The evening meal in Villa 4 arrived at six, on covered platters, with announcement on every room door. A delivery from the academy catering service, covered, carried in by two staff members who set them on the common area's long sideboard without ceremony and left without speaking. roasted meat in dark sauce, spiced grain, steamed greens still carrying the faint mineral sharpness of academy-grown produce.
The attached kitchen handled preparation somewhere out of sight. The result appeared on the long side board under warm lantern light with the quiet efficiency of a system designed to remind its recipients that this level of comfort was conditional on continued performance.
Garrett appeared from the stairwell at six-fifteen with the timing of someone who had been monitoring for exactly this. He lifted one cover, assessed the contents, replaced it, and began filling a plate with efficient focus.
