The one time I got up the nerve to "surprise" a coworker for lunch

I worked as a teacher's assistant at a special education program. It was about 3/4 of the way through the school year when I started getting tired of the same routine of what we got in the cafeteria. I wanted to mix it up. I got up the nerve to "surprise" one of my coworkers, another TA, by buying him a Subway sandwich for lunch instead of bringing my own.<br><br>The first time I did this, we were going to the mall for our field trip. It was just a sandwich to go. Nothing big. The second time, we were staying at the school, so we ate together in his car. This is when I made the mistake. <br><br>We were sitting there, eating and chatting when he suddenly froze up. I was like, "what's wrong? Did I put too much hot sauce on this?"<br><br>He just kind of sat there for a moment, staring at me. Then he looked at his sandwich and I realized he was trying to politely tell me to wrap up his lunch without eating it. I finished up the rest of my sandwich in silence after that, not knowing what to do.<br><br>Finally, he spoke up and said, "Do you know what I eat?"<br><br>I was like, "no, why?"<br><br>And he replied, "I'm a cannibal. I'm a vegetarian cannibal. Do you know if there is a Subway near here?"<br><br>I got really confused and told him no, that there wasn't one anywhere near there. He then told me he was trying to find a place that would be willing to make him a vegetarian cannibal sandwich, since they typically don't have that on the menu.<br><br>I didn't know how to react. I didn't want to make it weird, but I was kind of horrified that I almost accidentally gave a vegetarian cannibal a turkey club sandwich. He recovered well after that, though, and the rest of the car ride was pleasant. He was just as friendly as he was before.<br><br>I still couldn't get over the fact that I almost gave him meat. I don't even eat meat, I wouldn't have thought that was a big deal. But I guess it was to him.<br><br>It was the first time I realized I didn't know what certain people eat, and I don't even eat out very much. I think that's why I'm more likely to bring my lunch, or ask if there's something specific that I should make for them.