As expected, the fast-food outlet was crowded with the ubiquitous crowd of youths. Annie passed her shopping bags to Sabine and sent her and Reese to find them a place to sit. Then she went with Billy to order some food.
"I think I prefer a diner," Billy grumbled as they waited at the end of a seemingly endless line.
"Mm-hmm." Annie hummed her agreement.
"Personally cooked burgers with that special touch definitely taste better," Billy continued.
"And it's probably less crowded there too," Annie added.
Billy turned to her. "Then why are we here?"
"For the long queue," Annie explained. She was amused by Billy's confused expression. "It's so Sabine and Reese have some time together. With the long queue, it'll be quite some time before we join them. At the diner, we'd be with them all the time since the waitress takes our order."
Billy faced the front of the line. "Sneaky..."
They fidgeted next to each other for a few more minutes.
"Annie, why are you doing this?" Billy finally asked.
Annie glanced up at the taller classmate. "So those two can be together."
"No, I mean, why do you want those two to be together?"
"Like you said, Reese doesn't talk with girls, and Sabine certainly isn't going to approach Reese. I think they deserve a chance to at least find out if they're a match for each other."
Billy leaned down towards her. "But Annie, what do you gain out of this?"
Annie narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean 'what do I gain'?"
"Err," Billy struggled helplessly, "I... it's not like you to... do something for people."
Annie spun towards him with her glare on full. "Are you saying I'm not a nice person?"
"Actually... yeah, you're not a very nice person." Billy leaned back with hands defensively up.
That was not as big a shock as she thought it should be. She had suspicions about her past personality. Having it confirmed to be 'not very nice' was annoying, though.
Annie turned back towards the head of the queue and sighed. When she finally got her irritation towards that latest revelation under control, she told him evenly, "Look, getting those two together just seems to be the right thing to do."
"Okay." Billy appeared to accept her answer. "Sorry."
"It's okay. It's the truth, isn't it?" Though Annie was afraid to learn more about herself.
Billy remained quiet. Their arrival at the head of the queue cut off any more talk. They got the food and went off to find the other pair of classmates.
Sabine and Reese had found a table for four right in the middle of the outlet. It appeared that they had had quite a good time in each others' company. The two of them, despite their reserved natures, dominated conversation for the remainder of dinner. Billy was probably troubled about what he had told Annie.
Annie was troubled by her past.
Regardless, she was now living in the present. She would do her best to live as she believed she should.
***
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