Kikaru took another bite before answering.
She chewed longer than she needed to. Elias noticed because everyone at the table had gone a little careful around her, the way people did when they wanted to help but feared touching the wrong bruise.
"I understand what you were trying to do," she said. "That does not mean I enjoy you being right in public."
"Nobody enjoys that part, and I barely enjoy it myself."
A few seats away, Paul lifted half his sandwich like it deserved ceremony.
"I would like everyone to know this is exactly correct, and I will be accepting no criticism from people with less refined taste."
Kikaru looked at the peanut butter and banana combination, then gave a tired laugh.
It changed the room more than the food did. Not much. Enough for people to breathe without measuring the sound first.
Faye smiled into her tea. Bui relaxed his shoulders. Tidwell looked down at his bowl and pretended he had not been waiting for that laugh like the rest of them.
