Ms. Dupree explained it all. What she did was accidental. What you did was on purpose. Now how are we going to make amends?”

Suddenly the door burst open, and there was Jul, breathless. “Ms. Umino, it wasn’t her fault, ma’am, Hayley started it! Ask Mac and Destin, they saw it too!”

Umino regarded Jul sternly for several moments. “Even if that were true,” she said, finally, “the fact remains