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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[quarter_english]

L's escort, polite but unyielding, steered him away from the waffles and fruit and towards the pinkish porridge.

Following orders, he thought, but it didn't make his resentment any less blatant; it only meant that his sullen expression wasn't directed at her. Until a few days earlier, he had tried to cover the peaks of his irritation, to appear to be a compliant patient. That was becoming more difficult under the current circumstances, particularly when everything about the day to this point had suggested that they might be allowed decent food. The soldier didn't seem to be too troubled by his visible dissatisfaction, though; there was nothing unique about disliking the new menu

[tasteoftruth]

Badd should have been out interviewing the other prisoners but he just didn't have the stomach for it today. The chapel had been right out, he wasn't a religious man, and when he'd found a seat in the Sun Room he'd caught himself trying to nap.

He'd give props to the guards on their psychological torture, though. They rewarded the good, veteran prisoners and taunted the rest with the implication that if they just stayed good they'd get the same. But Badd had dealt with worse torment than being deprived of waffles, there was nothing this place could do to him that would make him turn his back on what was important.

Still, he didn't want to deal with anyone gloating at him. The most remote place he could find was off to the side, next to some pale skinned dark haired kid who seemed like the quiet type. He installed himself next to the kid, leaning back in his chair with the bowl in his lap. "Fun view they're giving us, huh?" he said as an opener.

Just a kid, but kids sometimes saw more than adults.

[quarter_english]

L caught the man's approach when he was still a few feet away; his gaze followed him as he moved closer and sat. Middle-aged, L thought: silvering threads in the man's dark hair, the telltale loss of some of the elasticity in his skin. It was hard to pin an exact number on him, but easy to see that he was one of the older men at Landel's, that he probably had a few years on even Javert, definitely on Lunge. The other thing that stood out was his height. Even if there were other men just as tall around the cafeteria, it was still imposing, at least a few inches taller than L himself

[tasteoftruth]

"A day or two, yeah." Badd thought of the lollipop stash he'd picked up in Doyleton and soothed himself with the idea that he'd be able to have another one tonight. The original idea had been to bribe other prisoners with delicious sugar, but since he couldn't keep them during the day the plan had suffered some minor setbacks

[quarter_english]

L answered, at first, with a nod, then spooned a bite of porridge into his mouth, listening to his new acquaintance

[tasteoftruth]

"Unified? Nah, that's the last thing you want in a prison. If people start forming gangs they get powerful. Then you get gangfights between the prisoners, one guy stabs another, four other guys get revenge on that guy, that guy's gang goes after those guys, and so on." Badd was making a circle in the air with one finger as he spoke, indicating the circle of violence inherent in revenge killings. He'd been fortunate enough to stay out of the way of those types while serving out his sentence. He had no interest in trading for favors or working as the lackey of some prison boss. Besides, a cop in prison? Nobody wants to be your friend

[quarter_english]

L's look of distaste shifted to a more thoughtful expression, and he shook his head. "We're imprisoned in terms of being deprived of liberty, yes, but I don't think a well-behaved population is Aguilar's only goal. He seems more interested in training... presumably military. If that's the case, unification, loyalty to the larger group, respect for those in positions of authority, and obedience would probably be his aims--it's typical psychological indoctrination for most armed forces. Shaming the people who were responsible for what went on Thursday morning suggests it, but you're right that doing so could support either goal we're discussing. I'm not certain that he's interested in breaking up alliances between friends, as long as the group is doing what he wants them to do. Weeding out bad apples, though