Day 59: Library

[gald_digger]

Anise couldn't get out of the Cafeteria fast enough. The stench of rotted food was overwhelming, and she was starting to feel sick. Most of her nausea came from seeing the people around her eating it, though. Even her friends! Anise didn't know what to do... What if lunch ended up being the same

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[melodists]

No sooner had she asked the question than Tear realized the subtle change in Anise's form. Instantly, she grew worried, wondering what shifted in the last few seconds. When the younger girl finally answered, however, it took no time for Tear to connect the dots. As a show of disapproval--though not necessarily directed at Anise herself--she frowned.

She hadn't been personally informed about the basement, but the Melodist had been present during Landel and Marc's joint broadcast. Although the former Head Doctor's words were taken with a grain of salt, she also realized there existed areas in the institute she had yet to explore. One of them happened to be the mysterious basement that was referenced in that broadcast, and knowing her teammates had chanced exploration there registered as concerning.

But despite her intuition, Tear couldn't bring herself to pursue the matter. Anise didn't appear comfortable, and there were other things to concentrate on. For now, she could be glad that they had escaped with their lives.

With an audible sigh, Tear continued, "I'm relieved everyone made it out." She would have been devastated otherwise.

[gald_digger]

If Tear's sighing was any indication, Anise hadn't distracted her at all. At the same time, though, the older girl dropped the topic herself. It looked like it was more out of consideration of Anise's feelings than anything, which made her feel both guilty and relieved at the same time.

A small smile returned to her face. "Me too," Anise agreed. It was a close call - much closer than Anise wanted to admit. She really didn't want to think about what could have happened if they didn't have timing and luck on their side that night.

"Anyway, what have you been up to?" Anise asked abruptly, hoping to turn the conversation in a less awkward direction. "I heard something about a paramedic group." That was just over the bulletin, though, so it didn't hurt to confirm.

[melodists]

Distancing themselves from the talk of the basement did restore a bit of life to the conversation. Furthermore, the talk of the paramedic group that Anise had brought up served to distract Tear momentarily. Her face lit up in determination. "Oh, that's right. Yes, you heard correctly," she began. "I'm currently working with another patient on getting a mobile medical unit going. So far, we're in the midst of organizing volunteers."

She smiled wistfully, an obvious show that Tear was pleased with the developments so far. Only for the smile to drop as though it had never been. "Except I needed to meet with the leader of the Search and Rescue group this morning to discuss the possibility of working together," the girl groaned, bringing a hand to her forehead.

The conclusion here was simple: she hadn't been able to attend this very important meeting due to sleeping in.

[gald_digger]

Well, that explained a few things. Unfortunately for Tear, Anise wasn't one to hold back on commenting on the embarrassments of others. "Hehe. No wonder you looked so flustered about it!" Sleeping in usually wasn't a big deal, and people at Landel's seemed to do it all the time by accident, but it made sense that Tear was worried that it would make her look unreliable.

"You shouldn't worry about it too much, though," she added, a little more sympathetically. "I bet they'd understand if you explain. This kind of stuff happens to everyone sometimes. Even the Colonel!" And while the Colonel hadn't been around for a long time, it really said a lot if it was something even he couldn't avoid.

"Oh, and if you ever need supplies, come to me, okay? I've got lots of first aid supplies and medicine. You can even come grab some out of my room when I'm not around, if you need to." There was no telling when or where an emergency could pop up, so Anise figured it'd be nice for Tear to have that option. Besides, she'd grabbed extras because she wanted to share!

[melodists]

No wonder was correct. Although Tear wished she could persevere over her mistake with grace and poise, she understood her own nature wouldn't allow the break. Failure was not something she took well to; however, she appreciated Anise and the girl's attempts at sympathy. Tear managed one labored exhale and nodded to show grudging agreement.

"You're right," the Melodist said. "I can't let sleeping in get to me." Even as she found the existence of the Colonel's sleeping schedule to be highly dubious. "I'll just have to draft my apology note and hope he's open for rescheduling."

When Anise made her offer and provided an avenue for supplies, the older girl found herself touched. And a little surprised. Despite Anise's occasional penchant for greed, she could be the most giving at the right moments. "I'll keep that in mind, thank you," replied Tear, who smiled once more. "That is really generous of you."

[gald_digger]

It looked like Tear was in agreement with Anise, and so the girl's smile brightened further. "Right! It'll work out," she assured her. Even if she didn't know much about the situation, there probably weren't a lot of patients who'd be so petty as to let something small like this ruin a partnership with lots of potential.

At Tear's comment on her generosity, Anise was beaming. "Of course! I'm always generous, aren't I?" ... Fortunately for her, Tear wasn't likely to give that an honest answer.

It was kind of true that she was more generous than usual lately, though. Being the youngest in her group, and one of the younger patients in the institute as a whole, Anise often felt like she had a lot to prove. She wanted to show the adults around her that she was someone who could be depended on for all kinds of things.

The intercom sounded then, signaling the beginning of lunch. Anise looked up to the nearest speaker with a frown. "I guess it's time to go..." An uneasy look crossed her face. Was lunch going to be just like breakfast...?

[melodists]

Tear appreciated the optimism displayed by Anise, doubly so given their environment. It was difficult to keep their spirits high in this place, and thus, watching the younger girl give such a confident remark was encouraging. Things would work out, yes. She just needed to move on.

Which happened at a much sooner time than expected. As Tear thoughtfully skirted around Anise's question, the intercom jingled. This meant the coming of lunch, and with the latter's condition... "Will you be okay?" Tear asked the girl, the concern written in her face. If Anise wasn't, the soldier would be more than happy to assist.

[gald_digger]

While Anise couldn't deny that she was worried about what was going to happen, she didn't really mean to make Tear worry, too. So when she saw a concerned look on the older girl's face, Anise immediately recovered her smile - though it was a bit obvious that it was forced.

"Of course I'll be okay! It's not that big a deal," she hastily assured her friend. It was true, though; this was far from the worst thing Anise had seen happen at the institute. "Don't worry. If things still look bad, I'll just leave!" All things considered, Anise was very lucky to have that option. Some patients were probably less fortunate.

[melodists]

Despite doubts, Tear relented. Anise was more than capable of taking care of herself. If not, she knew there were friends who would be willing to offer a hand. "Alright," she said before stealing a glance toward the door. "I'll let you know what the food looks like on my end."

With that, the teenager headed toward the cafeteria, hoping somewhat vainly that the food would be fine. For everyone's sake, at least.