BBQ.midi

“Heheheh…” Obi giggled as stood in front of his locker, removing his Combat Corps armor piece by piece and stowing them into his locker. Ever since he had heard about the Sommarsun Festival and the various activities that will be held, he had been looking forward to it since weeks ago. Today was the first day of the festival and he had already planned where he was going to go, after getting off work.

“Obi, stop that giggling man. You’re creeping me out,” Sam said as he poked his out from his locker door, his locker just right beside Obi’s. The team had just returned from their patrol and were changing out of their armored uniform to clock out. As it was the first night of the festival, everyone already had their own plans. Although plans for the Inox Squad to gather up for a fun night was being discussed.

“You got a date or something, Obi?” Tone asked as he turned his head around, anticipating Obi’s answer. Everyone knew that Obi Hinata was nothing but a musclehead, an idiot who only wanted to train and fight and train and fight. They were quite curious to know if the opposite sex had ever popped up in his mind.

Even Haya Taka, their squad’s no-nonsense vice leader, who was a few doors down the right of Obi’s locker had quickly popped his head through the collar of his fresh T-shirt and waited for an answer.

“Nah. Even better guys! Two words! Free BBQ!” Obi shouted with a huge grin as he arched his back slightly and began punching into the air exuberantly. “I could hardly control myself with all that BBQ smell on our way back. Woohoo!”

“I shouldn’t have expected anything,” Haya grumbled, loud enough for the guys in his squad to hear it as he slammed his locker door and left the room. “Don’t party too much guys!”

“Hahaha! Our vice leader sure said it,” Tone replied as he finished up the rest of his routine and picked up his sling bag, slinging it over his shoulder and then giving Obi a light shove. “Don’t black out from overeating, Obi. See ya.”

“What’s wrong with the vice leader?” Obi asked Sam with a confused look on his face. “What did he mean about his expectations?”

“Erm. Don’t sweat it. Come on, are you ready to go?” Sam replied as he sat down on the row of benches between the lockers. He set down the red and white sneakers that he had taken out of his locker before closing it and began putting them on.

“Oh no! I’m the last again!”

-----

“See you tomorrow,” Sam remarked with a casual wave as the two of them stepped out of the Rune Knight headquarters and walked off.

“See you tomorrow!” Obi waved him off enthusiastically before turning around to marvel at the BBQ station that was set up on the street the Rune Knight HQ was on.

Just as he was about to walk out, a tall black-haired guy rushed past him. Obi caught only a glance of that guy. The guy was one of the few slightly older ones, with a very matured appearance. That and the guy often spoke like narrator. He was one of the odd ones, a group that Obi was frequently lumped in to, much to his disbelief and confusion.

Obi turned around when he heard a female’s voice from behind him. It was the sister.

“Yup, I’m Obi Hinata. Hi, Britney, great to meet you,” Obi replied with a grin as he held out his hand to shake hers. He wasn’t very good at making small talk so he was grateful that Britney had opened up the conversation.

“Haha, yea, that’s your brother, Tony right? I was going to pig out at the street BBQ. It’s free!” Obi exclaimed gleefully when he thought back to how tantalizing the aroma of the BBQ was, and the glistening meat so perfectly seasoned and grilled.

“Wanna join me?” Obi invited as he pointed to the street BBQ stations. “If the street BBQ isn’t your thing, I can get you something from the food stalls too. They looked awesome as well when I was walking past them. Everything’s free!”

[709 words]

The smile that Britney made played on the heartstrings of Obi, reminding him of someone he had left behind back in Midi because of his own selfish reasons. Obi tried to smile back at her but his mixed emotions caused his expression to falter slightly and he quickly turned his face slightly away to hide it.

“From what I’ve heard, Tony’s somewhat quirky but he’s a great guy, isn’t he? I’m still new to the Knights but I think everyone likes having him around,”Obi quickly spoke out, mildly alarmed by Britney’s sudden act of slapping her cheeks.

“And if we want to compare Tony’s Tony-ness, as you put it, I think there’s a ton more weirdos hanging around in the Knights.”

A bunch of faces quickly swept through Obi’s mind when he spoke, causing him to grin mischievously.

“Yea, let’s just enjoy the rest of the day. Frankly, I don’t really know the two of you too well too. I’ve only seen you guys from afar or heard about you guys in passing conversations. I mostly hang out with my team mates,” Obi said with a shrug. “Let’s make this day special by letting me get to know the Altaria siblings better eh? Over lots of food, of course.”

Tony approached just at the right time, with Obi slowly beginning to worry that he was running out of ammo to boost Britney’s mood.

The two plates in the man’s hands caused Obi’s eyes to widen, and his mouth to slightly open. It took all his control to keep his tongue in his mouth. A full plate of ribs and a huge burger on the other. The fruits around the burger didn’t even register on his food radar.

“Hi! Yup, you can call me Obi. Man, you really know your way around what’s the best they have to offer around here too huh,” Obi laughed excitedly.

“That burger looks real good, but I think I saw a stall preparing some pulled beef ribs burger that I really wanna get my hands on.”

“How about you guys get a seat first and I will join you guys right after I get my burger?” Obi sped off without even waiting for a response, missing Tony’s whispered monologue.

“Wow…” Obi could feel his mouth watering as he arrived at the burger stall. However, before he could focus on the burger stall, his attention had been grabbed by the stall to the right. It was a stall that exhibited a large range of potatoes in every type possible: tater tots, hash browns, waffle fries, steak fries, shoestring fries amidst more and finally the king of them all, poultine. Obi could feel his eyes glaze over as he looked at the golden sight before him, wondering if he could possibly eat every one of them.

“Sir, I will have one mixed plate of waffle fries and steak fries please! And another plate of poultine!”

With that done, Obi finally walked back to the burger stall and order a pulled ribs burger, the gargantuan size of the burger ensuring that he would be content and full by the end of the night.

Obi walked gingerly, careful not to spill any of his food as he balanced three plates of food in hand, weaving through the crowd of people thronging the different food stalls as they searched for their favorite food.

When he finally found the siblings, Obi proudly set down his plates down and clapped his hands together, shouting “Itadakimasu! Let’s eat!”

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