JUST IN TIME

The timer went off with a shrill noise that echoed and pierced through the silence in the apartment. As usual, Justin showed no urgency to turn it off. It was already 8 pm now, and he was getting increasingly impatient. His guest was supposed to be here by now. Oh, how he hated people who didn't respect time.

He had moved into this apartment only a week ago, and the couple downstairs had already called him out for his "strange obsession" with timers and the din they caused. But it only took a few minutes and a bowl of warm soup to sort this out. After all, being a well-respected chef had its benefits.

He picked up his mobile phone, and began searching for Skol's number. When he finally found it, he decided against calling him, not wanting to come across as pushy.

Thankfully, the doorbell rang only six minutes later. Justin kept his timer device aside and opened the door.

"Hey!", Skol opened the conversation, taking his jacket off, "Sorry I'm two minutes late!"

"Eight....", Justin corrected him, "...come on in...make yourself comfor..."

Skol threw his jacket over Justin's head. "Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you?"

Justin played along, putting on a half-hearted smile,"Of course not! Let's go straight to the dinner table, shall we?"

"Let's...I really can't believe I'm having a meal at a chef's home. Hell, I can;t even believe we'd bump into each other this afternoon, after so many years."

They sat at an empty dinner table.

"I thought we were going to have a meal", Skol winked, "You still absent-minded like you were at school, huh?"

Justin laughed, "Yeah, I'm still the same old goofball I guess. You haven't changed either. Still the same old bully, huh?" He went towards the refrigerator and opened it to pull out a casserole, which he placed on the table. He also placed two bowl and two spoons on the table. He then went out into the living room and fetched his timer device as well.

"Remember how I and Stevie would pick on you every single day? I kid you not, we only went to school so that we could make you feel miserable."

"Stevie? Well, Stevie and his wife used to live downstairs till about three days ago. You narrowly missed meeting him."

"Boy, how you must've hated us."

"Still do!" Justin said, and the room suddenly went silent. Then he laughed out loud, pointing a finger at Skol.

"You still got that awkward sense of humour, dont'cha?" Skol retorted, "Now you know why we picked on you so much?", he dug his elbow into Justin's belly.

"Hmm...not really.", he said, devoid of any emotion, as he handed him an empty bowl."

"Anyway, what's the chef serving up for starters?"

"Soup it is!", Justin dipped a serving spoon into the casserole and poured out a serving for his guest and for himself.

"Soup? I thought you pulled that casserole out from the refrigerator."

"Yup."

Skol dipped his soup spoon into the bowl and took a mouthful. "Wow! All my life, I've only had had soups that were served hot. This was cold, and yet it tasted divine."

"Well, it's a dish best served cold." Justin picked up his timer and began fidgeting with the controls.

Skol scooped up another spoonful, "Interesting...what is it called?"

"Revenge", he replied languidly, as he set the timer for 3 minutes.