Table 2

Valaina walked into the cafeteria. She looked around and felt slightly disappointed as she realized she didn't know a soul. She chose an empty table near the left back corner of the room and sat down.

I'll just eat quick, and get out, she said to herself. She unpacked her lunch and took a bit of her peanut butter sandwich.

"What're you doing all the way over here by yourself?" came a voice beside her. Tu stood there, holding a basket of what appeared to be random fruits in his hands and a bright smile on his lips. He shifted from foot to foot with the same smile, looking at the girl he'd noticed walk by when he had entered. She'd seem nice but when he saw her move to sit by herself, he'd decided to follow her.

"Can I sit with you or are you waiting for someone? If you're waiting for someone, then I can just go away because the last thing I wanna do is bug you if you've got something better to do like wait for a friend or something," he babbled on eagerly, beginning to swing the basket side-to-side now.

Valaina was surprised that someone actually came over to talk to her.
"No, please sit down! I am not waiting for anyone," she said, "I don't know very many people at this school and when came down, no one I knew was here so I sat alone. Actually, to tell you the truth I was hoping no one would see me and think I was a loner." she felt herself blushing so she took another bite of her sandwich, hoping he wouldn't notice.

Setting down the basket on the table, Tu plopped down into the seat opposite of Valaina and offered her a friendly smile and a curious tilt of his head. He began swinging his legs, as he often did when sitting down, and began picking through his basket curiously, looking for something crunchy to start with.

"I don't know anyone here yet either, so I guess we have something in common," he replied as he reached into the basket, pulling out an apple and beginning to nibble on it, "And I saw you, but didn't think you were a loner, just a person who looked like they could use a little company to cheer them up! And cheering people up is something I can do, at least, I think I can do. Am I cheering you up just a little bit?" Tu put on his best puppy dog eyes and gave Valaina an innocent smile over his apple.

Valaina could help but smiling back. She finished chewying the remains of her peanut butter sandwich before answering.

"Yes, you are cheering me up," she said, "a lot, actually. Thank you."
Valaina took a sip from her soda washing away the sticky peanut butter that clinged to the top of her mouth. She looked curiously at the basket he had been carrying. It appeared to be a fruit basket.

"What kind of fruit do you have in there?" She asked, pearing over the table to get a good look.

He gave a silly grin at Valaina's words, beginning to bounce happily in his seat. He'd cheered somebody up! Just the thought itself made him feel good inside; he didn't like seeing other people looking sad...

"Oh! I have all kinds because my parents used to tell me that fruit and vegetables are really good for you and are a natural source of energy, so they're almost all I eat now and today I wanted something sweet so I went all fruits but it's okay because I can just eat some vegetables later," he rambled on, taking a pause to nudge the basket closer to Valaina with a smile, "Do you want one? They're all really good because I picked them myself and my parents taught me how to pick the best fruit but I'm still not as good as them at it but I can at least pick really good frui-Am I talking a lot again?"

He shifted the apple between his fingers and gave the other girl a sheepish grin. Tu didn't want to scare her away and more often than not, people were put off by his tendencies to babble on. It wasn't his fault that if his body wasn't currently moving, his mouth decided to make up for it..

"Just tell me if I'm talking too much, I have a bad habit of doing that and sometimes it bothers people so if it's bothering you, you can just tell me and I won't talk as much."

Valaina had to laugh, "I don't mind you talking so much. Sometimes I think I don't talk enough!" She peered into the basket. "You know, I'm surprised you actually listened to what your parents had to say about eating fruits and vegetables. Most people don't and usually make it a point to avoid fruits and vegetables at all costs, " She picked up a big, bright orange and began to peel it.

As Valaina peeled the orange she could feel her mouth watering. It had been quite a while since she'd eaten any fruit that looked as delicious as this orange.

"Where did you pick these? I can't get over how ripe and juicy this orange looks!"

"But fruits and vegetables taste good! How can anyone not like them? There's a different taste with every fruit and vegetable, so if you keep trying them, you're bound to find one you like, right? Saying you don't like fruit just because you ate one that you didn't really like isn't a good thing, at least, that's what I think," Tu finished thoughtfully, setting down the finished apple core on a napkin and fishing through the basket for another fruit.

He paused at Valaina's question, pondering the best way to answer it.

"Mmm, a friend showed me a place nearby with lots of different fruit trees and helped me pick them," he said finally with a smile. It was the truth, a friend of his did help him find the grove of fruit trees. His friend just happened to be one of the kind he had to summon.

"It's a little far, but if you really wanna know, I could show you sometime!"

"That would be great!" Valaina exclaimed. She put the first piece of orange into her mouth and savered it's sweet, citrus taste.

For some time there was only the sound of eating. Valaina finished up her orange and shifted uncomfortably in her chair. Things had come to silence, and she was unsure of what to say.

She thought about asking him what his power was, but that would just result in him inquiring what hers was, and Valaina wasn't exactly proud of her power.

"What was it like for you back home?" She asked as the idea floated into her head. "Was it much different than the Academy? I actually preferred my life before. I had so many friends, and I had learned to control my powers on my own to avoid any awkwardness with my powerless friends. But here, it's hard having to start over and meet new people, for me, that is."

Finishing the last of his banana with a thoughtful chew, Tu swallowed the mouthful and gave Valaina a smile.

"I've had the same friends all my life and they go with me where ever I go, so I'm never really lonely. The thing is, most people don't really like them because they think they're scary, so in turn, they don't like me. My mom and dad took care of me mostly and thought me how to control my powers because Dad has the same powers too. Mom was the one who reminded me to stay healthy and taught me how to build up my energy levels," he continued on as he began peeling an orange of his own, "She also home-schooled me, so I never went to regular school and didn't meet very many other kids my own age..." A brief flash of sadness passed through the child's eyes before disappearing as he plastered on a smile and looked back at Valaina.

"But now I'm at a school where there are lots of people who are like me and have powers, so it should be easier making friends, right? They can't be scared of my own powers and my friends because they've seen it before, I think."