Day 4: Cafeteria Catastrophe

The day began with a long lecture on supply chain management. By the time it ended, I was starving and bolted out of the hall toward the cafeteria. Little did I know, this would be the most chaotic lunch break of my life.

The cafeteria was packed as usual—students queuing for food, chatting, and scrambling for seats. Faisal and I managed to snag a table near the corner, and I left him to guard it while I joined the line at the counter.

“What’s the special today?” I asked the server.

“Laksa,” she replied.

Laksa sounded like a good idea, so I ordered a bowl and carried it carefully back to our table. Except, as I weaved through the maze of chairs, disaster struck.

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It happened in slow motion. A guy in front of me stopped abruptly to check his phone, and I couldn’t sidestep fast enough. My tray wobbled, and before I knew it, my steaming bowl of laksa had tipped forward… all over my shirt.

The cafeteria fell silent for a moment before erupting in laughter (how could they?). My face drenched in soup and noodles.

“Need help?” came a familiar voice.

I looked up to see Amanda standing there, holding out a pack of wet wipes. My humiliation level skyrocketed.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, accepting the wipes.

“Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us,” she said, giving me a sympathetic smile.

That should’ve been comforting, but it only made me feel more awkward.

**********

After cleaning up as best I could, I trudged back to the table, where Faisal was still grinning like a Cheshire cat.

“You’re a legend, man,” he said, biting into his sandwich. “First week of the semester, and you’ve already given the cafeteria a show.”

“Shut up, Faisal,” I muttered, sitting down.

“Hey, at least Amanda came to your rescue,” he added with a wink.

I threw a napkin at him.

**********

As if the laksa incident wasn’t bad enough, the drama continued. While Faisal and I were eating, a commotion broke out near the drinks counter. A tray had tipped over, sending glasses of iced tea and Milo flying. It splashed onto the floor, and a poor first-year student slipped and fell in the mess.

“Wow, it’s just not the cafeteria’s day,” Faisal remarked, shaking his head.

The staff rushed over to clean up, and everyone went back to their meals, but the atmosphere was buzzing with post-accident chatter.

**********

Back at the dorm, Faisal spent the rest of the evening reenacting my laksa spill, complete with exaggerated sound effects and dramatic slow-motion falls.

Despite the embarrassment, I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. After all, what’s college life without a few catastrophes?

**********

Lesson of the day: Always carry wet wipes, and avoid walking behind distracted people with soup.