You're actually just grabbing something to eat. But why's it so noisy?

You normally don't pay much thought to eating {if@ DayEnd == False}lunch{else}dinner{endif} here, because it's normally pretty much a non-event. You check out, daydream a bit, and order something inexpensive (and maybe even tasty!) to eat at a table by yourself. After that, you eat it and then go about your Free Time as normal. Actually, it's such a non-event that most of the time by the{if@ DayEnd == False} end of the day you can't even remember what you got for lunch{else} next day you can't even remember what you had for dinner{endif}. But this time is different!

It's different because your daydreaming is being intruded upon by a nearby argument on your way back to an empty table, paper bag of warm food in hand.{if Time == 15} Which sucks even more, because you were really looking forward to having a nice break after such a hard workout during Combat class earlier. And after Combat class earlier.{endif} Very very rude.

You're about to approach them and issue a formal complaint, and probably make them feel really bad by describing how cool the thing you were just imagining was (you don't remember it now, but you know it was really good, and they should apologise for making you forget) when you notice that one of the people is your classmate Jace. Oh, cool! You'll just approach to say hi, then.

"Sir, I don't know how many more times I can say this -- I don't know any other way to fry a fish."

"Really?" Jace asks, his face turning to one of horror. "And-" He gulps. "And is that the case for everyone working at this stall, or...."

"Jace!" You smile and wave to him once you're close enough to be heard without interrupting anyone nearby's daydream.

He turns to you. "Oh, hey, Debbie." He says. "One sec."

He turns to the worker again, as you finish your approach. While you wait, you put your hands behind your back, clutching the paper bag and rolling up and down on your feet to pass the time.

"Look, I know it's not really your call, but do you think you could pass it up that I'd be willing to help run some... classes on it, or something? The stuff they've having you guys make right now, I'd barely even give it a four, man."

"I'll be sure to pass it up." The worker says, then looks to you.

You take your arm from behind your back to wave, but you foolishly pick the hand holding the bag, and now you're worried it looks more like bragging that you have food since it ended up being more of a bag-jostling than the classically recognisable wave. Luckily, the worker doesn't seem to take it that way, at least not on the surface. He lifts his arm to wave back at you exasperatedly, then turns to walk back to his food stall.

"Whatcha doing?" You ask Jace.

"I guess accidentally critiquing food." He says. "Hey, I wasn't abrasive or anything just now, right? I was only trying to help out, but I'm worried I came across badly."

"Are you gonna eat in your room again?" You skip over his question.

On other days, you've sometimes bumped into Jace and chatted while in the line for food, but you never get to eat with him since he always takes it off to eat in his room with Delilah. Still, you do like Jace, and talking to him is always fun. One time he even went back three spaces in line, just to chat with you!

"Uhhhh...." Jace says, thinking. "Probably. I'm not actually sure if Delilah's there right now, but she normally likes me to bring her something, so-"

You cut him off by making your eyes go big and shiny, and pout your lips.

"...Debbie?"

You sigh dramatically and look away.

"....what is this?"

"Oh, woe is me, eating on my own at the table again...." You say, bringing a hand to your head.

You reach out with a palm before Jace can respond, except you use the bag-holding hand again, so the dramatic impact is dulled.

"But don't feel bad! I understand. Delilah needs her food right now, and it's not like we could hang out and then you could bring it to her later.... oh, woe is moe.... me, I mean..... woe's me, I'm woe......"

"It feels like you are trying to make me feel bad." Jace says behind a small smile.

"Never! Oh, woe....." You bury your head deeper into your hand, and jingle your bag of food at him.

Jace shakes his head, then droops his shoulders and sighs with equal dramatics. "Alas, alas...." He says in a fake posh accent, which is sort of weird.

"Why are you doing an accent?" You ask, moving your hands back to normal and stopping the posh voice you were putting on. Jace looks at you silently for a few seconds, then sighs for real.

The two of you are sitting at a table across from each other, and Jace is watching with an amused expression as you happily munch down on your food. You both waited in line together for Jace to buy his food, even though you'd already waited for your own, then sat down here. He's waiting to eat his food with Delilah when he gets back to his room, but for right now he did also get himself a can of orange soft drink, which you're now sharing.

"Sho, how 'ome you li' alilah?" You ask between mouthfuls of food.

"I donno wor you're sain." Jace replies as if between mouthfuls of food, which he isn't. Dumb. You couldn't even understand him. You swallow your mouthful.

"How come you like Delilah?" You repeat, then take another bite. "Pre'y weir', bro."

Jace lets out a small laugh. "She's really not that bad. Except to you. Bad to you."

You nod and take another bite, even though you haven't yet finished your last one.

"I do wish she was nicer to you. That's the main disagreement we've got, but other than that, we actually get on great."

"Ish that becaush of sexsh shtuff?" You ask.

Jace gives you a half-baffled, half-amused look, then shakes his head. "Nah, it's not like that. She's just fun to talk to. Even if she can be mean to my favourite slow eater hurry up you go at like four chews per minute."

You take another bite, still yet to swallow your last two. "Bu' she doesh do sexsh shtuff to you, rie?" Jace leans back in his chair, frowning slightly to himself.

"I don't know where you're getting that from." He says. You know the answer, but your mouth is too full to tell him.

"Sho wh' do you do, if she'sh no' doin' sexsh shtuff on you?" You ask, taking a fourth bite.

"Well, the first night here after we'd just met, we talked in our room for probably, like, five hours or something." He says after a short break to think. "And for half of that time we were both dead tired and trying to sleep, but neither of us wanted to stop talking. I know you don't see it, and she's not given you much reason to go looking, but she's actually pretty cool."

Yeah, no, but you'll let him have it so long as he stays friends with you as well. At least you know you've got a lot of wiggle room to suck and he'll still like you.

"Anyway, every night here since then, we chat for at least an hour or two before sleeping. Even when Prof. Phoebe's had us through the wringer."

"An' you do sexsh shtuff, rie?" You ask again, slowly chewing and straining your jaw on your four bites. Man, it's hard to chew when there's so little room to move in your mouth. People should really redesign food from the ground up....

"No, Debbie, we don't do sex stuff." He says through half-lidded eyes, then pauses. "Well, she might. But we don't."

You think about accusing him again, but instead keep your suspicions quiet and swallow your food.

"She visits some upperclassmen she knows sometimes, but I don't think it's anything to do with that. Far as I can tell, she's known them from before we got here." He says. "I don't think she's actually serious about when she makes those sort of comments to you. Doesn't feel like it's really her thing to me."

What? Why would someone EVER pretend to be dirty when they weren't? That'd be like you pretending to not be dirty when you are. It doesn't make sense. She's totally doing a trick on him and acting all nice.

You finish your last bite of food, and stand up, dusting yourself off of crumbs. "Let's do this again!" You say, beaming. Jace nods and smiles at you.

"Yeah, that'd be fun." He says. You're about to turn and leave, when Jace stops you by grabbing your sleeve. "Hold on a sec."

You tilt your head.

"If you're so sure that me and Delilah are doing sex stuff just because we're roommates, then does that mean that you and Cameron....?"

Your heart stops for a second, and your face burns deep red. Th-that's not it at all! You were just.... because Delilah's always so......

"AHHHH!!" You shout, turning on your heel and sprinting off towards the door of the Food Court at top speed. It's a big Food Court, so Jace gets a full entire eight seconds of watching you run away before you get out of vision and into the Courtyard.

".....she's nice." He says, still staring off in the direction of your departure. Then, he picks up his bag of food from the table, and heads towards his and Delilah's shared room.