Once the lunch bell rang, I was out of my seat and across the room before anyone else. All of my previous unease had disappeared, replaced by curiosity and determination to score myself a real hamburger. I’d never had a solid one before. In fact, I’d never even eaten solid food. Ever since arriving at this dump, I’d skipped lunch, sometimes even dinner. When I did eat, the headset food was less than appetizing. They must’ve changed the goop formula or something; it didn’t taste as good as I’d remembered.
“Hey, wait for us!”
Link’s voice echoed from behind me, though I could barely process his words. My mind was focused on one thing and one thing only: hamburgers. It was amazing the way the human mind could obsess over something so trivial.
I let my sheer determination push me onward. It led me past the few people standing in the hallway, around the broken vending machine that had certainly been out of order for decades, and into the cafeteria, where I immediately froze in my steps.
Six rows of lights, at least half of them blown, were stretched across the ceiling, illuminating the dozens of light oak tables below in a golden glow. Most of the seating arrangements were broken in one way or another: a quarter of the tables were cracked, many chairs were missing, and some were even snapped in half vertically. Though I was certain that over a hundred people went to our school, only twenty or so were scattered around the room. A few were moving through the lines at the back, grabbing food from slim, mechanical hands. The majority, though, were seated around the edges, eating food from their backpacks as they worked on homework or rough-housed with one another. How was I supposed to navigate this place? There was so much to it, so many tables to weave through and people to pass. What did I do? The light was shining in my eyes; what if I was blinded and ran right into someone?
“Why do you walk so fast?” Fickle groaned miserably as the four finally caught up to me, her back twisted in an overdramatic slouch. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you care this much about something that doesn’t boost your ego.”
I grumbled softly, ignoring her comment. The smell of hamburgers, real hamburgers, was wafting from the back of the room in aggressive waves, almost sending me toppling backward. My senses were overwhelmed, unable to handle such an amazing scent with such overstimulating surroundings. It was so savory and rich, with hints of salt and seasoning in the background. I was practically salivating.
“Where…Where are they?” I turned to look behind me, the twist almost robotic. “Where do I get the hamburgers? Which line?”
“They’re the entree, so they’re in all of them.” Craven stepped past me, taking the lead. “Though I’d suggest the one at the front. Everyone eats from that one, so the food is fresh.”
Craven’s prior poutiness had vanished, replaced by a sense of duty as he led us through the tables. Clearly, the man got an ego boost from taking the lead. Alden followed close behind, gesturing for me to trail him as Link and Fickle took up the rear. The smell became even stronger as we approached, finally pushing real drool out of my mouth. It dripped down from my lips, collecting in a small puddle near my collar. Ashamedly, I never would’ve noticed if it weren’t for Link pointing it out.
“Whoa, you’re really drooling over these things?” Link pointed at the long line of clear spit, sending a wave of horror down my spine. “They’re not that good. Some say they’re not even real beef.”
Alden shot the boy a gentle warning look. “Don’t burst his bub-”
“What’s the difference between real beef and the fake stuff?” Was one better than the other? I had no idea there were two different types.
They all looked dumbfounded.
“You’ve never had real beef?” Alden stopped at the beginning of the line, Craven just a few inches ahead.
“I’ve never had any kind of beef, or solid food for that matter.”
Mortified.
“You’ve never had solid food? Then what do you eat? Soup? Some form of gelatinous matter?” Fickle’s eyes shone as though she were poking fun, though I couldn’t find anything humorous. Perhaps it was just because I was the butt of the joke.
“The latter one, though I don’t know if it’s as much gelatinous as it is goopy.” My hand instinctively rose to my face in thought. Had these people never eaten from their headsets before? Perhaps they hadn’t worn them since that update. “I can bring you some if you’d like.”
Repulsed.
Craven looked like he was going to vomit. Alden averted his gaze uncomfortably. The other two simply stared with half-open mouths. In the middle, there I stood, pupils awkwardly flicking between them as we all stood in strained silence. Why weren’t they saying anything? It wasn’t that bad!
“Why do you all look so horrified? It wasn’t that nasty. It changed to taste like whatever you wanted. I mean, it was a little odd eating a soggy, sticky mouthful of ground-beef flavored muck sometim-”
“Gak-!”
Craven audibly gagged, the sound violent and strident.
“It’s best you stop while you’re ahead.” Alden gestured to the robotic arms awaiting us. “Why don’t you go get something real to eat?”
I didn’t need to be told twice!
