A TIGER'S WAITING TO BE TAMED , (tagged: celo)

[JOSHUA DONOVAN DALE]

Joshua looked up from the book he was reading as the bell clanged in the courtyard, loudly signalling that classes were out for the day and that dinner was now being served in the mess hall. Sitting up in the library at his favourite table by the window in the History section, Joshua pondered whether or not to act on the sound. Being a college student, he had classes scattered throughout the day rather than from morning until night, and so he had not been in class, but would be attending another two before the conclusion of the day, unlike the high school students who now only had homework to worry about. The fact that he'd taken on a double major was also making things difficult. In the end, it was the subtle pangs of hunger in his stomach that made his decision for him. Stacking up the books, he distinguished library books from his own and put them all back upon their correct shelves, placing his possessions into the bag which he slung over his shoulder and giving the librarian a friendly sort of smile as he departed the library. He joined a crowd of students that all seemed to be heading toward the mess hall themselves, but neither recognised nor acknowledged any of them. This was fine with Joshua. He was a loner and did not often make conversation with strangers, so as they laughed in grounds and celebrated the end of the day, he was content to just walk amongst them and ponder what they would be having for dinner that evening. The staff of the hall liked to change things up every now and then, so that the students weren't stuck with the same bland and boring meals seven days a week (or five, for those that went home for the weekends).

There was a general murmuring of approval--as it turned out, it was a pizza day at the Academy. Forgoing the usual sides of salad and mashed potatoes to go with some kind of meat, they had breadsticks and nachos, French fries and poutine. Joshua felt attracted by the latter, but had to make his own to ensure that there was vegetarian gravy poured on top of it. It was nothing compared to that of his favourite little diner, he thought as he sampled it, but it was certainly better than salad for a change. He wasn't averse to fruits and vegetables but when they comprised a good part of your diet they did get kind of boring after a while. He sometimes envied other students that didn't have to be careful about what they were eating, but it was not a strong enough feeling to make him change his diet. Joshua Dale was vegetarian and there was nothing more to be said about it. He could still remember when he'd found out that meat came from animals--he had spat out the chicken on which he'd been dining and, at six years old, had announced that he would never touch it again. His parents had assumed that he was just being a child and that he would get over it soon enough, yet here he sat, still as void of meat as he'd been back then. He couldn't really miss it when he couldn't remember the taste, at least. It was just a little irritating when even gravy had to be double checked. Turning his fork absent-mindedly in his left hand, he jabbed at a chunk of the cheese and popped it into his mouth, thinking.

Nell was not here. He didn't know where she was, but honestly Joshua did not really mind. He was fine with sitting with only himself for company in the large hall. He'd taken a seat at a table in a back corner near the windows, his signature table for as long as he could remember. He liked staying out the way of the main chaos where there were not as many people to bother him and he could eat his food in peace. Perhaps he did look rather lonely sitting there at the table when a good four or five other chairs surrounded it, unoccupied, but it didn't bother him in the least. He pulled a book from his bag and held it open at the spine with his right hand, still eating slowly with the other. It was not a textbook he was reading, but rather a battered looking biography of some serial killer or other. It was an interesting read, detailing the man's sad life and his dwindling into madness and murder. Certainly not the usual thing someone would want to accompany them to dinner, but Josh had a strong stomach. He could read the details of the murder and still not hesitate to pop a fry into his mouth. Of course, he realised, it was probably different to someone that ate meat. That someone was just not Joshua. Closing the book after he finished the chapter, Josh put it back into his bag and took a long swig of Pepsi, trying to decide whether he'd go down to Maple Hollow for Timmies before class or just hang around the library to save gas money.