damned_institute | Day 40: Lunch

*hobble wobble*

"Damn that SCOURGE!" Starscream cried out, the slowly-filling cafeteria producing a jarring echo of his raspy voice. His limping, already bad enough from not knowing how to properly use his crutches, was now exacerbated from the injuries he'd received the shift prior. Despite the gauges in his non-casted leg so lovingly provided by the aforementioned 'patient', Starscream could still put some weight on it, but not so much that he could really stop and rest; relieving the soreness under his arms was out of the question. The nurse that walked behind him with his tray, already upset at having to deal with yet another troublesome inmate, was growing rather impatient as his charge slowly made his way down the food line.

"Just...give me a standard serving of the aquatic creature's flesh, some of those fried potato slices, two bananas, and three bottles of juice," Starscream sighed, his anger from just a moment ago assuaged by the physical exertion needed to move the way he did. "I'm going to sit down here...bring it to me when you're done."

He was hardly surprised to find that one of the bananas was completely bruised along its inner curve, or that the handful of 'chips' on his plate were all on the small side. Tired and frustrated as he was, however, he could barely muster a 'damned flesh-creature' before moving his fingers to the plate, picking one of the longer 'chips' and shoving it into his mouth listlessly.

There was an unusually high concentration of sodium chloride crystals on it. Of COURSE.

[For Tony Stark]

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"I'm sure it will be in a moment," Joshua answered, a teasing smile crossing his face as he glanced at Sora. Interesting kid, and with spiky hair... huh, did he manage some hair conditioner while in this place? The question was an idle one, but needless to say, Joshua wasn't the sort of person to rein in his idle speculations.

An idle sniff told Joshua of the smell of grass and sunlight, and so he offered, "Did you have fun outside?"

At first Sora was confused by the response, but the other boy's smile soon made it obvious that he was just playing around. It was kind of weird that the stranger was comfortable with teasing people he didn't even know, but Sora wasn't going to question it too much. It was better than if the guy had been totally closed off, right? (Sora could already tell that he was nothing like Riku when it came to personality.)

He took a seat and was surprised once again when the boy started off with such a friendly question. This was way different from the talk Sora had just attempted to have with Shikamaru, and he was soon sending the stranger a bright smile.

"Yeah, I did! Well, I would have had more fun if I could have actually played something, but I got hurt last night so I had to take it easy." The same thing had happened when that game of tag had been planned for the Doyleton trip. He tended to have the worst luck when it came to the timing of his injuries.

"I'm Sora, by the way!" he finished as he grabbed for a french fry. "It's nice to meet you."

"Mm, that's a shame. You're not going to get another chance for a little while." For his part, Joshua was a little surprised at how brightly Sora smiled at him. In a way, it almost felt like Sora had nothing to hide; or perhaps, he was just extremely good at giving a first impression. Joshua was as well, of course, but 'friendliness' was not his usual opening salvo. It felt... odd. A little unsettling, to be honest; like a wall between them. Of course, that was probably just because Joshua knew that a bright smile could hide a dark heart.

All of that meant that Joshua answered Sora's introduction with a little giggle, brushing a hand through his hair with a grin of his own. "Is it, now? I hope you'll still think that when we part ways."

"I know," Sora agreed with a sigh. He was pretty sure that they were only allowed onto that field once a week or so, and that felt like ages in this place. They might get to go to the courtyard a little sooner, but they weren't allowed as much freedom to play there. He figured he should at least be happy that they got to go outside three times a week (soccer field, courtyard, Doyleton) rather than only one.

The other boy's response was strange, but Sora also noticed that he hadn't given his name in return. Those two things placed the stranger into the mysterious category, but Sora didn't let that stop him from conversing with the boy. "Huh?" he responded. "Why wouldn't I?" He eyed the other patient, but not in an accusing way, and grabbed another piece of fish to nibble on while they spoke.

"Mm... well, it's just something that seems to happen to me." Joshua certainly didn't like explaining things too completely, and that natural instinct was hard to override even when he was conversing with someone as interesting as Sora.

So then, what to offer to keep the conversation going? Something innocuous, but still apparently revealing... ah hah, he had an idea. With a bit of a grin, Joshua added, "Where I come is a little different from here, and I'm still getting rather used to it. Mm... I'm still getting used to the idea of people coming to talk to me with no ulterior motive."

Sora would have been worried if the other boy's home wasn't different from this place, but he got the point well enough. He nodded, giving a quick glance around to the tables full of pairs or trios of patients talking. Some looked like they were more than familiar with each other, while others seemed to be talking for the first time. That was just how it was; with the limited space, it got kind of hard for anyone to sit alone.

"I know what you mean," he said, turning back toward the silver-haired boy. "Usually people keep to themselves if they can, but I guess everyone sorta has to band together here." In a way, that was good; many was almost always stranger than just one. That was something Sora strongly believed in.

Could this boy be a new friend? He seemed amiable and distant at the same time, which Sora was having a hard time reconciling in his head. Still, before they could get any further, the intercom came on -- there was some confusion with the signal or something, but it still meant it was the end of the shift.

"Already?" Sora whined. That had gone by way too fast. "Well," he continued with a sigh, "I guess we'd better get going. It was nice to meet you!"

As Sora was led away, he realized he hadn't even gotten the boy's name. Next time, then.

[Sorry for cutting it short. D: I'm not sure I have time to backthread, but they must thread again soon~]

Day 40: Lunch

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