Never Miss Lunch (Paige)

    "Please, just call me Liz. I don't think I'm old enough to warrant a 'ma'am'." Ms. Manry laughed, rubbing the back of her neck with a free hand.

    "I thought you were old."

    The woman immediately flushed pink at the little girl's remark, looking equal parts mortified and annoyed. "Sarah, twenty-three is not old."

    "For her it is." Derrick said as the little girl nodded her head wildly in response. Really, this woman was almost three times his own age. How was that not old?

    Apparently admitting defeat, Ms. Manry shook her head and focused on Maria's question instead. "That's the jist of it, yes. I thought it would be a good outing. It's educational, too. Have you been to the planetarium? The tour they have there is really something." She looked over at Derrick, a wry smile coming over her face. "I'm not so sure some people were very interested in the tour, though."

    "I was!" Derrick cut in defensively, only to take a deep breath as his cheeks flushed pink. He had paid attention to that strange woman dancing in front of the crowd and rattling off a list of facts about the stars and the moon and the planets. So what if his eyes were wandering? He still learned!

    Ms. Manry only smiled knowingly bfore turning back to Maria. "How about you, Maria? Are you here with your family?"

Just as Maria was going to say something, both Sarah and Derrick chiming in about how Manry was old caused her to pause to watch it all unfold. In all honesty, Maria was amused by this exchange as she tried her best to hide her smile at it. But she had to admit, twenty-three wasn't old. It was really a matter of perspective, in the end. Any more discussion on it was just an exercise in futility as Miss Manry gave in. However, Maria wasn't going to let it pass like that.

"Sarah. Derrick. It's bad manners to talk about someone's age like that," she gently admonished them with a waggling finger, "I don't think Miss--Liz is old. I think she's very young."

Maria was trying to be helpful here, as bumbling she might be right now. But at the same time, she was trying to not overstep her bounds. Maria just met them and she wasn't related to them. But it looked like Miss Manry needed a little help. Additionally, she was feeling her "big sister" side starting to show up a little bit now, seeing both Sarah and Derrick here really reminded her of her siblings.

"It's a very nice place. I was astounded by what they had to show there. It really makes you wonder a lot of things," Maria readily agreed while taking note of Derrick's defensiveness with the same amused smile she tried so hard to hide earlier,  "I'm sure you did, Derrick. Did you have fun there?"

Maria's smile fell upon Manry asking about her family. Of course, she ditched her family to come here out of her own selfishness for at least once. As far as she remembered, she always gave her all for her family whether it was her own obligations through school, when helping out back at home to help run their small restaurant, or when taking care of her younger siblings while her parents were being too busy with work. There was an awkward momentary silence as she pursed her lips.

But she smiled again. This time it was a weak and nervous one, "They're... they're at work right now. Busy. I decided to come on my own for once. Hahaha... Oh. Are you next yet, Derrick?"

Maria tried to change the subject a bit as she looked back at the line to see if it has decreased at all yet.

    Sarah seemed more curious than affronted by Maria's scolding. "But why's it bad?" she questioned with a frown. Although Derrick said nothing, he wondered about it too. Everyone grew old, right? There shouldn't be anything wrong with admitting it, then. For a second, he remembered what some of the older boys had said, how girls had particular things they'd get angry over. He glanced at Sarah before shuffling up with the line. Sarah was a girl and just as baffled as he was. It couldn't be a "girl thing", then.

    As Maria asked about the planetarium, Derrick took a few more quick breaths before nodding as calmly as he could manage. He'd never been very interested in planets and stars (it just wasn't his thing), but at least the displays had been interesting. They were beautifully made, painted with lovely shades of rich blue and ebony and red and green and white. To be honest, he studied those more than the facts being tossed around. At least he heard the thing about Pluto, at least. ...Not that he'd let anyone else know he hadn't been tuned in 100%.

    "On your own? You're alone?" Ms. Manry frowned. She worried the inside of her cheek (Derrick could tell my the way her lips were pursed and how her brow scrunched) before finally saying, "...Do you want to join us for lunch? I'd rather not make you trudge through this mess on your own."

    Sarah tossed her free hand up. "Maria has joined your party!" she chirped, regardless if Maria had accepted the offer or not.

    For his part, Derrick shook his head at Sarah before looking back at Maria, then at the line where a woman was just finishing up, leaving the register open for him. He hurried up quickly and pulled out the bill, setting it on the counter before asking for a hot dog and a drink. Ms. Manry fished another bill out of her wallet and ordered two other items, one for herself and one for Sarah, before looking at Maria. "What would you like?"

"It's just not very nice," Maria replied succinctly back to Sarah as she patted her head, "Some people don't like that. Miss M-- Liz doesn't like that. You want to be a good girl, don't you?"

She wasn't one to tell them the exact specifics. Maria knew, but she wasn't exactly too sure if Sarah would get it. But Derrick, he likely could with his stoic-like maturity. Through time, both of them should be able to figure it out.

"Oh! I..." she blinked and put a thoughtful finger on her lip.

Would that be fine? Some company is nice. Going around the exhibit like this can get lonesome at times. But she essentially came here to be on her own, lonely or not, to prove to herself and her family she could take care of herself. Maria parted her lips to turn her down, but found herself chuckling at Sarah's announcement. It really reminded her of those video games her siblings had their eyes stuck on the t.v. screen for hours before she had to yell at them to go back to finishing their homework.

"Sure, I don't mind," she relented with a smile, Maria just couldn't refuse now that Sarah had said this. Maybe for just lunch alone, she can spend some time. After all, she didn't have too much trouble with Vivian and Shiina.

Maria shook her head at Manry as she started to take out her own bills, "No. It's alright. I can handle myself."

From the counter, she exchanged the money for a pizza slice. Maria pursed her lips at the shiny greasiness that most pizza fanatics would have fawned over. Now they would likely persecute her if they have seen her trying to dab away the oil with napkins... which is what she was doing right now.

"We should find a seat," Maria murmured as she scanned around the area for a table and then finally pointed at an empty one, "There we are. We should hurry.

    Ms. Manry gave a nod and picked up her food, frowning at her occupied hands. Before she could do more than sigh, Derrick tucked his bottle of Cola under one arm, held his food in the same hand, and took Sarah's arm with the unoccupied hand. "C'mon, Sarah."

    Humming out a wonky little tune, Sarah trailed slightly behind Derrick as he led her in the direction Ms. Manry was heading, which was the unoccupied table Maria had pointed out. After a moment, Sarah tilted her head back, looking up at Maria upside-down before she gave a grin. "Coming?"

    "If you trip it's not my fault." Derrick muttered, eyes trained on the crowd in front of him. A sudden thwack on his shoulder made him gasp in surprise. However, as Sarah's impish giggles came up from behind him, all he did was draw his lips into a thin line and plow forwards. It was times like this that his condition was becoming...inconvenient.

    Arriving at the table, Derrick let go of Sarah and set his food down. Ms. Manry sat down on one side, Sarah scrambling onto the chair next to her as the older woman pulled out a popsicle and handed it to the girl with a handful of napkins and a warning of, [color:09cd=33cccc]"Don't drop it now, we weren't given enough for us to keep buying you more." Derrick pulled out two chairs, one for himself and one for Maria, before sitting in the chair across from Ms. Manry and beginning to pick at the bun on his plate.

    "So, Maria," Ms. Manry spoke up after a moment, folding her hands under her chin, "What grade are you in?"

    Derrick tuned out the conversation for a moment, more intent on trying to open the cap to his soda. Which was stuck, apparently. Irritation already beginning to etch across his face, he held the bottle under the table to hide the problem before trying again to open it, letting out an annoyed huff as it remained tightly shut.

Maria chuckled at Sarah's beckoning as she watched the small group head towards the table, "Of course, dear."

She held her rather admittedly oily dish in one hand and stepped through the floor to follow them. To think she was going to eat with strangers, not that it was something totally bad. But Maria was well aware she was going against a lot of what she was taught from a young age. Manry and the children weren't bad people as far as Maria could see. Speaking of seeing, Maria grew concerned for one moment when Derrick seemed to have hit something, but she grew relieved since the boy seemed to be alright enough to help pull out chairs.

"Thanks, Derrick," she beamed back at him while patting his head.

He was definitely the reliable kid of the family. Always reserved and capable of manners and a stickler for rules while always trying to do everything on his own, such was the life of that child or at least that's the impression that Maria had from him. It made her wonder, was she this anti-social? The thought of it caused her face to slowly fall. No, right? It's not like she doesn't have friends back at school... right?

"Huh? Oh, I'm starting junior high," Maria would immediately supply as she snapped out of her reverie, "What about Derrick and Sarah?"

As she asked this, the corner of her eye was able to pick up Derrick seemed to be straining to do something. Maria silently signaled to Manry to "hold on". She leaned to the side to see what the boy was doing. It sounded as if whatever he was doing, it was taking all of his strength to devote to it.

"Derrick," Maria gently called on him, "Give me the bottle. I can open it."

If he did as he was asked, Maria would twist it open if it was a plastic cap. It was tight, but with some push it would open. But if it was a crown cap, she would do what she saw many of the restaurant patrons and her father did. The cap would meet the edge of the table and then slammed her palm against the bottle. It would open up in the first try since it was part of the work she helped do back in the restaurant. Hopefully, it wouldn't start overflowing foam or else it would be a mess...

For the hell of it, let's roll for overflow:

    Ms. Manry opted to look away for the moment, respecting Maria's wish. Sarah, however, missed the gesture (or disregarded it) and pulled the popsicle from her mouth with a loud pop, her teeth and tongue noticeably tinged purple and blue as she eagerly supplied, "Second grade!" She then bit off a large chunk of the treat and hummed as she chewed.

    Derrick looked up at Maria and blinked for a second, cheeks tinging pink in irritation. Did she think he wasn't strong enough? That he couldn't open one stupid soda? Frowning slightly, the boy shook his head and went back to trying to open the drink. "I can do it."

    Taking note of the situation, Ms. Manry ducked under the table, then popped back up with a raised eyebrow and a somewhat exasperated expression. "Derrick, she's trying to help you. Let her."

    "I can do it!"

    "Nuh-uh."

    "Shut up, Sarah!"

    "Derrick!" Ms. Manry scolded, lips pursing. "Say you're sorry."

    "But I'm not."

    Sarah stuck out her rainbow colored tongue in response, prompting the two children to begin glaring at one another. Ms. Manry rested her forehead in one hand and sighed. Why did this always have to happen to her...?

As expected, Derrick refused help. Maria pouted her lips to the side at the refusal, but allowed him to keep trying to open the thing. But at the rate he was going, he might actually start hurting his own fingers or even end up allowing the beverage to blow up on him if he managed to finally open it. No one liked that.

She looked back sympathetically at Manry. It seemed like Maria should take things into her own hands. Hopefully, she didn't mind.

"Derrick," her words were gentle and patient, yet stern enough to get his attention, "Please apologize to Sarah. Telling her to 'shut up' was uncalled for, do you understand?"

Maria certainly didn't mean to pick on the boy. But he had to learn what was okay and what wasn't. Lord knows how many times she had to watch out for her siblings on their conduct.

"Use your shirt to twist it open," Maria suggested afterwards, "It will make it easier."

While refusing help, hopefully he'll take suggestions.

    Derrick looked towards Maria as she scolded him, blinking. Uncalled for? Not at all. Sarah wouldn't leave him alone unless he told her to, so his words were completely justified. But still, seeing as how she was older, Derrick figured he should show the girl some kind of respect. While he refused to apologize, he only offered Sarah one last glare before lifting up the edge of his shirt and using it to grip the cap. After a few more valiant tugs, the cap finally came loose, and he busied himself with taking a small sip of the drink before turning back to his food.

    Ms. Manry silently sighed and looked at Maria with a tired, although grateful expression. "Kids, huh?" she laughed softly, earning a pout from Sarah.

    "I'm not a kid!"

    "Oh? Sorry. My bad." Ms. Manry chuckled, ruffling the girl's hair affectionately. She then turned her attention towards Maria and pondered for a moment before speaking again. "I'm not really sure what grade Derrick is in. He's been homeschooled for the past year while we've tried to find a different school for him."

    The boy's head lifted just slightly, looking between the two older girls as he mumbled, "I didn't need to, though. The other school is fine."

    A sad sort of look passed over Liz's face before she shook her head and looked towards Maria with a smile. "So, interested in checking out anything else while you're here?"

Maria would soon notice that getting Derrick to acknowledge his mistake was an exercise in futility. Then again, they just met today. It wasn't like Derrick would just warm up to her right away. The girl gave up on the pursuit, but she did smile that he took her advice.

"Good job," she would chirp just as the cap was finally opened.

And thank god it didn't spill. Maria had figured he might have shook up the bottle enough for it to start frothing upon opening. But, her inconsequential concerns weren't realized thankfully. She would finally take a bite of her pizza. It was getting cold, not that she minded. But there was a reason why it was bought in the first place.

Maria could only give a knowing smile to Manry and at Sarah while chewing her meal. She finally swallowed while listening to what Manry had to say about Derrick's level of education. Homeschooled? She had heard a couple of kids had that kind of luxury, if it could be called that. The girl knew some had specific needs or perhaps it was their parents' preference, but she wondered what kind of needs a child like Derrick needed.

As Manry asked what she wanted to check out, Maria paused just before she took another bite of her slice. "You mean the whole exhibit? Mmn, I don't have any preferences right away... But I hope to have a look at everything before the day ends. I won't have another opportunity like this again for a while."

God knows what kind of punishments that her parents would force on her by the time she went home. Maybe being stuck doing more grueling chores for the restaurant and less time to have her own other than homework.

"Is it just the three of you here, Liz?" Maria curiously asked Manry.

    "I see." Ms. Manry bobbed her head for a moment. "I'm surprised a girl your age is interested in all of this, though. I remember when I was in junior high." she let out a fond kind of laugh, shaking her head as if pushing away her sudden thoughts.

    Derrick seemed uninterested in Maria's next question, but Sarah pouted and kicked at the table, striking the center support and making the table rattle. Immediately Ms. Manry reached out and steadied the table with her hands, pausing for a second to make sure the surface wouldn't tip over before she sighed and nodded at Maria. "Yup. These two were the only ones interested in coming today."

    "June promised she was gonna come along but she didn't!" the girl whined.

    "Now, now, Sarah. June wasn't feeling well."

    "She was faking." Derrick said simply, popping a fluffy piece of bun in his mouth and chewing calmly. After he swallowed, he looked over at Sarah. "Most likely she wanted to sleep. That's what she was doing before I came downstairs."

    At this information Sarah took another bite of her popsicle and chewed morosely while Ms. Manry gave Derrick a look of surprise mixed with exasperation. Seeing this, Derrick shrugged and picked up his food, finally beginning to eat the whole thing.

    Shaking her head, Liz looked at Maria with a small smile as she pointed a finger at the girl's pizza. "So how's it tasting?"

Maria chuckled, "I tend to be the curious type, Liz. I think I know what it's like to look after them. I have little siblings of my own, after all."

She fondly looked back at the memories. It wasn't even that long. The girl was only leaving the house for one day for herself. But somehow, she was starting to miss them. Maria blinked at Sarah's kick and frowned disapprovingly at her. But she found herself tiltingher head to the side in confusion. There was... something odd.

"Oh, it's not bad. It'll keep me going for the rest of the day, that's for sure," Maria supplied and then looked at the rest of the kids, "How are you two faring?"

She also continued with another curious question at Manry, "I take it June is their older sister?"

    Sarah offered a slow thumbs up with her free hand at Maria's question, obviously still dismayed at the news Derrick just relayed to her. For his part, Derrick merely bobbed his head, more intent on taking careful bites of his food.

    "Huh? Sis-?" Ms. Manry seemed taken back by the question before she stopped herself and blinked. "Oh, no, no, she's not."

    "She lives at the orphanage with us." Derrick supplied calmly before taking another bite of his food and chewing contentedly.

    If the three were bothered by this sudden reveal, they certainly didn't seem like it. Sarah only offered a nod in agreement, her mood neither brightening nor dimming. Ms. Manry seemed almost relieved, actually. Perhaps she was glad she didn't have to break the news herself. And Derrick just chomped down the last bite of his hot dog before taking a sip of his drink, looking at Maria and studying her reaction.

Maria blinked at why Manry seemed so flustered about. She would soon realize thanks to the stick-in-the-mud attitude that Derrick had. Yet, she didn't quite know what to make of this. All three of them didn't seem to mind. Perhaps, they were used to it? The thought of an orphanage made her sad.

She finally murmured, "Oh I see... I'm sorry, I was being too nosy. I was... rude."

Maria hung her head rather awkwardly. Maybe it didn't mean much to them, but for her, she didn't quite know how to maneuver herself at this point. The girl took another bite of her meal and chewed as she thought what to do next. It's not like that them being orphans offended her. Just that, it's her first time meeting people like that and walking into that kind of conversation was an awkward first.

How's your meal, Derrick?" she weakly asked him.

    He'd been waiting for it, that little awkward droop everyone got the moment they found out where he lived. A part of him was annoyed about it. So what? There were plenty of people who didn't have parents. The number of kids at the orphanage proved that. So why were people so antsy about it? Rather than answer Maria's question, Derrick set down his drink (now only about half full) and shook head head almost bewilderingly...or was it in disappointment? "It doesn't matter."

    "Derrick!"

    "What? It doesn't." the boy shrugged, scratching lightly at his dirty blond hair. "Just because I don't have any parents doesn't mean people should feel bad for me. I'm doing fine."

    Seemingly used to this response, Ms. Manry leaned across the table, about to pat the boy on the head, but soon thought better of it and patted his hand instead. "You're right, you are doing just fine." She spared Derrick a grin before looking back at Maria with an awkward little laugh but just as bright of a grin. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me for not breaking this to you a little easier. But really, don't look so down. I promise, orphanages aren't all terrible like you see in The Blues Brothers."

    "What's that?"

    "An old movie, Sarah. But really, it's not that bad."

    "Have you never met kids like us before?" Sarah wondered curiously, finally pulling her empty popsicle stick from her mouth. Her eyes began to shine a little brighter as she knelt in her chair and leaned across the table eagerly, getting as close to Maria as she could without falling. "Didja want to ask questions? I'm good at answering questions!"