The Palladium had more than one cafeteria.
Obviously.
There was the main hall—huge, efficient, food you ate because you needed to eat. Blacks ate there. Most Blues. A few Golds who didn't care about appearances. It was loud, crowded, and smelled like generic nutrition.
Then there were the tiered ones.
The Palladium believed in incentives. Better food cost more. Private seating cost more. If your family had money, you could eat in spaces that didn't smell like generic nutrition.
Above all that were the faculty halls. Off limits. And the administrative dining rooms. Also off limits. Alex had never seen them. Didn't want to.
Veronica walked past the main hall without slowing, past the mid-tier, and headed straight for the upper tier.
Alex stopped at the entrance.
"Uh." He looked at the door. The polished metal. The lack of noise inside. "This one costs—"
"I'm aware."
She walked in.
Right.
He followed.
The room was quieter than the other halls. It had smaller tables too. A few Gold Marks and even lesser Blue Marks were scattered around, eating food that looked like food instead of fuel. They looked up when Veronica entered. Then at Alex. Then at each other.
Alex ignored them. Tried to, anyway.
They found a table by the window. She sat. He sat. A menu appeared on the table's surface—holographic, crisp, listing options he'd never seen in the main hall.
He scrolled.
Water: 15 credits.
Fifteen credits. For water. In the main hall, water was free.
He kept scrolling. Found the cheapest thing that resembled a meal. Basic protein plate. Forty credits. He'd survive.
He ordered water and the plate.
Across from him, Veronica studied her own menu. She didn't order immediately, just... looked.
Then, for a second—just a second—her eyes lifted from the screen. She glanced at him, but he was too busy doing mental math to notice.
[Curiosity: 47% → 48% ↑]
She looked back at her menu, then ordered something. Alex didn't catch what.
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Their food arrived. Fast. Almost too fast. Probably what happens when you ate in places that charged fifteen credits for water.
Alex's protein plate was... fine. Edible. Smaller than it would have been in the main hall, but arranged prettier. He ate methodically, focused on the food, trying not to think about the fifty-five credits that will soon be leaving his account.
Veronica's order was something with vegetables and sauce. Looked complicated. She ate slowly, like taste was an afterthought.
The stares continued.
Gold Marks at the other tables kept sneaking glances. A few Blues too—the ones with family money, trying to look like they belonged. Eyes kept landing on Veronica, then sliding to Alex, then bouncing away like the combination short-circuited something.
Yeah, Alex thought. I know. I don't belong here. Move on.
He poked at his overpriced protein. Looked at her. Looked away. Looked back.
"So." He kept his voice low. "The Sovereign Resonance Arsenal, the thing in the contract that's locked. What is it exactly?"
She didn't look up from her food. "Weapons."
[Cognitive Engagement: 27% → 27% —]
"I gathered that. What kind of weapons?"
The fork paused. Just for a second.
"Ones you couldn't handle."
"Try me."
She looked at him now, her red eyes, flat and unreadable.
[Cognitive Engagement: 27% → 30% ↑]
"Your Core is R-14. Your control is embarrassing. Your Artifice is a stick with a blade." She tilted her head. "Why would I give you something that could kill you?"
[Curiosity: 48% → 49% ↑]
Alex opened his mouth. Closed it. "...Fair point."
She went back to eating.
Alex picked at his protein plate again. Looked at her. Looked away. Looked back.
"So teach me."
She set her fork down.
[Amusement: 22% → 20% ↓]
[Boredom: 72% → 73% ↑]
"Think about it." He leaned forward slightly. "You're stuck with me. Clause Four, Proximity Protocol. Also, Clause One: if I die, you get weakened. If I'm stronger, I'm less likely to die." He shrugged. "It's not for me; it's for you."
She stared at him.
[Amusement: 20% → 48% ↑]
[Boredom: 73% → 67% ↓]
[Cognitive Engagement: 30% → 40% ↑]
A full twenty-eight point spike. The biggest jump he'd ever seen. He had no idea what he did, but he wasn't complaining.
"That," Veronica said slowly, "might be the dumbest thing I've ever heard."
"But it's logical." He grinned.
"It's... cute." She replied. Slowly, like she was looking for the right word to use.
[Boredom: 67% → 65% ↓]
Alex froze.
Veronica picked up her fork.
"Nice try." She said, glancing at him.
[Amusement: 48% → 50% ↑]
[Boredom: 65% → 60% ↓]
Then she went back to eating.
Alex sat there, completely lost, watching numbers he didn't understand dance across his vision.
‡"‡
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They finished the rest of the meal in silence. Or close to it—Alex tried twice to ask another question and got nothing but the occasional "hm" in response.
When the last bite was gone, he reached for his tab.
"I paid already."
He looked up. "When?"
Veronica was already standing, tablet in hand, heading for the door.
"While you were calculating your water budget."
[Amusement: 50% → 52% ↑]
She walked out.
Alex stared at the empty space where his tab should have been. Then at the door. Then at the numbers still flickering at the edge of his vision.
One by one, they greyed out. Curiosity. Amusement. Boredom. All of them fading to neutral, tucked away like the system knew she was gone.
[METASENSE SYSTEM — ONLINE]
He had no idea what just happened.
But Boredom was still dropping. Amusement was still climbing. And for the first time all meal, he wasn't thinking about the forty credits.
He finally stood, and followed her out, the upper tier doors sliding shut behind him.
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