Thus decided, Sable speaks up. "Wanna do this again tomorrow?"

"I'd like that."

"Awesome. See you tomorrow then, Joshua."

"See you tomorrow!"

And off he goes.

The next day, he's there at lunch again.

Maya's there at the window table, waving him over as he arrives. "Hello, Joshua. Good to see you today."

She's claimed one of the aisle seats of the table.

"Hello, Maya. Nice to see you too."

He sits- he's not completely sure where to sit. 

"Do you and Sable and Hailey have a preferred seating arrangement? I'm not sure whether I should be trying to replicate yesterday's arrangement or not."

He's kind of incredibly anxious about asking that question, what if he's supposed to somehow know? What if asking reveals he's hoping this goes on for more than two days? What if, what if, what if-

His anxiety doesn't show on his face at all, though. If you're deeply anxious in a world that views being anxious as a contemptible weakness it will often be the case that the first thing your anxiety tells you to do is get very good at concealing that you have it.

"Generally we leave Hailey a wall seat next to one of us. Although she'll occasionally take an aisle if she's having a better day, she never minds having a wall, so we try to reserve one where possible. Beyond that, we simply aim for triangles," she explains with a soft nod. "Thank you for asking."

"You're welcome."

This does not give him an exact Correct place to sit but he will cope with this and simply sit across from Maya, shifted a bit farther away from the wall than he usually would be. That lets Hailey sit next to Maya if she wants to and lets Sable do that also if Hailey ends up sitting next to him there's enough space she can be quite sure he won't bump against her. He has Solved The Problem. Probably.

Hopefully. 

This should not be this nerve-wracking.

Well, if Maya's warm smile at him is any indication, she doesn't seem to have any objection to his choice of seat.

Just then, Sable and Hailey tromp in from the hall. "Heya, Joshua!", Sable exclaims with a cheery smile.

"Maaaaaaaaaath," Hailey groans as she drops into the seat beside Maya.

"Oh it wasn't that bad," Sable replies.

"Easy for you to say. You like math, especially when it's weird math."

She rolls her eyes and shakes her head, then leans against Maya's shoulder and starts getting out a sandwich. "Hey Joshua," she says by way of greeting, "math is terrible, right?"

"Hello!"

Then, to Hailey-

"Math is the worst. You show up a few days and you're getting it all and then you miss, like two classes and suddenly nothing is making any sense. Give me history instead, please. I can miss a week of that and come back and have a map with a hole in it instead of a ladder missing a bunch of the middle rungs."

She nods and scowls. "Yeah. And even if you make it to all the classes, sometimes your brain just ain't shaped right for the math. Just not how my intuitions work. S'lucky Sable likes the shit, she can explain it in a way that works for me."

"Yeah, trying to invent the right math you're supposed to be using from scratch come exam time is not fun. Like, I can manage it sometimes, but just barely enough to pass and getting a sixty on an exam is never fun."

"Fuck. Yeah, Sable is personally responsible for my having an eighty, otherwise I'd be down in the fifties and sixties with you. Maybe you should come to our tutoring sessions."

Sable laughs and grins. "Oh, go on and volunteer me why don't you." She shakes her head.

"Not like I was going to say no, mind, but it's cute how free you are with my time, sweetheart."

Hailey flushes and looks out the window, muttering under her breath. "Romantic dork."

Okay, that is cute. And it might be fun?

He puts aside his confusion about who exactly is dating who here for the moment, he has a response to make, he can think later.

"I mean, I'd be up for it if you are, Sable."

Oh no, does that look too eager? Is he doing something wrong? Wait, no, she said she wasn't going to say no. False alarm, everything's fine.

"You just missed this week's. Tutoring is normally at my place, right after school."

"Although we often have a little bit of a break and a snack first, especially if our little tsundere is in the mood to make something."

"Oh I see how it is," Hailey snarks back, blushing. "Y'all just love me for my cooking."