We were driven from our dorm by a very primal need, the need to seek sustenance. Obviously, none of us had a real knowledge of the area or knew how exactly the cafeteria-system worked, so we decided to head out together, to forage for food. After a short vote by acclamation, we headed towards the train-station, as I had seen some business that way. In addition, I remembered parts of the island’s map and that the general layout was quite logical. In the residential areas, clusters of dormitory buildings surrounded a small business-complex and a train-station, giving no student a walk of more than five minutes to one of the train-stations. The trains were running at a high frequency, bringing people to the bigger transportation-hubs, allowing even faster transport to the various institutions or commercial hubs that dotted the island. Around each of the residential areas was some almost park-like greenery, making the island an interesting mix of high-density housing, nature and schools.

During our walk, I realised just how many surveillance-cameras dotted the streets, driving the point home that trying to do sneaky things on the island would be quite difficult. Galatea could hack into cameras, even mask me from multiple viewpoints at the same time, but even she was not perfect, especially when she was only using a laptop to process herself. Another thing I noticed was that there was no litter on the ground, no graffiti or anything like that. I would have to research the exact laws regarding public and private surveillance on the island, it was something I had neglected, thinking it would be similar to the mainland.

The business-complex was quite similar to a small mall, only that the focus was apparently on the food-court, with a few smaller businesses aiming at students around it. It was almost as if someone had taken all the shops of a small city, deleted any duplicates and placed them in a single area. Maybe that was just what was done and if someone wanted more variety, they had to venture further. But each type of eatery seemed to be considered a different  business, so we had plenty of options.

“So, what do you like?” Karen asked.

“That looks interesting, what do you think?” Ru Shi asked, gesturing at a western barbecue-place, a place that deliberately played on clichés, I could just imagine the waitresses using some sort of texan accent, to fit with the overdone decour, featuring a lone, bronze star, a pair of longhorn-horns, a faux-brick wall and an insignia telling people to remember the Alamo.

I had to suppress a laugh, it was so very overdone, but somehow it fit together perfectly and the smells that were wafting out from their air-vents, undoubtedly deliberately pumped out, were just mouthwatering. “Yes, we can go there. It looks interesting to say the least.” I agreed, making Ru Shi grin.

“Yeah, why not.” Tanisha agreed, even if she did not seem to be that fussed about the idea.

“Okay!” Karen agreed with some enthusiasm and started walking towards the place. “Do you think they have vegan food there?” she asked, just before we got there, causing me to stagger in surprise, as both my mind and my body ground to a halt. Why on earth would one expect a barbeque to carry vegan food?

“No, I do not think so. I mean, it is a barbeque and I think they pride themselves on their, well, grilled meat.” I managed to reason, while scanning the menu that was out front.

“Oh, that’s no good then! I can’t support the meat, dairy and egg-industry!” Karen exclaimed, before marching off. I shared a look with the other two but both shrugged and started to follow her. After a short look at the eatery, I followed along, not wanting to rock the boat too much. I caught up to them, just as Karen entered some pizza-place, so I followed along. The place seemed to be slightly boring and lacking character, compared to the texan barbeque-place we had left behind, but pizza was something quite universal, one of those foods that had spread all over the globe.

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“So, Lin, pizza is awesome, they take dough, spread it thin, put toppings, sauce and cheese on top and bake itI It’s just great!” Karen explained pizza to Ru Shi, still calling her Lin. It was interesting that Ru Shi had never corrected her but simply let her talk. Similarly, I had no doubt, judging by her expression, that she was very well aware what pizza was but simply let Karen talk.

“I think I know what I want.” Ru Shi finally got a word in, without interrupting Karen. At the same time, Tanisha had already advanced to the counter and was starting to order. The variety was not bad and I was feeling rather hungry, so I took some time to decide. Karen had apparently taken the hint and was now standing behind Tanisha, waiting to order.

“What are you going to order?” Ru Shi asked me, speaking softly.

“I am indecisive. Either a meat-lovers or maybe a four-cheese pizza.” I answered.

“The four-cheese sounds great, but I can’t stomach that much cheese. Would you be open to a swap, a half meat-lovers for a half four-cheese?” she asked. I had no problem with that, so we moved to the counter, as Karen was making sure that her pizza was just the way she wanted it to be, asking if a long list of things were used or rather, asking that they were not used. Finally, after what seemed to be hours, she was finished and a rather annoyed looking employee looked at us, with a look that promised eternal torment if we made her go through that again.

Both, Ru Shi and I simply ordered our pizza without any additional requests or add-ons and the look of relief was almost comical. After getting our drink-orders in, we joined the other two at the table, waiting for our food to be made. As we waited, our talk centered on the question if pineapple on pizza was a good thing or an abomination against all that was good and right in the world and we, well, mostly Tanisha and I, argued about it. I was under the impression that it was an abomination while Tanisha had ordered it. It was all in good fun though, even as our arguments and the threats we made against the other for disagreed easily exited the realm of plausible and entered the absurd.

A bit later, we were called to receive our food and got three pizza and something that almost looked like one, but not quite.

We got back to the table and for a short time, all four of us were busy stuffing our faces, even as Karen grumbled how we could support torturing animals but I for one simply tuned her out, focusing on the tasty, gooey goodness that was my pizza, golden crunchy crust almost overloaded with molten cheese, and surprisingly good cheese for the price, it was a simple, yet next to perfect meal.

After putting away half the pizza, I checked with Ru Shi and she had been just as invested in the devouring of her meal as I had been, so we were soon able to simply exchange our plates, allowing the other to experience the other ones dish, even as we slowed down, which allowed more conversation to take place.

Ru Shi was just telling us about her mother, who had been quite opposed to her coming to Accord Island, not so much because of her chosen field of study or even the university she was attending, it was more a case of a mother not wanting her child to leave the nest just yet and that she was moving almost to the other side of the globe was only exacerbating the problem. Karen was interestingly quiet on that part of the conversation, as was I, but Tanisha was happily trading stories about parental control, her own parents had been opposed to her coming here, even as the contacts she could make on the Island were simply priceless. In addition, it sounded as if they were quite conservative, especially when it came to their daughter. On that, I almost started to sing the same song but I could hardly bring in my biological father’s behaviour, it was too particular and could cause too much interest. So, I kept quiet.

We finished our meal and decided on a small walk to help with digestion. Exploring the cluster was quite interesting, it was almost a small town of itself, just highly organised and planned out, but it had everything one would expect, there was a huge gym with swimming pool, there were a few limited entertainment options and even a small police station. Something I detected was that almost every business had a small poster up, directing interested students to their website as they were hiring. I had a strong suspicion that student labour was extensively used on the island, something that made quite a bit of sense, considering the composition of its inhabitants. Without student labour, it would be next to impossible to keep things running.

After a bit of exploration, we returned to our dorm and were greeted by a small leaflet that announced a gathering the following evening.