Debts To Be Settled

28

Quesadilla island is, as the name implies, an island, a landmass surrounded by water. It is a rather large landmass, not quite a continent but approaching that threshold. Because of this, the island is divided into unofficial areas. They are mainly categorized by both their economic status and some defining quality that sets it apart from the other areas. None of these areas really have names, though there are some commonly accepted titles with slight variations in pronunciation or spelling as one traverses the island. Regardless of how many areas there are or how they define themselves, every area is ultimately ruled by the Federation, their governing body. Throughout his years in foster care, Tommy has been to nearly every area of the island, from the well-to-do to the slums.

Despite this, Tommy is genuinely surprised that the island has a community center. Even standing in front of it, staring up at the large white letters, Tommy is sliding back to his disbelief. There is nothing 'communal' about the island. Everyone is self-serving, and the Federation doesn't exactly do welfare or insurance. There is no logical reason to have a community building other than having a target for supervillains, and this building looks fairly stable and even clean with smooth stones making up the walls and a fully intact roof hanging over the sides to form pleasant shade. There are even flower bushes growing underneath the many open windows, and while Tommy can't see much from the windows, his vision is clear enough to notice that the scenery is not bathed in blood or debris.

"What the fuck?" Tommy mutters out loud, squinting his eyes up at the sign. He closes his eyes, trying to map out the path he and Wibur took to get here. Wilbur picked him up from Madeleine's boutique. They drove over in Wilbur's car, but Tommy was looking out the window the entire time. They didn't travel through any portals. There was a natural progression of buildings, but Tommy is still surprised this progression led him to such a building.

"We're in a high-class district, Toms. The people here can afford to rub elbows with their neighbors. Of course, this place was made more for showing off riches than actually community-building, but we can't change the name, can we?" Wilbur answers even though Tommy didn't really ask a question. Tommy shakes his head in response. Madeleine's boutique sits between the edges of the wealthy district and the middle-class, so Tommy understands how extravagant and boastful rich people are. He's worked on enough of their clothes to double-down on this fact. Knowing all of that, however, did not prepare him for a community building, nor one looking this pristine and well put-together.

Tommy wonders how Wilbur's friends were able to rent such a place out, especially for something as wholesome as a fundraiser. Tommy doesn't know all of the details since he was barely paying attention to Wilbur's explanation, but Tommy is under the impression that this is going to be a card tournament followed by an auction that would raise credits to build better educational facilities for the lower-class districts, especially the Industrial Quarter where most orphans end up. Unless the rich people are looking into performing a little philanthropy, Tommy doesn't understand in the least bit why they would agree to rent their fancy place out to the likes of Quackity, Charlie, and Jaiden– among others who Wilbur claims to be friends with.

As Tommy thinks that, he casts a side-long glance at Wilbur. There are some things in life that a person cannot hide, and on Quesadilla island, wealth is one of those things. Wilbur obviously has credits, as do the rest of his family. It was easy to assume that he made friends with people in the same bracket as him, other than Tommy, the blonde supposes, but he's on his way to making a fair bit of credits. It is going to take some time, and he's nouveau riche instead of carrying around the blood variety, but Tommy is quick to realize that perhaps he judged Wilbur's friends too hastily. Tommy needs to stop assuming everyone has starved themselves at least once in their lives because they just didn't have anything to eat other than their own person.