Chapter 10A: New Experiences
A week in physical therapy went by fast. By the fifth day, most had returned to their normal motor functions, the next two days was just to be sure.
Alex took this time to truly get to know her friends. Their bond deepened over the week like never before. She learned that Nell had a deceased older sister, that Kurt was formerly physically bullied as a child, and that Ruri was shy because of an incident in school that humiliated him. Alex almost went as far as tell her friends her secret, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know how they would react if they knew that she took over someone else’s body.
Would they call her selfish? Would they call her a monster?
In the end, she didn’t. She just described her time working with the old man and her previous illness to some extent. Of course, she lightened the description of her illness to be less…terminal. Her friends just believed she made a recovery from a coma that resulted from the illness.
Soon, they were discharged from the infirmary and sent back to their rooms. Alex’s friends promised to meet up later to go out shopping. Things will be different now that they are fully registered in the ARK program.
Alex took this chance to get a long hot bath. The feeling of hot water and suds washing away two weeks of filth soothed her very soul. The bath filled with water drained away, flowing back to the water filtration system. She got dressed in one of her new outfits, a black tight knit t-shirt, a white sleeveless vest with two breast pockets, a navy blue pair of jeans, and a shiny black belt. Lastly, she grabbed the gear necklace and hung it around her neck.
Alex looked at herself in the mirror. She was now fully accustomed to herself. With a smile, she walked out her room to meet with her friends.
______
The neon city that almost never sleeps glowed faintly in the night. The pedestrians wandered the street aimlessly in the pursuit of material gains. Pockets as deep as their sense of self-worth, the capitalistic tendencies of humanity never dies as long as ‘want’ exists. Among these clueless herd animals, were Alex and her friends. They decided to go to a restaurant. From her friends’ tale of their perilous adventure, it would seem only Nell got the short end of the stuck and wasn’t able to enjoy eating food with actual flavor. All she had were cadavers. Every shook at the thought of it and saw Nell in a new light; She was one tough cookie.
They soon arrive at a quaint place in the corner of a back alley. Knowing their meager budgets, they decided to go for something small.
Now that they had registered for the ARK program, new information began appeared in front of them in the form of holograms. They could now see the name of the restaurant.
“The Wicked Swine Bar & Grill,” Kurt read out the sign.
“Sounds ominous,” Nell chimed. “But based on the menu out front, the prices are low.”
The others nodded, and they entered the ‘fine’ establishment.
They were stopped by an employee at the entrance.
“Dear Sirs and Madams, please put on your visor for a micro-dive,” The waitress asked nicely.
“What’s a micro-dive?” Kurt asked.
“It is a half dive. Only a few senses are linked to the system while the rest remain normal,” The waitress patiently replied. “In our case, that would be the sense of sight, a little bit of touch, smell and taste.”
The kids nodded and put on their visors. The waitress pressed a button, and a message appeared before their eyes.
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[Would you like to enter micro-dive? Y/N]
They all pressed ‘Yes’ as the powerful odor hit them square in the face. Their mouths started salivating immediately. It smelled delicious. Absolutely delicious!
The waitress waited for them to recover before taking them to a booth.
They sat at a round table with a semi-circle coach enveloping it. A menu appeared before their eyes.
“What are you going to order?” Nell asked Alex.
“The stir-fried taro and beef looked nice,” Alex replied when she spotted a familiar plant.
“I’ll take the sirloin steak fry!” Kurt eagerly said.
“I’ll have the deep-fried shrimp roll,” Ruri stated.
“Man, how do you guys choose so fast?!” Nell complained.
“The pictures just speak to us,” The three answered in unison.
“This…,” Nell could only sigh. “I’ll take…the steamed red snapper.”
They pressed the button next to their order, and the menu vanished.
Around five minutes later, their food was brought to their table by the waitress. It looked amazing. The stir-fried taro and beef towered on top of the plate and emitted a peppery fragrance. It stimulated Alex’s appetite. The sirloin steak fry was a plate of stir-fried cubes of steak with rosemary and onions. The brown caramelized onions oozed with the delicious juices that were rendered out of the steak as it cooked. Kurt couldn’t resist gulping down his own saliva in anticipation.
Ruri’s dish was a plate of six rolls of golden brown deliciousness. It permeated the air with the scent of oil that stimulated the taste buds instead of feeling over-done. Beside it was a small dish of a red chili sauce that glistened under the light of the restaurant. Nell’s dish had a large lid on top so she couldn’t see what was inside.
Four distinct dishes were placed in front of them. When the cheerful waitress got to Nell’s dish, she took the lid from the plate and revealed the feast underneath. The fish had been steamed to a faint orange color. Garnished with strips of ginger and chili, it sat on top a bed of soy sauce and sesame oil. The fragrance completely dominated the other dishes.
Nell was stunned into a state of shock. Her body didn’t know how to react to the smell of the delicious fish. But her instinct that was developed over eons of human evolution. Her body reacted the way it should. She salivated.
“Enjoy your food! Call me if you need anything else,” The waitress smiled and left.
The four couldn’t resist any longer and dug into their food.
Alex bit into a soft piece of taro. The spongy corm of the plant absorbed the juices of the beef and pepper. A powerful taste overwhelmed her senses and brought her to a wonderland of taste. It melted in her mouth as the taro became a paste of flavor. She reluctantly swallowed, wanting to savor the flavor some more, but she couldn’t control herself. Taking another fork full of taro, Alex shoveled it into her mouth. The peppery sting was a new experience, a very delicious new experience at that. Finally, Alex got a piece of beef. When her fork pierced the piece of meat, it gushed forth with an aromatic liquid that her sensitive sense of smell couldn’t resist. She immediately shoved the piece into her mouth and chewed with delight. It was absolutely stunning.
Kurt and also chewing his steak with gusto. His actions were purely berserk as he just kept eating and eating without pause. It was as if he no longer had control of his body. But the glee in his face wouldn’t lie. He was enjoying every second of it.
Ruri dipped his shrimp roll in the chili sauce and took a bite. He couldn’t help but covered his mouth, praying that pieces wouldn’t fly out as he chewed the delicious golden pieces. The sweet but umami sauce added a brand new flavor profile to the otherwise mundane deep-fried shrimp roll. As he uncovered his mouth, his lips shined with a gleam of residual oil. It was a sight that could make onlookers gulp in excitement.
Nell dug into the snapper. The flaky white flesh of the fish peeled off like a cloud. She dipped it in the sauce at the bottom and took a bite. Then she cried. She cried and cried and cried. It was just too good. The experience of eating rotting carcasses was completely shoved out of her thought. She no longer associated eating with such horrible imagery. It was now solely dominated by the thought of fish. The delicious savory piece of fish melted in her mouth as she swallowed. She wanted more. The fish soon disappeared at an astonishing pace.
Just half an hour after their dishes was served, the plates became empty. Nothing remained other than a few crumbs and maybe a single drop of sauce.
The four kids sat in complete satisfaction.
“That…That was amazing,” Nell finally said with a faint tremor in her voice.
“I’m so full,” Ruri replied. “I never ate to the point of being so full before in my life!”
“That was because it was never THIS enjoyable!” Kurt laughed.
“Indeed, it was so good that I couldn’t stop,” Alex replied.
“None of us could. We didn’t utter a single word when we were eating.”
“How was the fish?” Alex asked Nell.
“It was so good.”
“I had fish during the test, it looked a lot smaller than the one you ate though.”
“I think I may get addicted to eating,” Nell sighed.
“Same,” Ruri and Kurt added.
They paid the bill and walked out into the streets in a trance. The memory of delicious culinary delights completely shattered their will to shop for anything else.
It was now all about Food, Food, and Food.