Eventually, the team arrived at the Mexican restaurant. Since there was a couple of hours until the final match, the bus was filled with excited chatter.
Ken got up from his seat and stretched, making sure to not hit his head in the process. If he was honest, he wasn't as excited as his teammates to be playing in the final, mainly because the tournament hadn't been as tough as he'd expected.
'Even the group stage of the U18 World Cup was tougher than this.' He mused.
Of course comparing such things was preposterous. In fact, if he were to explain his dissatisfaction to the coach, he might be slapped in retaliation.
Ken felt a pat on his back, only to see Steve behind him wearing a smile. "Let's go get some Tacos."
Seeing that his friend had recovered from his earlier harsh joke, Ken couldn't help but smile in response. The two made their way off the bus and waited for the rest of the team.
"Hey man, I might have gone a bit far earlier. Sorry about that." Ken said, turning to Steve. It was fun bantering back and forth with Steve, but seeing the guy's reaction earlier had told him that he'd been a little harsh.
"Eh?" Steve stared blankly at him for a moment, a look of unease on his expression.
Yet before he could reply, the coach spoke up, "Alright, let's hurry up. I want us out of here in 40 minutes at the most."
With that, Ken quickly moved, not waiting for a reply from his friend.
A look of panic crept onto Steve's face and he wordlessly reached out towards Ken's back. Unfortunately, the guy was too fast.
"Oh crap… I messed up." He muttered.
Ken's figure moved towards the front of the pack, his mind focused on the food that awaited him. As he passed his teammates, they froze on the spot, before giggling like schoolgirls.
With his stomach hanging on the edge, Ken didn't notice. He followed the coach into the restaurant and got into line. Thankfully there weren't too many people lining up, so it wouldn't take long to be served.
'Hmm?' Ken felt many pairs of eyes on him as he lined up for food. He turned briefly, only to see a table of teenagers giggling hysterically. When his gaze met theirs, they quickly shut up, as if avoiding him.
'That's weird.' He thought, but quickly dismissed it.
Upon arriving at the counter, Ken placed his order for 8 tacos, wanting to give a peace offering to Steve. After all, at the end of the day, they were good friends.
"Ah, maybe I'll get 2 corn on the cob's as well please."
With that, he handed over the money and waited by the side. He glanced around, looking for Steve, only to see the guy with a gloomy expression already sitting in one of the booths.
'He's acting weird… Perhaps my apology wasn't enough?' Ken thought, feeling regretful.
A few minutes later he collected his order and turned around, heading towards the booth where Steve was sitting.
"HAHAHAHA!"
A loud peel of laughter sounded from behind the counter, causing Ken to swivel his head and stare at them with confusion. In fact, the entire restaurant did the same.
"How the hell would you even do that? Hahaha!" His coworkers joined in, pointing at Ken and laughing heartily. Tears even formed on the corner of their eyes as they jeered and laughed to their hearts content.
Ken frowned. Being publicly ridiculed was not something that he was fond of, especially since he had no idea what they were talking about. His first impression was that they might be talking about his food, but this was America where overeating was common.
Before he could say anything, Coach Wyatt arrived and frowned deeply, sending a glare to the staff behind the counter. He turned and saw Ken, only to see that there was a piece of paper taped to his back.
He grabbed it, and read it out loud.
"I eat corn the long way…" His face was stone-like, as if he was trying his best to contain his composure. So much so that it actually looked like he was in pain.
Ken frowned, feeling a hint of murderous intent rocket through him. He used the memory recall from his Academic trait, retracing what had happened in the last 10 minutes.
It was then that he vividly remembered Steve patting him on the back while they were on the bus.
His eyes flashed open, locating Steve who seemed to be sweating profusely in the booth. Without a word, he calmly made his way over to the table and placed the food tray down.
"You're dead meat." He whispered before turning his attention to the taco's on his plate.
Steve flinched, knowing he'd messed up big time.
The two sat in silence for a while, but the sound of his friend's growling stomach soon got Ken's attention. He smiled darkly, causing a shiver to run up Steve's back.
"Are you hungry?"
Steve gulped, but he still nodded meekly.
"Have some corn…" Ken offered, still wearing his demonic smile.
Steve was about to refuse, but the look on Ken's face told him that he would regret such a decision. So he was forced to nod, picking up the nicely cooked corn from the food tray.
"T—Thanks." He muttered, bringing it up to his mouth for a bite.
"Nope…" Ken shook his head, "You can't eat it like that." He said darkly.
"W—What do you mean?"
Steve was confused for a moment, but it soon dawned on him, causing a cold sweat to form on his back.
Ken nodded slowly, "Eat it… The long way."
"But… N—No, I can't." Steve stammered, his gaze darting all around the restaurant.
Ken frowned, "Did I say you had a choice?" His tone was icy, the threat evident.
Steve choked back his tears and nodded, moving the corn to his mouth ever so slowly. Just as it got close enough, Ken let out a peel of laughter.
"I'm just joking man, don't worry about it." He said, wearing a brilliant smile.