standard operating procedure (open)

[nate]

In all honesty, do people really think this is a good way to accomplish anything? We have superpowers, for chrissakes, but we can't even manage to handle something as simple as a lunchline?

Nate leaned against the wall of the eating section of the hall, glaring at various people. The line for food stretched nearly into a corridor, and looked as if it wasn't about to move anytime soon. Nate had already been standing, unmoving, for about ten minutes. Soon the trainers were bound to arrive and start yelling ridiculous things at them.

Because we can clearly move faster than this. What did they do? Have someone with Cryo-genesis in charge of the line? Here's your food: freeze. Food, freeze. Seriously, what kind of hopeless idiot sets something like this up? Clearly we are run by morons.

Nate's inner monologue continued along these lines for quite some time. It did little to actually move the line anywhere, but it certainly entertained Nate for the several seconds it took him to think it. He was already putting mental needles into mental voodoo dolls.

Ought to just 'port in there, is what I ought to do. So tempting.

Nate leaned to the side, frowning again.

[jl]

The line hadn’t moved more than a few feet by the time Joey showed up a couple minutes later. She had been out by the lake snapping some pictures when the monumental craving for a nice big slice of chocolate cake hit her. Never one to be able to pass up the urge for cake, Joey took a few more shots and hurried inside.

She had been thinking about a double chocolate layer cake with double chocolate icing the whole way from the lake, so you could only imagine the look of disappointment on her face when she saw how long the line was. She stepped in line behind Nate, and it couldn’t have been more than a minute before she was impatiently bouncing on the balls of her feet.

She took a look at the boy in front of her and decided that he looked even more impatient and annoyed than she did.

“Hey, have you been waiting long?” she asked him, securing her camera strap on her shoulder.

[nate]

"Twenty minutes," Nate replied automatically, "ten without moving. You'd almost think they were doing this on purpose."

Nate frowned again, turning over to look at Joey.

Let's see... I think I know that one. Wingrose, if I had to guess. Maybe Edengrowth. Definitely not Almasy. Slightly cute, but not enough to really interest me. Probably a seven out of ten. Is that a camera strap?

What do I know about cameras though?

Little to nothing.

Alright, here's the plan: remain quiet and hope she doesn't talk to me.

Nate resumed leaning against the wall, watching the line in front of him. It still hadn't moved.

"Stupid f**king line," he murmured. He began tapping his fist against the wall impatiently.

[jl]

“Twenty minutes?” Joey repeated, hardly able to believe that Nate could have been in line for twenty minutes. She had only been standing there for a few minutes before she started to get antsy, so she couldn’t imagine him standing there for that long. If she were him, she probably would have left ten minutes ago and found somewhere else to eat.

Nate had answered her question, but Joey could tell that he wasn’t planning on adding anything else to it. Okay, so he clearly didn’t want to be bothered. He was probably annoyed from standing in line for so long, right? That was Joey’s logic, at least.

She waited patiently (alright, maybe it was impatiently) for another minute before the silence got to her. She didn’t take being ignored very well…

“What do you think is taking so long?” she asked. Joey just really, really wanted that cake.

[nate]

Wow, you were clearly given a large portion of patience. What's your Gift? Talking? It's no wonder I don't like people.

"I'm guessing they're freezing people once they give them food," Nate drawled, smirking. He still hadn't turned to face Joey. "Either that or the cook's mentally challenged. Which I'm beginning to suspect, as slow as this line is moving."

He glared at the back of the head of the person in front of him, willing them to move. It was almost as if that were his Gift, for the line did, in fact, move a step ahead.

Whee! One step! How glorious!

Nate glanced over his shoulder at the impatient girl, his eyes going again to the camera. He simply leaned against the wall again, though he didn't turn around this time. Clearly he'd be responsive in the conversation, but not active.

[jl]

Joey Logan was as gullible as they came, so at first she thought he was being serious. Freezing people once they got their food? What was the point of that? Didn’t they realize that they were holding up a line of hungry students doing that? Luckily she realized he was kidding before she gave herself a chance to ask, and saved herself the embarrassment. Nate could have told her that the building was on fire and she would have believed him, even if it was only for half a second.

She perked up when the line moved, but disappointment set in once again when it was just one step. Seriously, what could be taking so long? Maybe the boy’s predictions weren’t so far off after all.

“You know, I bet they’re moving half a mile an hour just to get back at all the students for complaining about their awful cafeteria food all the time,” she proposed to Nate’s back, mostly joking.

She peeked around the students in front of her to see if she could see what the hold up was, but she had no luck. It didn’t look like she’d be getting that chocolate cake any time soon.

[nate]

This idea proved worth mulling over for a little while.

It does make some sense. D**m malevolent cafeteria workers have their brains constrained by godawful hair nets. They would think to move extra slow as some kind of contrived punishment against the rest of us.

I think I'm just going to use this as an excuse to teleport my way through the line. It's a good one though.

Nate turned to look at Joey, who'd been the one to offer the idea. He still wasn't in the mood to be all friendly and chipper to the girl, despite her insight. But he was willing to "reward" her for giving him what he needed.

"Did you want something in particular or are you just waiting in general?" he asked.

Because I fully intend on getting whatever it is you want, just to show these bast**ds up.

[jl]

Woah, it was the first time since she had gotten in line that Nate had said something to her that wasn’t directly related to whatever pointless question Joey asked him. That excited the brunette, and a smile came to her face despite her impatience.

“Hmm, well I really wanted some chocolate cake, but I’m thinking about just saying ‘forget it’ because it doesn’t look like this line is going to move any time soon,” she answered with a hopeless shrug. “I could probably go to Seattle and back by the time I got to the front of this line.”

Oh, what Joey would give to have the luxury of just being able pop into the kitchen, take her cake, and pop back out. Instead she was stuck with uncontrolled glimpses of the future that liked to take her by surprise.

[nate]

Actually, going to Seattle and back for cake was quite tempting. Nate would take any excuse he could get to leave the backwards area the Academy had so recently located itself too. But for now, he was just planning on jotting over to the kitchens, a good deal closer than Washington.

"Cake it is," said Nate. He nodded once to Joey, then vanished as if he'd never been there.

Nate reappeared among startled food service people. He moved quickly, taking advantage of their momentary surprise. Yes, most of them knew that some students could teleport, but knowing it was one thing, actually seeing it in action was something else entirely.

Flashing a smile at the workers, Nate quickly located what passed as a cheeseburger, grabbed a cardboard container, dumped some fries in it, and was about to take off. Remembering Joey's request, he held up one finger, and quickly grabbed a nearby chocolate cake.

By this time several workers were shouting, and there was quite an uproar. Of course, it made no difference to the thieving Almasian. He simply vanished again, reappearing near the line.

Several students groaned and complained at seeing Nate arrive with a basket of fast food and an entire cake.

Serves the rest of you right for being jacka**es. Maybe next time you'll strike up a conversation with someone standing next to you and they'll give you what you crave. Till then.

Nate flourished the cake toward Joey, grinning. "I believe you ordered this?"