Pancakes For All!

As the pancakes flopped onto Nia's plate, she watched a dollop of syrup drop onto her salad. It didn't really bother her but at the same time made her anxious. What if that ruined the taste of the salad? Would she not be able to eat more of it and would it all go to waste?

She stared at the giant stack of pancakes and realized the salad was the least of her worries. She barely ate half the amount that was currently on her plate in a day. Well, there was only one thing to do. Start eating.

She took her first bite, a bit too much for her tiny mouth, and started to chew just as the girl questioned her. She finished chewing, formulating her response before she responded.

"Well, uh... I have lived here for about a year now and uh, I don't really have any friends so uh, my dorm parent and I decided this would be a good event for me to try. So uh, here I am." She tried to sound confident like she had made a really strong choice and was comfortable with it. She actually sounded the opposite.

@Strange

“A year? Wow.” Lucia raised her eyebrows. She herself had only been on the island for a few months and was just starting to get acclimated to the new environment. It felt like it took an eternity--moving in, signing up for classes...paperwork. Now it was time to start the living-here part of the deal. Silently, she wondered if it would take her as long as Nia to start making friends. After everything else, would that really be the hardest part? Would she still be alone?

Of course not! This newbie wasn’t about to let a year go by without cultivating any meaningful relationships whatsoever! She would take life by the horns and accomplish what she meant to do! And if she could help someone else while doing that, even better!

Invigorated, Lucia slammed her hands against the table. “We’ll be friends from now on! You don’t have to worry about being lonely! We’ll hang out and talk to each other and share pancakes all the time because we’re gonna be friends!” she exclaimed, exuding the confidence Nia wished she had. Another surge of adrenaline rushed through her, electricity running through her veins. This must be what friendship felt like. Electricity and pure, sweet maple syrup.
@beloved

"Uh..." Nia was visibly shaking after the girl's hands had slammed onto the table. Part of her felt honored that someone so quickly wanted to be her friend but this girl was a bit more than Nia had been hoping for. When she had seen the girl sitting alone, she had expected someone soft spoken and shy like her. Not someone who would give her more pancakes than she could eat in a week and then declare them friends with more energy than Live contained in her entire being.

"Sure..friends." She really did want a friend. This was what she had come here for after all wasn't it? She couldn't be too picky.

@Strange

Lucia clapped her hands together in excitement. She’d made a friend, an actual friend! Looking around, she saw all the other friends playing games and having fun. Maybe she and Nia could join in on that! Bouncing on the balls of her feet, she exclaimed, “Oh, great, that’s great! I -” Her hyperactive gaze darted from the rest of the campgrounds to Nia, just now realizing that the girl was trembling. Lucia’s giddy motion stopped, and her now inappropriate grin faded. “ - Um.” Something had gone wrong. Was she being too scary? Was it the yelling? She should probably sit down now.

Quietly, like a child that had been scolded, Lucia lowered herself back down to the bench. She was staring wide-eyed at nothing in particular, far too aware that she had messed up and made her friend feel bad. But that was the thing. They were friends now. They just needed to do something that friends did, like...Oh, of course!

She silently pulled something out of her pocket, keeping calm to avoid scaring Nia even more. Fiddling with the tiny piece of technology for a second, she made up her mind and dove ahead with the question. “Do you have a phone number?” she asked. Her voice was still soft when she spoke, most of her enthusiasm from earlier gone in a flash.
@beloved