DAY 59: CAFETERIA

[touchedgod]

Billy surfaced into wakefulness. Sleep receded like an inky tide, and it didn't say anything to him before it was gone. His dreams had been nothing but the sensation of water, rocking him restlessly in his bottle. There seemed to be an ocean beyond his confines, but he couldn't see it and couldn't reach it. He pawed at the glass, but any progress

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[gald_digger]

Last night hadn't been too bad, all things considered. Sure, it was pretty weird to see Arietta - or something that looked like Arietta - turn up so suddenly, but no one had gotten hurt, and she got to loot some supplies! But of course, once morning came, they were all taken away. Stupid military.

Anise's hair was still in the braids she'd put them in yesterday. While getting ready to go, she let them out, pleased at the extra-wavy texture her hair took on. She put it into low pigtails, set the beret back on her head, and then she was ready to go!

Her positive energy stayed with her until she entered the cafeteria... then began to fade away as she caught a whiff of what was being served. What, did they hire Natalia to make breakfast for a day? It smelled terrible. Maybe it was some obscure Earth delicacy, or

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe woke up and immediately patted around the blankets for the pillowcase full of supplies. But before he could get too worked up, he remembered how the staff took their things away and gave it back to them in those metal boxes, and he relaxed, letting out a small laugh

[gald_digger]

Anise gave a little start when she noticed the big guy next to her. She'd been too distracted to notice him until he was really close. He sure sneaked up on her a lot, it seemed like, but it wasn't his fault (this time), so Anise didn't say anything.

It sounded like the detective noticed how freaked out she looked, and if he'd only just entered the Cafeteria, he probably didn't realize why. It was pretty touching how eager he was to look out for her, Anise had to admit. Maybe he could help her figure out what was going on.

Anise met his gaze for a moment, and then sighed. "I'm okay, but I don't know about everyone else," she replied, glancing uneasily over the tables again and noting how many forks were actually being used. "Did you see what they're serving today?"

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe heard her answer, but it wasn't exactly reassuring. Especially when she followed it up by implying there was something wrong with "everyone else". He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant and promptly shut it when she asked him something first. So it's the food she has a problem with?, he thought, raising an eyebrow at her. Not once had he eaten a meal here that didn't taste good, but he guessed everyone had different tastes

[gald_digger]

When the detective looked around but didn't seem to grasp the problem, Anise's brow furrowed. Okay, so maybe it was hard to see the rot clearly from a distance, but how did he not smell it!?

The girl was momentarily stunned when Gumshoe offered to share his meal without a second thought. Didn't he know the military punished people who did that? And not lightly, either. Either he didn't know, or he was the type of guy to make big sacrifices without a second thought... but more importantly, she had to clear up the misunderstanding!

Anise shook her head. "That's not what I mean! I get the better meals too, but today it's... oh, just look at it!" She moved around the detective and started pushing him gently yet insistently towards the food counter.

[ham_fisted]

"Eh? H-Hey, what are you doing, pal!?" Gumshoe asked in confusion, looking left and right when he felt something pushing him from behind before glancing over his shoulder at the little girl. He took care not to stop abruptly in his tracks like he wanted to; he didn't want to have her crashing into him. Instead, he reluctantly settled for a semi-brisk walk toward where they served the food. Sheesh!

After coming to a gradual stop, he rubbed the back of his neck and leaned forward to look at the food. Why was she getting so worked up? He didn't see anything wrong with it. (...The pink sludge didn't actually look that bad up close, he thought as an aside). "What am I meant to be looking at, pal?"

[gald_digger]

... What? Come on, there had to be a limit to how dense a guy could be. Even leaning close, he couldn't tell that something was seriously wrong here?

"What do you mean, what? Just look at how runny and mouldy it is!" Anise cried, pointing at the repulsive slop. "And our food is even worse! I saw bugs crawling around in it." She wrinkled her nose, cringing as the rotten stench assaulted her senses. It was hard to tolerate it, loitering so close to the food counter. "Even if you can't see it, can't you smell how bad it is?"

[ham_fisted]

"Bugs!?" Gumshoe glared at that. He snatched up a plate and broke the pastry apart with his fingers. ...Then his eyebrows furrowed. Maybe a fly had landed on the food and he'd missed it? Did she know what mould actually looked like? Gumshoe didn't want to add to her frustration, but he really couldn't see a problem with either of the meals. Mr. Edgeworth sometimes told the detective he needed glasses, but you'd have to be blind not to notice your food had gone as bad as this girl was suggesting

[gald_digger]

When the detective touched the food with his bare hands, Anise cringed. To her eyes, he'd just pushed aside a layer of mouldy pancake to reveal maggots wriggling around beneath it. There was no way he couldn't see that. They were right in front of his eyes! He was looking for them and he didn't see them!

And the smell! He'd somehow been able to bring his face close enough to get a good whiff of it, and he still didn't think it was bad? This couldn't just be him being dense. Something weird was going on...

"Would you feel better if I ate some?"With the way Anise bristled at those words, one could almost see the chill run through her body. What little color had remained in her face faded away. As soon as she could move again, she started shaking her head back and forth repeatedly. "No! No, no no!" she pleaded, clutching the edges of her tray so tightly it looked as though it might snap in two. "I-I'm serious! There's something really wrong with it

[ham_fisted]

After watching her reaction over the next few seconds, Gumshoe knew he'd said the wrong thing, but it was too late for him to take it back. The girl looked paler now than she had before, and for a minute there she had him seriously worried; he thought she was gonna hurl! Torn between wanting to apologize and waiting for her to speak, his eyes widened with concern...

But then she finally spoke, and the way she was pleading with him was making him nervous! "O-Okay, pal!" His shoulders drooped a bit more. "Take it easy, alright? I'm not that hungry, anyway." The whole thing mystified him, but he was determined to get the girl feeling better again before they walked out of here. Could he find her something she wanted to eat? Hmm, no, no. By now, he was betting she couldn't bear the thought of eating anything. Anything of the maggot-free variety, he meant.

The detective shuffled to her side and placed a large hand on her tiny shoulder, peering at the soldiers nearby with a wary frown. "How about we take a seat, pal?"

[gald_digger]

Anise watched the detective with an uneasy look, fearing he might move for the food. However, he soon seemed to give up on the idea, and her shoulders sank as she sighed in relief. She didn't know what she'd do if he actually tried putting that stuff in his mouth.

When he set a hand on her shoulder and suggested sitting down, Anise was quick to agree, looking up and nodding eagerly. "Yeah... I think that's a good idea." She felt a little light-headed, which sitting could only help... especially if it would take her farther away from where that horrible food was being served.

She looked around at the room, trying not to look at the plates of food in front of the other patients. Before long, Anise spotted a relatively empty space that was mercifully far from the stench of the food counter, and pointed to indicate the seats to Gumshoe. "Let's try over there."

[ham_fisted]

Gumshoe gave a firm nod. "Sure, pal." As he walked with her toward the table she pointed out, he frowned down at her and gave her shoulder a light squeeze. "It'll be like we're in a diner with a menu we can't afford, or something," he babbled. "Except here, we won't be kicked out for not ordering anything." ...Look, he had to distract her somehow!

"Don't worry. If they try to make us eat anything, we can just say we ate a huge dinner last night. And if they can't take a hint, I'll have a talk with them." He sure didn't feel strong around the military guards, but for her sake, he'd have to act like it.

[gald_digger]

The feeling of the hand on her shoulder helped Anise to walk straight despite the dizziness. She giggled weakly at the Detective's analogy as she settled into a chair. It was then that she realized she still had the empty tray in her hand, which she somewhat awkwardly set on the table and pushed aside.

"I think we'll be okay. People skip meals all the time," she pointed out, a little more upbeat now that her head was clearing and the nauseating smell wasn't so strong. "But if they bug us anyway, I'll be counting on you!" She winked, trying to be extra cute.