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He was winding back toward the campus when he saw a figure ahead of him. Unmistakable red hair. It was Mary, who was the closest to him among the students, relative country bumpkins, both of them. Admittedly, he was still deciding whether he was sweet on her, or if it was just the fact that she reminded him of home. Not that he had any immediate interest in romance, given the upheaval of everything that had led him here. He raised his hand in a wave toward her. She appeared to glance back, but, given that her hands were full of a couple of cups of hot coffee, he could easily forgive her for not waving back. He recalled that she was in a dorm with a boy named Avery. It was good that they seemed to be getting along.
John walked into the cafeteria, already bearing witness to Linda’s disapproving scowl. “You can’t eat in here stinkin’ like that,” she gestured toward his running gear with her oversized ladle. He grinned widely and waved his hand. “Jes’ grabbin’ me some breakfast, ma’am. Won’t be underfoot long.” Linda shook her head as she turned away, and he went over to help himself to the buffet. He grabbed two hot plates and began to load them up with scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, hash browns, and beans. He remembered Emil was European, though he tried to think about what Europeans tended to eat. They eat a lot of cheese, don’t they? He grabbed a few slices of processed cheese, or what seemed to pass for cheese in these parts, and put them on the edge of his plate. He took a jug of orange juice and carried the ensemble out of the dining area.
“Brought ya some breakfast, hope yer hungry.” It seemed to be good timing when Emil called out that he’d already brought over a plate for him, presenting him with the cholesterol-laden breakfast. At the suggestion of the hot plate, John said, “Ain’t no harm in havin’ one.”
John settled down and opened the window in his room as he heard the telltale scratches against it. Appearing through the opened window was a ginger Maine Coon, who licked its lips as it moved over to the saucer filled with breakfast bits from John’s own plate. John moved his hand to scratch the cat’s neck. “Mornin’, Benny. Gotcha somethin’ to fill that belly.”
He headed toward the communal washrooms to prepare for the day, but the place was already flooded. Must have been Conner again. He waved to Hugo as they passed, removed his sweaty clothes, and walked into the shower to rinse off the grime. Soon, he was back in the room, dressing smartly in his uniform. That was definitely something about this place, it was fancy and sophisticated, with these trimmed garments that were probably worth more than his entire wardrobe, including his Sunday best. He made a mental note to take good care of his uniform as he dressed sharply and set off toward the Opening Ceremony.