Class ended and Dallas hurried away to lunch. He preferred to eat his lunch in the corridor behind the shop class where it was quiet. Sometimes he even got to talk to Mr. Brown about cars if he was there. Mr. Brown was the shop teacher at Cooper’s Creek High and the only person who didn’t seem to think that Dallas was stupid. He often assigned Dallas ‘extra credit’ projects to do after school where he taught him things that they ordinarily didn’t get to learn in a high school shop class, such as welding and glass plating.

“This is just between you and me, Carpenter,” Mr. Brown had once told him with a wink. “Wouldn’t want the other kids to get jealous. I don’t trust any of those brats not to lose a finger!”

Dallas went to his locker and fetched the lunch Rosalie had packed for him (Rosalie took pride in her packed lunches and with good reason – she was an excellent home cook). Then he started towards the shop class. However, as he passed the glass walls that looked into the library, Dallas spotted the familiar figure of Nathaniel Westerson yet again.

“Fuck, it’s like he’s everywhere today!” Dallas thought.

Dallas’ footsteps slowed to a stop and he studied Nathaniel once more. The bright-headed boy was tucked away in a corner of the library with a limp sandwich. He must’ve felt Dallas’ stare on him, because he glanced up and met Dallas’ eyes. Dallas felt his mouth go dry, but he managed a little wave. 

Something in Nathaniel’s blue gaze relaxed and he waved back. Then Nathaniel looked around the library before he grabbed a notebook and scribbled something on it, holding it up for Dallas to see.

“Wait for me,” it said.

“Why?” Dallas asked, but it was pointless because Nathaniel couldn’t hear him. However, he waited while Nathaniel gathered his sandwich and books, then scurried out of the library to meet Dallas.

“Going to lunch?” he asked Dallas in a quiet voice, as if he was still in the library.

Dallas lifted his hefty lunchbag and nodded. Nathaniel grinned nervously.

“Do you mind if I join you?” he asked. “I don’t really have anyone to sit with in the cafeteria, so I usually hide and eat in the library while the librarian is on her lunch break. No food allowed, you know.”

Dallas couldn’t help a grin.

“You’re a regular ol’ rulebreaker, aren’t you?” he asked ruefully.

To his immense delight, Nathaniel grinned back – a real grin this time.

“What can I say? I’m a rebel,” he replied. “So can I sit with you?”

Dallas frowned and Nathaniel’s grin faded.

“Sorry,” the smaller boy said quickly, and he took a step away from Dallas. “I know, it’s rude of me to impose on you like that. I don’t want your friends to feel like I’m there to judge you guys or…”

“Hold up,” Dallas interrupted. “I wasn’t going to say no – for one thing, I don’t have any friends for you to embarrass. I was just going to say that I don’t eat in the cafeteria either, but I suppose you wouldn’t know that because you’re never there.”

As he considered this, Dallas realized it was really peculiar that someone like Nathaniel didn’t have any friends to eat with when more than half the school considered his father the next best thing to the Lord. Wouldn’t this kid have people begging him to sit with them in case some of that holiness rubbed off on them?

“Or maybe that’s why he doesn’t want to sit with them,” Dallas thought and he felt horribly sad for Nathaniel.

Nathaniel, however, beamed as if Dallas had given him the good news.

“Oh, that’s alright,” he told Dallas. “I can eat anywhere. You already know I scorn the rules of the library!”

Dallas grinned again.

“Well, Mr. Brown doesn’t have any problem with people eating behind the shop class as long as they clean up after themselves,” he said. “Come on, I’ll show you.”

They skulked through the school hallways to the shop class, which was empty for the lunch hour. Dallas led Nathaniel to the side corridor with a utility closet and an emergency exit, where he sat down and started to unpack his lunch. Nathaniel sat beside him and stared as Dallas pulled out tortillas and shredded chicken and homemade salsa.

“What’s wrong?” Dallas asked.

Nathaniel quickly leaned away. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to stare. It’s just…it looks really good.”

“Oh,” Dallas held out a tortilla. “Do you want to try some? My stepmom made it all – she’s a good cook. She learned a bunch of recipes from her grandmother, so it’s like real Mexican food.”

“May I?” Nathaniel took the offered tortilla and filled it in the same way that Dallas did. He groaned with pleasure when he took a bite.

“It’s so good!” he exclaimed.

Dallas smiled as he ate. “Yeah, Dad likes to joke that he married Rosalie for her cooking. But Rosalie always says that he married her because he knocked her up and couldn’t afford her child support payments.”

The minute he said it, Dallas regretted it…but Nathaniel only laughed.

“Your family sounds so funny,” he said. “I loved talking to your brother – Rico, right?”

“Ricardo, but we call him Rico,” Dallas agreed.

“It must be nice having a little brother,” Nathaniel said, taking another tortilla.

“Most of the time,” Dallas handed Nathaniel the container of salsa. “It’s not great when he runs off – he’s always talking to strangers. He says he knows which people to avoid, but still it gives me a heart attack. Like at the store the other day.”

Nathaniel nodded. “He came right up to me while I was on my shift and started chatting. I was charmed immediately.”

“Yeah, Rico’s charming alright,” Dallas grunted. “He can smooth-talk just about anyone except Rosalie and me. Dad is putty in those little hands – he gives Rico anything he asks for.”

Nathaniel laughed again. Dallas was beginning to feel dizzy, he was so entranced by that laugh. He realized he was talking about himself a lot and tried to change the subject.

“You don’t have any siblings?” he asked.

Nathaniel shook his head, picking at some pieces of chicken.

“No,” he said. “It’s just me. I don’t think my parents have time for more than one child – they have the church to think about. They’re always busy and keeping an eye on me is hard enough.”

“ ‘Cause you’re such a rule-breaker?” Dallas teased, but this only seemed to make Nathaniel look even more uncomfortable. Dallas desperately wanted to cheer him up again and so he changed the subject back to Rico.

“Rico was charmed by you too,” he said quickly. “The minute we got home, he told Rosalie all about the parking lot prince who knew about Ninja Turtles.”

Thank god, Nathaniel smiled again.

“What did she say to that?” he asked.

“She turned to me and demanded to know why I wasn’t keeping an eye on him!” Dallas replied, which made Nathaniel chuckle.

“Poor Dallas!” he said with sympathy and he started to eat again. Dallas noticed Nathaniel’s thin sandwich was left entirely untouched, but he didn’t care; Rosalie always packed more food than he could eat alone. Between the two of them, they finished all of Dallas’ lunch and then Nathaniel shared the tangerine he’d brought, splitting it in half.

“Thank you for letting me eat with you,” Nathaniel said shyly once they were done. “I know I probably annoyed you when you just wanted some quiet, but I enjoy talking to you.”

“You didn’t annoy me,” Dallas replied truthfully. “I feel bad that I did most of the talking about my family. Next time you have to tell me more about yourself.”

It took Dallas a minute before he realized what he’d said and how presumptuous it was to assume that Nathaniel would ever want to eat lunch with him again. What the hell was Nathaniel doing talking to him in the first place? Hadn’t he heard the rumors? Didn’t he care about his reputation?!

But apparently either Nathaniel hadn’t heard or he didn’t care, because he smiled and said, “I’m not that exciting, but if it’s the price to pay for tasting more of your stepmom’s food, I’ll think of something to say!”

Dallas’ pulse quickened, but he nodded as the bell rang.

“Alright,” he said. “I’ll see you here tomorrow then.”

* * * * * *