Sandwich and Coffee

Sienna folded the note, glancing at Joe's almost distorted expression, on the verge of bursting into laughter.

"Hey, how can you laugh at me at a time like this?" Joe pursed his lips, looking utterly aggrieved.

Sienna asked teasingly, "Aren't you always bragging about attracting both boys and girls? Why are you panicking now?"

"He's Allan Batman!" Joe exclaimed, his voice strained. "He's my roommate, my confidant, my devoted buddy, and all of this turns out to be because he likes me in that way! It's tricky for either girls or boys, right? Hey, stop laughing!"

Sienna did as he requested, but she unfolded the note and started to read it out again.

"Stop it, drop it!" Joe urged her. "Sienny! What if I have fans here...?"

Sienna paused, then asked, "Are you sure the note is meant for you?"

Joe was taken aback. "What do you mean?" he replied automatically. 

As Sienna's fingers traced over the lines, she murmured, "A cup of coffee with you? But you don't drink coffee, and Allan should know that about you."

Joe's crumpled expression slightly smoothed out as a touch of enlightenment dawned on him. Then Sienna continued, "And his number... You already have Allan's number, so why is he still offering this one to you?" 

Sienna flipped the paper back and forth, asking Joe, "It must be for someone else and somehow ended up in your hand. Where did you find it?"

"It was in a bag of takeaway buns from the canteen," Joe recalled.

"Which canteen?"

"At Happy Canteen, definitely Happy Canteen. I saw the takeaway bag!"

Sienna looked up, pressing further, "What kind of buns?"

"Steamed and fried buns, you know, white on the surface with some minced meat inside," Joe explained.

Sienna fell into contemplation, taking out her phone to check something before putting it down. She then asked, "What time did you see the takeaway?"

"Before I left for the first lecture, around seven thirty."

"Where was it when it was discovered?"

"On my desk! That's why I thought it was for me. So were the buns!" Joe exclaimed.

Sienna fell into silence, then stood up and said to Joe, "Leave this to me, I will find out who the note is meant for."

"You really don't think it is for me?" Joe asked, seeking confirmation.

"Definitely not," Sienna replied, patting Joe's shoulders for consolation. However, she detected some disappointment in his eyes. Raising her eyebrow, she asked doubtfully, "You look as if you wish it were for you."

"That's not it!" Joe shook his head, looking slightly hurt. "I just can't believe that there is a love note that is NOT for me."

Sienna rolled her eyes. "Enjoy your own self-obsession," she said, then took her leave.

-

Sienna returned to her dorm, and as soon as she shut the door behind her, giggles erupted from Amanda Smith's bed. Lately, her roommate had been glued to her phone, chuckling away, yet she guarded the source of her amusement like it was classified information. 

Sienna approached Amanda's bed, only to find her tapping on the screen with her head leaning against the pillow.

Then, she noticed the takeaway bag stuffed in the trash bin, bearing the logo of Happy Canteen, just like the one she had seen on Amanda's Facebook page.

"Hey, Amanda, did you have buns from Happy Canteen today?" Sienna inquired, her fingers flipping the abandoned bag in the trash.

There was no reply.

Sienna straightened her back and observed Amanda, who was completely engrossed in listening to a voice message, wearing a bright smile on her face.

"Hey!" Sienna snapped her fingers in front of Amanda, finally catching her attention. Amanda's face lit up with joy upon seeing her roommate standing there, seemingly unaware of her arrival until now.

"Oh, Sienna! How are you?" Amanda greeted cheerfully.

"Did you have the buns from Happy Canteen this morning?" Sienna asked.

"Yes, I did! Oh, but I was so hungry I didn't save any for you. Want some? I'll buy them as your lunch," Amanda offered apologetically, sitting up to hug Sienna.

Sienna allowed the embrace, but she persisted, "Did you buy them yourself?"

"Yeah? Why?" Amanda released Sienna, looking at her with bewilderment, a touch of nervousness flashing across her eyes. "Who would have bought things for me?"

"No, no," Sienna smiled, sensing her roommate's immediate reaction as a bit peculiar. "Just... so you posted on Facebook yesterday that you wanted to eat the buns, and you just... bought them today for breakfast, that's it, right?"

"Yeah, that's it," Amanda replied, her curiosity piqued. "What do you mean, Si?"

Sienna smiled, "Nothing. Forget about it."

"Nooo, it kills me if I don't know the whole story," Amanda insisted.

Sienna took a step forward, attempting to peek at Amanda's phone, but Amanda swiftly shoved it away and leaned back against her pillow. Sienna chuckled at her friend's reaction and decided to walk away.

But Sienna still couldn't shake the instinct she had that Allan was writing to Amanda. After all, it was Amanda who posted about Happy Canteen buns the day before, and then Allan coincidentally bought the exact same kind the following day. 

Moreover, Amanda loved coffee, and she never hesitated to express this affinity on her Instagram.

The combination of these factors just couldn't allow Sienna to eliminate the possibility.

On the other hand, however, Allan Batman had been friends with Joe for years, and he had known both Sienna and Amanda for just as long. If Allan really liked Amanda, he would have made a move ages ago. So why wait until now? Unless he had developed feelings for Amanda recently. But as far as Sienna could tell, Amanda hadn't had any significant interactions with Allan lately, or ever.

So, who was the mysterious person Allan was writing the note to, and coincidentally, also happens to enjoy Happy Canteen's buns for breakfast today?

-

Sienna met Joe directly afterwards and shared her thoughts with him. She then asked Joe if she could keep the note for further investigation. Joe agreed.

After Sienna obtained the note, she carefully tore away Allan's name to prevent accidentally exposing the friend's secret. After all, such a revelation could damage his reputation and make him the subject of ridicule in school.

What Sienna had not anticipated was that this anonymous note would eventually end up in someone else's hands.

After parting ways with Joe, she headed to the Second Canteen to buy a sandwich and a cup of coffee. As she reached for her phone to pay, the note slipped out of her pocket. Sienna quickly retrieved it from the floor, then without much thought, casually stuffed it into the takeaway bag.

Her destination was No.1 Lab. She intended to test the quick adjustments they had made the night before, to see if they would work. With a full schedule in the evening, she needed to complete the testing by the afternoon.

However, Brandon arrived much earlier than she did. When Sienna finally arrived, Brandon coincidentally went to fetch some small accessories from the lab two floors up. Upon his return, Sienna coincidentally needed to visit the bathroom, leaving her bag of sandwich and coffee, along with the note, on the table near the tool case.

Thus, when Brandon entered the lab, he found it empty except for the items placed near his usual spot. His attention was immediately drawn not to the food and drink but to the note lying plainly and openly in front of him. 

He read it repeatedly, three times in rapid succession.

And then, Brandon felt his pulse racing. He had never been in a romantic relationship, but he was smart enough to understand what this note implied—it was a letter asking someone out on a date.

He glanced at the food - a sandwich and coffee. Due to his special physical component, he only consumed whole grains, vegetables, and anything devoid of zinc and oil. What lay before him precisely matched his daily food routine.

And there were only two people in the world apart from himself who could have possibly known this - Professor Jason, who knew him essentially, and Sienna, who had witnessed him eating his diet before. At that moment, knowing that only Sienna had been working with him in the lab, he became even more certain that the pile of food and the note were indeed from her for him.

For some reason, he subconsciously picked up the note with his fingers and read it once more. Then, he tapped on his wristband, entering the number written on the note, and saved it under the name of Sienna Quinn.

Unbeknownst to him, a slight curl formed on his lips as he read the note once again. He then picked up the sandwich, gently opening it, poised to take a bite, when a sudden voice interrupted him from the doorway, saying, "What are you doing?"

Startled, Brandon looked up with his mouth half-opened, sandwich half-hung in the air, unsure of what to do next.