The Ranch

Luncheon (1)

Tih's eyes blink open to the warmth of the morning rays. The air is fresh and cold, the window is open. There's a slight breeze.

"You usually don't oversleep. Did you get hurt yesterday?" Kai comes over to check on Tih. He lifts up his arm. No weird sounds. His other arm. Leg, other leg. Checks his face. Lifts his pajamas to check his torso and back.

"You seem fine. No bruises either. Let's go, we're gonna be late for the luncheon with the tournament sponsors." Kai pulls Tih out of bed.

The luncheon. Part of the prize for first place. A meal together with the spinners of the tournament. Rich, smart people with influence in the science field.

Kai and Tih meet up with the rest of the team at the doors to the cafeteria. The head to the top floor, the predetermined location of the luncheon. It's more of a bruncheon, as it's not yet time for lunch, but after breakfast. This was decided in consideration for the newbies, to let them rest longer.

The team of ten open the door of the top floor and are greeted by the head chef, Raphael. "Welcome Tih. And these must be your teammates? I was able to catch a glimpse of the tournament. It was a very entertaining one. Now, come, sit, sit." The round man waddles over to the large table in the center of the room. It's covered in a white tablecloth. In the center is a large turntable with multiple layers.

The team sits around the perfectly square table, taking up over half of the seats. There's already a couple other people sitting down.

"You must be Team Poseidon. That was a magnificent victory! Allow me to introduce myself. I am the creator of the escape room puzzles, Scovalof."

"Gaylord, lead inventor of the cameras."

"Hello, the name's Galone, representative for the researchers that developed the escape room lava poison."

A gruff voice with a bushy mustache huffs, annoyed," I designed the hologram blanket."

"He's Grumbledor. Don't mind him, he's not very talkative. He made the hologram that covered the field." Galone says on his behalf. Newbies tend not to be used to stark attitudes between islanders. Some are friendly and some are...Grumbledor.

Another one introduced themselves as a Sinclair company researcher. A few others also work for corporations in the Central Market. It's not easy to find a project.

The introductions continue as more people arrive until there's only one seat left unattended.

"There's one wippersnapper late to the party. While we wait, let's chat, indeed? Introduce yourselves?" One researcher claps his hands together.

They introduced themselves during the tournament, but they can't turn don't the sponsors request now can they.

They go through the line one by one.

"It's nice to meet everyone, my name is Victor."

"My name is Sherlock, the pleasure is mine."

Feeling more pressured to speak up, the usually quiet ones also introduce themselves.

"my name's Lucien."

"I'm Abel, nice to...meet you."

"Basile, a pleasure."

"Hello! Very cool to meet the people who created all that stuff. My name's Theodore."

"It's an honor to meet such talented people. My name is Pierre."

"Hi! That poisoned water was really awesome. So were the cameras. How did you make them levitate? Magnetism? The hologram blanket was incredible as well. I couldn't even begin to understand it. It's almost like a green screen. Ah, by the way, my name is Kai. This here is Tih, our captain. He can't talk, it's not that he's ignoring you." Tih is staring at the white tablecloth like there's something there no one else is seeing.

"Henri, One Green, One Brown. It's A Pleasure."

"Oh? They had a regular with them? I thought it was a newbie team?" A researcher wonders aloud.

Henri keeps a smile on his face," I Am A Temporary Member. I Was Recruited By The Team For The Tournament."

"I see. And your relationship?" The same one asks.

"I Teach Four Of Them In My Advanced Parkour Class."

"Ahh, a teacher, I see."

"It seems the last person is going to be a little late. He said to start eating without him." Another researcher announces after glancing at his watch.

Hearing that, Chef Raphael nods," The food's ready to be eaten. I'll have them bring it out." With a clap of his hands, a row of chefs walk out of the swinging door holding family plates of food. The plates are set on the turntable and they efficiently return to the kitchen once they're done.

"Shall we eat?" Scovalof pinches the rim of the bottom tray and spins it. The different levels of trays split off into different directions as the whole turntable moves in tandem. The more they turn, the weirder the shape becomes.

They pick off and scoop up portions of the dishes onto their plates as the trays turn towards them until every dish has been cycled around.

Ribs that fall off the bone when the fork goes through it. A fresh salad with a light and tangy dressing. Fragrant white rice cooked in rose water. A sweet plum pudding. These are some of the dishes on Tih's plate, along with a portion of every other dish on the table.

After glancing around, he started transferring food to his plate along with the others at the table, but unlike other plates that have anywhere from five to eight dishes, Tih has a bit of everything. You can't see the bottom of Tih's plate. Everything has been piled into a small hill and he intends to eat all of it.

The closest looking one to Tih's plate would be Basile's, but even so, it doesn't have every dish. It's not that it would be too much food. He could put his leftovers into his storage space, but there are things he likes and dislikes. He would not fill his space with food he dislikes.