Day 57: Cafeteria

[gald_digger]

Edgar's charming company had raised Anise's spirits enough that not even the Head Doctor's voice could bring them back down. Besides, she was feeling pretty sure that Landel wasn't actually around. To begin with, it wouldn't make sense, and secondly, his announcements sounded suspiciously like ones she'd already heard before. While Anise wasn't

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[roseoverture]

Almost a week. Almost a week...

Utena was still hung up on that as she headed into the cafeteria. She had never been knocked out for that long in her life. Even the times she and Himemiya had blown up in those freak curry accidents, she hadn't been out for longer than a day or so (god, was she starting to get nostalgic for those kinds of incidents even?). After talking with S.T., she had spent as much time at the bulletin as she could, but even trying to force-feed herself information wasn't doing much to help her get over how much time she had missed

[girlsandgadgets]

[It'll be his pleasure. ♥]While the smells of the cafeteria were promising, Edgar was mildly disappointed to find there were two lines for food: as with the day before the trip, there was one for the higher ranks, and one for the rest. He sighed to himself as he was handed a bowl of gruel to accompany the glass of water on his tray. If there was anyone they were trying to fool with the soldiers being in nurse attire and the recording of Landel, it certainly wasn't the patients. Perhaps the visitors were the ones for whom they were putting on the show after all

[roseoverture]

"Sure, that's fine," answered Utena, tone unintentionally short. She didn't want to be rude to whoever this was, but it was hard for her to be herself at the moment. Too much confusion and worry swirling around in her brain all at once did not make for a happy Utena.

At the very least, she realized how her answer might have come off, and sighed slightly after a few moments of silence between them. "Sorry. I don't mean to sound snippy. I'm just having a tough day back, and it's not even half over," she clarified, giving the man as apologetic a look as she could muster. Which wasn't saying much, but it was something, at least.

[girlsandgadgets]

Well. Edgar took the seat, thinking it was best to save his usual moves for later. If a lady obviously wasn't feeling well, an advance wasn't likely to make things better. He did hate making a poor first impression.

Something she said did catch his attention, however. He clasped his hands before him, leaning his chin on them. He wasn't ready to tackle the meal yet, anyway. "Day back? Pardon me if this is intruding, but where have you been?" Was she one of the 'released' patients? He'd heard they sometimes returned with their memories of the institute intact, but from his own experience, it was more likely they'd start fresh.

Perhaps something else had happened to her, or she returned of her own volition. The latter was unimaginable for him, but he was curious.

[roseoverture]

"That's the thing - I don't even know!" Utena answered after taking her first bite of the gruel. Thankfully, the stuff was more tasteless than anything else. Still, not exactly something she was excited to be putting in her mouth. It didn't season her frustration well at all, that was for sure. "I just woke up last night in a room that wasn't mine, wearing a uniform that wasn't this one-" Utena tugged at her grey shirt "-and then this morning, I found out I missed six days somehow! None of the 'nurses' will tell me about what happened, either. And to top it off, there's a person who's gone missing on me! Maybe."

Again, she felt bad for dumping this all on a complete stranger. The man seemed nice enough (and looked more like a typical Ohtori student than most people in the Institute, which also helped), but it was hard not to just spill everything when asked directly about it.

"Sorry again. I'm dumping all my problems in your lap and I don't even know your name," she apologized, forcing down another spoonful of gruel. "I'm Utena."

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar smiled, giving her a polite nod. "Forgive me, Utena. I should have introduced myself. My manners must be slipping. I'm Edgar

[roseoverture]

Utena nodded at Edgar, acknowledging him. Another American, then, or maybe a British person, judging by the name. English speakers seemed to make up the majority of patients, for whatever reason. Much as she hadn't wanted it to, S.T.'s comment about Himemiya's race earlier had brought those sorts of demographics questions closer to the surface of Utena's mind. Why so many Americans? Why so many men? Why so many young people? The short answer for now was: Utena had no idea. She had absolutely no head for figuring out statistics and patterns and whatnot. And she could only hope that figuring out things like that wasn't incredibly important to solving the secrets of the Institute or something like that

[girlsandgadgets]

"Unfortunately," Edgar agreed, stirring the gruel with his spoon idly. It was a question he had posed to himself a few times: why was it that some people came back? And in Utena's case, perhaps twice. Did they find a way to regain themselves, or did the brainwashing of the institute just wear off somehow? There'd be no way of knowing if she actually was 'released' a second time or not without some confirmation from the staff, and if they refused to tell her

[roseoverture]

Now there was something that pulled Utena up out of her haze. "Wait, did you just say Celes? As in Celes Chere?" Utena asked on the heels of Edgar explaining how long she'd been missing. "I know her! Knew her? Doesn't matter. I was a member of the Cooking Club with her for a while! We went on a mission together once, even." Well, if searching the patient block for a man who had turned out to be asleep in a new room counted as a "mission". Still, the fact stood.

"Did you get to see her much before she disappeared?" Utena asked. She really hadn't gotten to speak to Miss Chere much beyond the bulletin, really. It had worried Utena to not know what was going on with her.

[girlsandgadgets]

Utena's surprise was matched by Edgar- Celes had been missing for a while, and to find someone who knew her was intriguing. The fact that she'd been out for six days was possibly a blessing, however minor

[roseoverture]

Utena had no idea what Miss Chere would have been like before her arrival, but it wasn't hard to imagine her being more lively than the one time Utena had seen her. She could see see the woman's smile of relief at finding Hughes safe and sound, clear as day in dark hall. Maybe she wouldn't have been the world's most outgoing person, still, but she could at least see why Edgar would find her distance strange.

And then there was the matter of the Cooking Club. "Ahh. Yeah, I was sorry to see it go too. I was the most active member left after a while, so I maybe should've picked it up? But I don't really have the kind of organizational skills that she or Mr. Hughes had," Utena explained after another few unappetizing mouthfuls of goop. "I'm better at rushing in to attack a problem head on. Planning's never really been my thing," she admitted, letting out a small, self-deprecating laugh.

[girlsandgadgets]

Edgar couldn't help but chuckle at Utena's response, a smile crossing his face. In spite of the topic, his illness, and the vile food being served, he found his mood improving. Rushing in, attacking without a plan- it reminded him of a few people he knew, his brother included

[roseoverture]

"Yeah, I think the only thing the Cooking Club did that no one else really does much is weapon-making. And there isn't really much of anyone who does that sort of thing anymore period, clubs or not," said Utena, leaning her head in one hand as she thought of the alchemist Skuld with the same dulled pain that sprang up whenever she thought about patients she knew had been "released". It was just so hard to get as incensed about the disappearances as she had a few weeks ago. There were too many of them; it was exhausting to think about too much. She could only afford to get really fired up about the people closest to her now, unfair though that was