Kaitlyn lounged in her usual back seat for the Genetics lecture. The familiar lesson felt more like a meditation exercise rather than actual words at this point. All around, enterprising students scribbled or hastily typed notes in a frenzy. The excitement would die down in the coming weeks as the lecture hall began to slowly but surely shed occupants. But for now, Professor Adams had most people’s complete attention.
In reality, she didn’t need to be here. Her demonstrated mastery of the subject meant that these classes wouldn’t help her anytime soon, not to mention that she could practically recite the lectures from memory. Still, joining Professor Adams’s lab without attending lecture just felt… wrong.
It’ll probably take a week or two to build confidence and catch up on everything, but then? She suppressed a grin. I’ll be working on my own project! Not someone else’s, but mine!
Sure, it was a relatively simple and small project. But it was hers. All her newfound free time could be poured into actual research and experiments.
This was a great idea. I feel like I’m really going to do something cool here. At the very least, I feel like I’ve springboarded a few weeks ahead in proving myself. Christa had already expressed her satisfaction with Kaitlyn’s ability to prepare plates and answer conceptual questions about some of the experiments she’d be performing.
I don’t even have to worry too much about screwing things up. I’ve got infinite redos, right? So if I just work on getting technique and conditions down until I’m perfect with one experiment at a time, then I’ll be able to blitz through a ton of them all at once. Easy.
Based on her observations, lab appeared to be comprised of 20% menial work, 10% good experiments, and at least 70% things going wrong and failing. Whether it was due to a wrong hypothesis, messing something up, or their plants just having a bad day, things just tended to not work a surprising amount of the time. So if she could reduce that percentage even a little bit…
“...That’s all for today. Make sure to review the extra material I’ve posted online! It’ll be very helpful for getting these concepts down.” Students had already begun to pack away their things as Professor Adams made her closing remarks. Kaitlyn did the same, straightening as she hefted her backpack onto one shoulder. Honestly, she wasn’t sure whether to even bother with it anymore. The thing mostly accompanied her out of habit.
Time to go to lab.
Stepping into the aisle, her mind ran through her to-do list. It was late enough in the day that she might not have time to start any big tasks or experiments - those she’d taken care of this morning. But there were seeds to collect and maybe a few cultures to prepare.
As a plan tentatively formed, Kaitlyn dodged around a few slower students clogging up the stairs leading outside. The sudden movement cause her to bump into another.
“Oh! Sorry.”
Turning to look, her eyes widened slightly to see Elliot meeting her gaze. Beneath his mane of fiery hair she spotted a pair of telltale black earbuds. Her labmate nodded graciously to her without a word as he continued upward
Well, great. She sighed. They hadn’t met formally in lab yet, so his lack of recognition was expected. Nor had she made an effort to seek him out during lectures. This is about to get awkward, since I’m going the same direction. So much for not being a stalker.
Usually Elliot walked fairly quickly, but after a few minutes it became clear that Kaitlyn wasn’t too much slower. Apparently, excitement and impatience sped her steps enough to keep up. With no small amount of embarrassment, she followed the ginger-haired student all the way to Gutac Hall. All the while she stayed conscious of her speed and the slowly growing distance between them.
No, bad Kaitlyn. Don’t even think about that. So what if I seem like a stalker? I’m not, and that’s that. I’ve got as much reason to be here as anyone. And besides, my focus is on lab, not him.
Elliot pulled a keycard from his pocket and swiped it to enter the building. She followed suit a minute later, spotting the guy at the elevator.
Well. Guess it was too much to hope he’d already gone up. At least this might be less awkward to introduce myself here. With a sign of resignation, she stepped forward to wait next to him.
Elliot glanced over as she approached and did a double take. He popped out one headphone to cock his head. “Were you… just at lecture?”
“Yeah.” She gave a small wave. “I’m Kaitlyn. I’m joining Professor Adams’s lab.”
“Oh! I see.” Elliot’s look of confusion turned to one of relief. “For a second, I assumed…”
“That I was a stalker?” She chuckled. Really, he thinks about that a lot for never having had the problem. It’s kinda weird.
“Exactly.” His emerald eyes glittered mirthfully. “So you do see what it looked like.”
“Well, I wanted to get to lab! You can’t blame me for rushing.” Kaitlyn crossed her arms defensively. “I mean, I could have raced ahead, but you walk too fast for that.”
“Oh, so you already knew I worked here?”
“W-well…” Kaitlyn’s face flushed. She scrambled to come up with an explanation. “...Professor Adams told me. Plus, it’s not exactly a common path to get here, now is it?”
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“I suppose.” Elliot raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, regardless. My name’s Elliot. It’s nice to meet you, Kaitlyn.”
“Nice to meet you too.” The elevator dinged pleasantly as it slid open. Dang. It feels like he catches me out like this more than anyone else. I really gotta be more careful around him.
With that, the pair stepped in and headed up to the lab.
***
An oversized stockpot filled with macaroni bubbled away atop a small electric burner. As it boiled, Kaitlyn measured out the last of her ingredients into a medium sized bowl. Open containers of shredded cheese, cream, hot sauce, and butter lined the counter in a neat row like soldiers awaiting orders.
She fished out a piece of the pasta to taste. Perfect. A little firm, but it’ll soften up once I add the cream.
Satisfied, Kaitlyn lifted the pot and carried it toward the sink. A careful motion saw its contents waterfall into the first waiting colander. Once it was full, she let it drain before moving it to a plate and replacing it with another and draining the rest of the pot.
The meal request business was booming. Each loop, she managed to expand her clientele and capabilities just a little more. Between that and a little bit of experimentation with her prices, she managed to pull in a nice bit of supplementary income each loop. It might even outdo her job at Chella’s soon. Not bad for a once-per-week event.
Not that I’d quit if it did. I’m learning way too much from Scarra still. Besides, I haven’t stolen all of his recipes yet.
Unfortunately, she didn’t quite have the ability to make all of the chef’s recipes in the dorms. Even the idea of making some of them at scale made Kaitlyn’s head spin. Fortunately, she had plenty of other recipes that she’d workshopped that were both inexpensive to make and easy to prepare in bulk - not to mention beloved by her customers.
The drained macaroni plopped back into the stockpot, followed closely by the butter. Kaitlyn added each subsequent ingredient as she stirred until it looked just right.
Yup, that’s tasty. She smiled to herself. Especially with the good cheese from the store? This might be my best attempt yet.
A blonde head popped around the corner. “Hey, Kate! Ooooh, whatcha makin’? It smells good!”
“Hey, Heather.” Kaitlyn hefted the pot over to the table. A few stacks of bowls pilfered from the dining hall stood nearby for those who forgot their own. “Mac and cheese today. Want some?”
Her roommate skipped over to the table, inhaling the aroma. “Omigosh yes! How much? I don’t have cash, but I might be able to…”
Kaitlyn chuckled and ladled the cheesy pasta into a container. Leaning forward, she pushed it toward the blonde. “For you? On the house, especially if you let people know it’s ready. I’ll give you the roommate discount.”
Heather squealed with delight. “Of course! Thanks so much! Omigosh, I get the first one too! I’m like, soooo excited!”
With a twirl, Heather accepted the bowl and plopped into a seat. In a flash, her phone appeared on the tabletop as the girl tapped out a message to their suitemates and Kaitlyn’s other regular customers in the CappyAppie group.
With a sigh, Kaitlyn checked the time. Just before six. She’d finished up early today. Taking a seat herself, she covered the pot and settled in to wait.
Heather’s message was more of a formality and a reminder than anything else. Kaitlyn always told people that food would be ready by six each Friday. Then, it was first come first served. Most people would get here within ten minutes or so unless they had classes. But based on previous loops, she’d certainly be sold out within the hour.
What should I do with the extra money this time? Kaitlyn chewed thoughtfully. I don’t have to spend it all on tutoring anymore. I could expand my cooking more, maybe. Or I could buy a PlaySphere again. I mean, between this and Chella’s, I should be able to afford it before midterms.
The idea of buying a PlaySphere seemed a little superfluous. After all, she was well aware that Ian lived right above her as a willing practice partner. They’d met up plenty of times before.
…Maybe some other time. I’m not really feeling it right now. Tournaments are one thing, but outside of that…
“Say…” Her thoughts were interrupted by Heather’s sly grin. “Have you ever considered making this little business of yours even bigger?”
“Yeah, kind of.” Kaitlyn shrugged. “I could get another burner and pot to make more food, I guess, but I’d need more people to come eat it too. Right now I’m mostly selling to my friends and suitemates. Plus, I’m not really sure how big I can get before the… school… starts having problems with it.”
“Psssh, who cares about what the school thinks?” Heather scoffed at the suggestion. “You’re just, like, being independent and putting yourself out there! Aren’t they supposed to support that kinda stuff? But if you’re worried about getting more customers… Well, that I can help with.”
Heather gestured widely with one hand. “Think about it, Kate - you’ve started something awesome here, and it can only get better! I’ve got the connections, you’ve got the skills - we can totally turn this into something, like, actually legit!”
She thought about it. Cooking for people did make her a respectable amount of money already, even after ingredient costs. But making more was never a bad thing.
Well, USUALLY not a bad thing. Kaitlyn shivered. Unless the Enforcers come down on me again. But they haven’t done that yet, and there’s no way I’ll ever get close to making stock market levels of money off of this. Plus, Heather’s the one suggesting that I expand. Does that make a difference? Does that count as implied approval from the game?
“...What would you get out of all this?” Surely Heather wouldn’t suggest this out of the kindness of her heart. The girl was far too pragmatic for that.
Sure enough, her crystalline blue eyes sharpened as they seemed to calculate the possibilities. “Me? Well, maybe I’d accept a small referral fee for every first-time customer I bring your way. On top of the roommate discount. Unless you wanted to try a more involved partnership.”
Kaitlyn considered the offer. It was doable. How many people Heather could bring in remained to be seen, but from how vast her network seemed, the number wouldn’t be anything to scoff at. It would mean more equipment costs and time invested though.
But if there’s one thing I don’t lack right now, it’s time. Even with how much focus I’m putting on lab. It’s not like I really have much else to do in the evenings, anyway.
“I’ll think about it,” she hedged. The idea felt promising, but needed some further thought.
“Of course! Take your time!” Heather brightened. “You just let me know. I’m like, totally down to make this a real business.”