It's Not For Me

 Camille slowly walked into the office, as if she were heading for her doom.

 She tossed her shoulder bag onto the coat rack that sat next to the door, as she huffed in irritation.

 "Is there a reason you called me back to the office in the middle of my lunch break?"

 Running her hand through her hair, she took a seat in the chair opposite Neil, crossing her legs as she leaned back.

 'Don't tell me you finally have work for me, and you decided to cut me off from lunch, from my one moment of freedom during this hellish workday, to give it to me instead of waiting for actual work hours.'

 Neil opened his drawer and pulled out a wrapped package. Tossing it to her, he took a bite of the sandwich laid in front of him.

 She caught the package awkwardly, her shoulders flying up to her ears as the unexpected item was thrown her way.

 "What is this?" She questioned, as Neil only continued to stuff his face.

 He made a whirling motion with his finger as he pointed at the package, too busy chewing to speak.

 Camille stared at him for a moment, confused, before slowly unwrapping the item.

 Inside was a sandwich that seemed to be the same as Neil's.

 "A sandwich? You called me here for a sandwich?"

 Neil nodded as he swallowed what was in his mouth.

 "It's from the place across the street. Have you had it? It's good. Eat."

 She continued to stare at him, a confused and disgusted look on her face as she calculated what to say and organized her thoughts.

 "I-…" she halted, taking a deep breath as she mentally rewrote what she wanted to say, "Is this a joke?"

 Neil took another bite of his sandwich as he looked up at her.

 "A joke? Why would it be a joke?" He said, this time with his mouth full, as he shook his head.

 "I was already out to lunch, I had to pay for a meal I didn't get to eat, only to come back for a sandwich? If you wanted to eat lunch with me today, you should've said something beforehand. Now I've wasted time and money."

 Neil closed his eyes and scoffed as he tossed his sandwich down its wrapper. He swallowed and wiped his face before glaring at her.

 "Are you being serious right now? I've done a nice thing for you, getting you lunch, and this is how you repay me? Not even a mere 'thank you'?"

 Camille placed the sandwich on the desk and crossed her arms, "I don't want it. You keep doing these things for yourself under the guise that they are for me, but they aren't. I'm getting really tired of it."

 Anger flashed on Neil's face as he stood up and grabbed her sandwich, shaking it in her face, "I'm trying to be good to you, but you're making it so difficult!"

 She stared at the sandwich, watching pieces of lettuce, tomato, and onion fly out of its sides as he continued to shake it in her face. A droplet of mustard landed on her skirt, causing her to nonchalantly grab a napkin nearby and soak it up.

 When Neil was done yelling at her, she looked up with an annoyed look, "You're not trying. You're pretending that you are. I keep telling you over and over again. You refuse to listen. You only do what you want. Don't pretend it's for me. It's not."

 Neil rolled his eyes and threw the sandwich at the lion.

 The lion jumped in surprise, before quickly gobbling it up.

 "You're really impossible! Even that wild animal over there knows how to accept a gift when he gets one."

 Camille stared at him, in utter shock. Was he really comparing her to a wild animal right now?

 'Neil, where did you go so wrong?' she thought as she watched him sink back into his chair and angrily shove his sandwich in his face.

 'If only he was how he used to be….'

 She thought back to when she was in her final year of High School.

 ______________________________________________________

 Camille stood on the curb of the parking lot, her long brown hair pulled to the side as she waited on her own.

 "Bye Camille!"

 "See ya Camille!"

 Friends continually passed by her, waving as they either got into their own vehicles or climbed into ones that were there to pick them up.

 She waved back with a smile, wondering how long she'd have to wait for her ride to show up.

 It was cold, her white breath visible with each exhale.

 The clouds covering the sky were dark grey, making it gloomy.

 All she wanted to do was go home and curl up in her nice warm bed as she studied for her upcoming exams.

 Her beige knit sweater was not much of a match to the weather, as the cold desperately tore through it and nipped at her skin.

 "Are you sure you don't want a ride, Camille? I can take you home no problem." One of her friends asked, standing next to her.

 Camille rubbed her hands together and huffed into them, trying to generate heat, before turning to her friend with a smile, "No thanks! I've got someone on the way. Don't worry! Have a safe drive home, okay?"

 Her friend nodded and left, leaving Camille alone for another twenty minutes.

 She grabbed onto her backpack straps as she anxiously looked to the entrance of the parking lot, before craning her neck to try and see down the road.

 'Did he forget about me?' she wondered as she pulled back her sweater to check her watch.

 Just then, a sleek black car drove up and rolled down its window.

 Sitting in the driver's seat was a handsome man with his black hair slicked back, flashing a dazzling smile as he nodded towards the other side of the car.

 "Get in! Hurry, you must be freezing!"

 Camille's face lit up as she immediately ran to the passenger side, taking off her backpack and tossing it inside.

 The heater was on, making her frozen nose melt, and the heated seats were a welcoming bliss.

 "Hi Neil! Thanks for picking me up today!" She buckled her seat belt and placed her hands on her knees, tapping with her fingers like a giddy grade schooler about to go to the toy store.

 She glanced over at him, and felt a heat spread through her cheeks.

 Her eyes darted to her reflection in the side mirror, to see the red hue that had painted her face.

 Camille looked down and smiled, thankful that the cold temperatures would serve as an excuse for her rosy coloring.

 Neil waited to make sure she was buckled in before taking off.

 "Sorry, did you wait long? I had some stuff to do." His demeaner seemed a little down, but Camille just chalked it up to him being apologetic.

 With a smile and shake of her head, she assured him, "Nope! I hardly waited at all! I got out of class super late so, I just got here a little before you did!"

 She knew that if she told him the truth, he'd beat himself up about it. He was always so caring of her and made sure to treat her like a princess.

 Since Neil hadn't been late on purpose, and wasn't typically so, she didn't feel a need to tell him the truth.

 "That's good, I'm glad you weren't waiting in this cold." Neil said flatly, with a small hint of underlying concern.

 He focused on his driving, his eyes not wavering once from their concentration on the road in front of them. His fingers danced anxiously on the wheel, the leather of his black gloves creating a patting sound.

 Camille glanced at them and found herself growing anxious as well. This was unusual behavior for him.

 After some awkward silence between the two, Neil finally spoke up.

 "I have something to tell you…." His tone was quieter than usual, almost as if he didn't want her to hear.

 "What is it?" Camille too was now staring at the open road ahead of them. Red flags were popping up in her mind, and she found herself stressing over what was going on. She could sense that something was wrong.

 It began to drizzle; tiny rain drops pattering quietly on the windshield.

 Neil hesitated. He didn't want to tell her, he didn't want to say those words out loud, because once he did, they would become real.

 As he fought to find the courage to speak up, more awkward silence filled the interior of the car.

 "Neil?" Camille questioned, trying to urge him to tell her.

 She couldn't stand the anticipation of what was going to come out of his mouth. Her mind couldn't help but wander to the worst-case scenarios.

 Neil exhaled sharply, "I'm leaving to study abroad soon. Dad suddenly forced it on me. I don't want to leave you, but, there's really nothing I can do…"