Because it was a Sunday, the number of people who came to the second floor of the cafeteria was only half of the usual number, and the spacious space was filled with familiar smells, the aroma of various dishes, and the smell of lacquer from the four-seater tables and chairs. We didn't have to wait in line to get our meal very quickly. Melly asked for half a stir-fried canola and half a fish cube, and I asked for a shrimp spinach and a Japanese tofu, and then we sat down near the pillar.

Half of the seats in the cafeteria were empty, so there was no noise and occasional shouting and greeting that I was accustomed to in my pre-graduation impression, but there was only a buzzing sound in my ears, and many of these people who were eating were couples sitting opposite each other, so the volume of conversation was naturally not very high. It's of course different from how I feel now when I'm eating alone at my own place, and the atmosphere is very different. When eating alone, the appetite is always like fiddling with a dispensable object, it doesn't matter, but here it is like facing a letter that has been waiting for a long time, always wanting to open it quickly, and always reading it carefully. During our meal time, no one "paid attention" to us, and they all chatted at the right volume while eating.

"You now go to and from work every day, read books, listen to music, and sometimes go to the bookstore on weekends, right?" Melly asked me as she ate, "Like you said last time!" ”

"Hmmm! That's pretty much it! I replied.

"Are you tired from working every day? It's definitely very different from life before graduation, can you adapt to it? ”

"Tiredness is inevitable! It's normal for people who have just joined the society to work hard, but when I think that students will have to go out of school one day, this is a stage that I must go through, a necessary process of contacting the society, and the mood is naturally relieved, and it is natural to adapt to it in an unconscious process, just like the process of drinking beer for the first time when I was five years old and drinking beer now, I feel the same! ”

"Oh! I'm wondering what I'll be like when I graduate! Melly put the chopsticks in her hand to the side of the plate, took out a pack of facial tissues from her jeans pocket, pulled out two, handed one to me, opened the other, wiped the corners of her mouth, and placed the tissue bag on the table. Melly looked at me steadily, her expression slightly melancholy, as if she was expecting the sunshine to come sooner after the rain!

"Afraid of graduating?" I asked.

"Hmmm! Sort of! ”

"Don't be afraid! When you do step out of school, you often find that the reality is not as difficult as you think. Just like learning to swim, although you are scared, you have to leave the swimming ring behind one day, and the moment you really throw it away, you will find that you have actually learned to swim! And, you have two more years to prepare. There will be many people who will help you on this path, and I am one of them! ”

"Thank you!" Melly laughed, nodding her head just right, like the right movie soundtrack sounding at the right time in the right context.

"Why didn't you eat it? Bad appetite? I asked.

"Probably! But I don't usually eat much! Melly said, "You didn't eat breakfast, did you?" ”

"I ate it when I went out!"

"Not bad! It's a boy who knows how to eat breakfast! A lot of the boys in the school skip breakfast! ”

"It's important to have good habits!"

"Yes! I'll go get you some food! What do you like to eat? ”

"Thank you! No, these are just right! I took a spinach and ate it and said, "You girls want to stay in shape, that's why you eat so little at every meal!" I continued.

"That's pretty much what the girls think!"

"Well, it's a girl's nature to love beauty!"

"Yes! And girls love to be beautiful and respect themselves, what do you say? ”

"Makes sense!"

I ate the food on my plate clean, and then wiped the corners of my mouth with the tissue she gave me, the soft tissue emitting a floral-scented smell that I couldn't name, and the smell became a memory that I remembered for a long time afterward. Melly held her chin with one hand and looked intently into my eyes, as if she was looking for something!