[Diana]
Four hours of torturous classes later and it was finally lunch break. With the bell signaling the end of the morning classes and a brief intermission before we return to our classrooms; students rushed down the stairs and escalators to the academy's cafeteria to snag a seat for them and their friends. Coincidentally, today's lunch was a mix of foods from the Svalen Region, north of Cragholven, and from Levelia's Southern Reach; which means lots of delicious food! A majority of students in the academy are from the Svalen Region and the Southern Reach and, let me tell you, their foods are by far the best. Well, I've never been there more than once but I have visited with my dad when I was younger, it was for a meeting between the secretaries of the various government institutions across Crusavia.
Anyways, back to rushing down to the cafeteria, I was accompanied by my two friends Al and Amanda. The two are the twins of Muthratan refugees who fled during the Cataclysm at Xanadee and the subsequent wars that followed. They aren't as well off as my family but they definitely made a name for themselves with their intelligence, charisma, and their friendliness.
"So, what are guys having for lunch?" I asked.
"Oh," Amanda adjusted the volume of her pneumatic translator before continuing, "I don't really know, the food is new to me..."
"They released the menu for today last night so I checked and they also have Pneuma compatible foods so we should be fine," Al replied.
"If I'm not mistaken, there should be flavored gases available in the cafeteria," I pulled up my Holo-band and quickly scanned through the food list given out.
"Yeah, there is and their flavors mostly resemble the physical foods available," Al adjusted his translator, "So I'm sure it's similar."
"You know what, I'll just try both of them and be the judge," I declared triumphantly.
The twins laughed and we continued on to the cafeteria.
~o0o~
"What did you get Di?" Amanda asked.
"I got... Jewolian stew, Veindelese Curry Prata, and Snavin chili pho, with the gas variant," I asked, "How about you guys?"
"I got a special grain called 'rice'? Uh, Jewolian chowder and Svaltese curry."
"I got what Amanda got," Al replied.
We moved towards our table and sat down. The twins removed their translators from their chest panel and inserted the cannisters into the empty slot.
Amanda and Al both tried out the Iciverian Rice Balls first, and judging from the amount of steam coming out of their sides, it was quite spicy.
"Are you guys okay?" I chuckled as I took a bite of the prata.
They nodded, all while steam continued to come out of their exhaust holes.
Once they emptied the cannister, they connected a tube to a small slot next to where the cannister had been.
"Is that water vapor?" I asked.
They nodded in unison as the sweet vapor flowed into them, the steam from their exhausts died down and they calmed down.
Next, they inserted the curry cannister into the slot. The colorless gas flowed into their rocky bodies and they were once again, steaming in pain.
At this point I couldn't even finish my food because of how much I was laughing. They had to insert another the vapor tube into their chest panel again.
"Don't worry, the chowder isn't spicy," I paused, "Unless they decided to put spice in everything."
They were quite literally fuming at this point and judging from their movements they just wanted to get lunch over with. They inserted the last cannister into the slot and the steam subsided gradually.
"You guys have already finished your lunch, I on the other hand haven't even touched my pho yet!" I teased.
They removed the cannister and inserted their translators onto their chest panels.
"That is something I NEVER want to go through ever again!" Amanda cried.
"I know when we're bringing our own cannisters to school" Al groaned.
"Well, at least you got to try it! Did it taste good though?" I asked.
"It did, but the pain overpowered the flavor of the gas, so it wasn't as enjoyable," Amanda replied.
"But did-"
"Alright, enough questions, finish your food, Diana," Al said with irritation in his voice.
"Okay, okay, calm down."
I quickly finished my food and cleaned up my tray, then, we got up and headed to class.