Lost on Titan

{Part 2}

~Videl~

Fortunately for Videl, the altercation with the men had distracted Sienna enough to forget about the daro fruit incident, and after a grumble or two - claiming those guys were "such heinous dickheads," she returned to her happy-go-lucky self while they ate lunch together. Videl had to stop herself from asking Sienna about the silver-eyed man she was sure she was supposed to know. After they finished their meal, and as Videl followed Sienna to the food counter to place their empty trays in some weird machine that was labeled as an autoclave cleaning-bin, she felt the unnerving sensation that she was being watched. But when she looked around the dwindling sea of faces in the Cafeteria, it didn't seem like anyone was actually looking at her, so she tried to shake it off.

Once the trays were deposited for cleaning, Sienna hugged Videl tightly, once again.

"I'm so glad you're back. It was so lonely without my best friend."

Best friend.

Videl smiled, genuine happiness swelling in her chest.

"You call me if you need anything, okay?" Sienna told her, wiggling her hand in a silly way. "I have to help Mom and Dad install the new software on their H-5. They're too old to remember how to work the freakin' thing, I guess."

Videl blinked, momentarily misunderstanding Sienna's hand gesture, before it dawned on her that her friend was referring to her wristband with the movement. She looked down at her own wristband and laughed, wiggling her hand in the same fashion. The thing must be some sort of device that was capable of making and receiving calls, as well as open doors. How odd, she thought.

"Of course!" Videl replied, and she watched as Sienna entered one of the elevators after a wave and a promise to hang out soon.

A moment after the doors had closed, a screen indicated that Sienna was going to "PQ - Level 8." PQ? Was that a Level where people lived? Then, underneath the label in a digital fine-print, she noticed that it was  denoted as a Housing Level. There seemed to be so many people on this vessel, and Videl thought it would be impossible for everyone to have their own designated rooms. Videl stood there, staring at the screen - long after it went blank. She watched as a couple entered one of the elevators, and after the doors shut, the screen flashed again - "PQ - Level 5." She figured she must have her own room somewhere, too, but how would she figure out where it was?

Her only idea of how to find it was watching the screen as others departed, hoping one of the Levels would ring a bell to her. It didn't seem likely, considering her own name, her best friend's name, had done nothing to jog her memory. But she didn't have any better ideas. She probably stood there for an hour or two, watching people come and go. A few of the people - certainly noticing her gawking - gestured for her to join their group in the elevator, as if they thought she wasn't sure there was room for her, but she politely shook her head and waved them on. She didn't want them seeing that she didn't know which Level to select. Not that standing here staring like a weirdo is any less suspicious . . . Videl thought to herself with chagrin.

The longer that she watched, the more she started to feel like she was memorizing some of the different Levels. "CS - Level 1" was labeled Med-Bay. She'd seen some people who looked like doctors on lunch-break had come from there. "CR - Level 3" was a Gymnasium - she'd seen some bodybuilder-looking guys going there. One of them had winked at her, mistakenly assuming she was watching them for different reasons. "CS - Level 2" was Education, and she decided it was a Level where people went to school, when she watched what appeared to be a tired-looking teacher ushering some rambunctious children into the elevator, moments before the screen indication. "NP - Level 1" was denoted as an Aviary/Arboretum. Videl had no idea what that could be, but she'd heard some teenagers whispering that they were going to vape there before they exited the Cafeteria. There were several other Levels that weren't discernible - just random series of numbers and letters that Videl had no hope to figure out.