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rainbowfic2014-01-10 03:27 pm
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2014-01-10 03:27 pm
Octarine #1, Tango Pink #26, Yellow #15
Name: kay_brooke
Story: Unusual Florida
Colors: Octarine #1 (it is almost impossible for anyone to be in a street without breaking the law), Tango Pink #26 (belly dance), Yellow #15 (yellow government cheese)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas, Pastels (fororigfic_bingo prompt "outnumbered")
Word Count: 1,165
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Sam's first day on campus.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
“Is there a limit?” Sam hung back at the front of the cafeteria, gripping her tray tightly. All around her the space was bustling, students taking up all the tables, talking and eating, crowding around the salad bar. The sizzle of a grill hit the air as one of the workers stuck some hamburger patties on it. The ice cream machine whirled as a tall guy in dreads put the finishing touches on a truly epic cone.
“What?” Nicole turned and gave her a patient smile, the same one she had been giving Sam for the past day. Or almost the same one. Sam tried to ignore how it was wearing thin on the edges. She was already ashamed enough, having to ask so many stupid questions about campus and city life. She felt like such an ignorant country bumpkin. Nicole had said it was fine, that it was her job as a student mentor, but as the day had worn on Sam sensed Nicole was counting down the minutes before she could tell Sam goodbye and get back to whatever it was she really wanted to be doing.
And now it was dinnertime, and the first time Sam had set foot into the school’s cafeteria, her nerves giving her no appetite for lunch. But not even her jumpy stomach could silence its growling forever, so here she was, still feeling stupid.
“A limit,” she repeated. There was so much food around her, and her stomach fairly roared. “Like one meat and one vegetable, or something like that?”
Nicole gave her a strange look. “You’re on a meal plan, right?”
Sam nodded.
“That means you get a certain number of meals for the semester,” said Nicole. “However you want to define a meal, whether you just get a bagel or decide to try everything.”
Sam blinked. “I...can get as much as I want?” That couldn’t be right. How could the school afford to keep so many students fed if they could just take however much they wanted?
Nicole nodded. “As much as you want. Technically you’re not supposed to take any food out of the cafeteria, but just about everyone will sneak a bagel once in awhile. It’s not like they’re going to search your bag.” She gave Sam a wink.
“But how can they do that?” asked Sam. “How can they just let everybody eat as much as they want? Don’t they run out of food?”
Nicole shrugged. “They never have in the three years I’ve been here.” She gave Sam that smile again. “Seriously, relax. Get whatever you want. You paid for a meal plan, so you’re entitled to whatever’s in the cafeteria.”
Technically her scholarship had paid for her meal plan, but Sam knew that wasn’t what Nicole meant. Someone had paid for her meal plan, in any event, which meant…
Sam wandered over to the salad bar, her eyes widening at the number of choices. So she could just make as big a salad as she wanted? She grabbed a plate and scooped some iceberg lettuce onto it. Then another scoop. Then a third.
She paused, then put the third scoop back. Despite what Nicole had told her, it still felt wrong, like someone was watching how much she was eating and would stop her at the exit and make her pay for the extra. She had no cash on her. Her mom had given her a twenty before she got on the bus, but she was planning on saving that for later. Her scholarship covered tuition and room and board, but she would need to find a part time job to afford incidentals, and she didn’t know how long that would take. She couldn’t waste the little cash she had.
Sam finished dressing her salad, then grabbed an apple and filled a styrofoam cup with Coke from the soda machine. She found Nicole sitting near the back of the cafeteria, waiting for her at a small table only big enough for two or three people. She had opted for a cheeseburger and fries.
“Trying to eat healthy?” Nicole asked, raising an eyebrow. “I remember when I was all optimistic like that. You kind of stop giving a fuck after freshman year, honestly.”
“Not really,” Sam mumbled, sliding into her seat. She wasn’t a health food freak, but she had been a little too scared to venture further into the cafeteria than the salad bar. There was a part of her still waiting for someone to grab her arm and demand to know who she was, there’s been a mistake, you’re not supposed to be here, go home now.
But let Nicole think she was trying to eat healthy.
Dinner went quickly, with Nicole nattering on about the best bars in the city (“though not until you’re twenty-one, obviously”) while Sam tried not to wolf down her whole salad in one bite. She was still kind of hungry when she was done.
“You want more?” Nicole asked, to Sam’s utter embarrassment. She stopped trying to scrape up the last piece of soggy lettuce off her plate.
“No,” Sam said quickly. “No, I can make it until breakfast.”
Nicole was giving her that weird look again. “What, they don’t have seconds where you come from?”
Sam said nothing. Of course they had seconds. Not often, though. When her dad would make a big pot of stew, or when the little garden her mom kept was putting out more salad ingredients than they knew what to do with, that was when they got to have seconds. Other times they had to worry about leaving enough for leftovers, especially at the end of the month when the food stamps had run out and they had to make their food last until the next allotment. Sam knew she was lucky; she had never gone hungry, but she had learned to be mindful of what and how much she ate. And having no limit was a concept completely foreign to her. Food stamps only covered certain things, and she had gotten used to the fact that there were items in the grocery store her family would never ever be able to buy. Being able to just take whatever she wanted, however much she wanted, felt wrong on a fundamental level.
She had to get over it. She was already an outsider here, a girl from a poor rural family who was only able to attend college with the full-ride art scholarship she had been granted. She needed to acclimate herself, and fast, before everyone else realized she didn’t belong among them.
But she still couldn’t make herself get more food. “No, that’s okay,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I need some time to get my dorm in order, anyway. And I’m sure you have other things to do.”
“I’m here for whatever you need me for,” said Nicole, but Sam thought she sounded just a little bit relieved.
kay_brookeStory: Unusual Florida
Colors: Octarine #1 (it is almost impossible for anyone to be in a street without breaking the law), Tango Pink #26 (belly dance), Yellow #15 (yellow government cheese)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas, Pastels (for
origfic_bingo prompt "outnumbered")Word Count: 1,165
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Sam's first day on campus.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
“Is there a limit?” Sam hung back at the front of the cafeteria, gripping her tray tightly. All around her the space was bustling, students taking up all the tables, talking and eating, crowding around the salad bar. The sizzle of a grill hit the air as one of the workers stuck some hamburger patties on it. The ice cream machine whirled as a tall guy in dreads put the finishing touches on a truly epic cone.
“What?” Nicole turned and gave her a patient smile, the same one she had been giving Sam for the past day. Or almost the same one. Sam tried to ignore how it was wearing thin on the edges. She was already ashamed enough, having to ask so many stupid questions about campus and city life. She felt like such an ignorant country bumpkin. Nicole had said it was fine, that it was her job as a student mentor, but as the day had worn on Sam sensed Nicole was counting down the minutes before she could tell Sam goodbye and get back to whatever it was she really wanted to be doing.
And now it was dinnertime, and the first time Sam had set foot into the school’s cafeteria, her nerves giving her no appetite for lunch. But not even her jumpy stomach could silence its growling forever, so here she was, still feeling stupid.
“A limit,” she repeated. There was so much food around her, and her stomach fairly roared. “Like one meat and one vegetable, or something like that?”
Nicole gave her a strange look. “You’re on a meal plan, right?”
Sam nodded.
“That means you get a certain number of meals for the semester,” said Nicole. “However you want to define a meal, whether you just get a bagel or decide to try everything.”
Sam blinked. “I...can get as much as I want?” That couldn’t be right. How could the school afford to keep so many students fed if they could just take however much they wanted?
Nicole nodded. “As much as you want. Technically you’re not supposed to take any food out of the cafeteria, but just about everyone will sneak a bagel once in awhile. It’s not like they’re going to search your bag.” She gave Sam a wink.
“But how can they do that?” asked Sam. “How can they just let everybody eat as much as they want? Don’t they run out of food?”
Nicole shrugged. “They never have in the three years I’ve been here.” She gave Sam that smile again. “Seriously, relax. Get whatever you want. You paid for a meal plan, so you’re entitled to whatever’s in the cafeteria.”
Technically her scholarship had paid for her meal plan, but Sam knew that wasn’t what Nicole meant. Someone had paid for her meal plan, in any event, which meant…
Sam wandered over to the salad bar, her eyes widening at the number of choices. So she could just make as big a salad as she wanted? She grabbed a plate and scooped some iceberg lettuce onto it. Then another scoop. Then a third.
She paused, then put the third scoop back. Despite what Nicole had told her, it still felt wrong, like someone was watching how much she was eating and would stop her at the exit and make her pay for the extra. She had no cash on her. Her mom had given her a twenty before she got on the bus, but she was planning on saving that for later. Her scholarship covered tuition and room and board, but she would need to find a part time job to afford incidentals, and she didn’t know how long that would take. She couldn’t waste the little cash she had.
Sam finished dressing her salad, then grabbed an apple and filled a styrofoam cup with Coke from the soda machine. She found Nicole sitting near the back of the cafeteria, waiting for her at a small table only big enough for two or three people. She had opted for a cheeseburger and fries.
“Trying to eat healthy?” Nicole asked, raising an eyebrow. “I remember when I was all optimistic like that. You kind of stop giving a fuck after freshman year, honestly.”
“Not really,” Sam mumbled, sliding into her seat. She wasn’t a health food freak, but she had been a little too scared to venture further into the cafeteria than the salad bar. There was a part of her still waiting for someone to grab her arm and demand to know who she was, there’s been a mistake, you’re not supposed to be here, go home now.
But let Nicole think she was trying to eat healthy.
Dinner went quickly, with Nicole nattering on about the best bars in the city (“though not until you’re twenty-one, obviously”) while Sam tried not to wolf down her whole salad in one bite. She was still kind of hungry when she was done.
“You want more?” Nicole asked, to Sam’s utter embarrassment. She stopped trying to scrape up the last piece of soggy lettuce off her plate.
“No,” Sam said quickly. “No, I can make it until breakfast.”
Nicole was giving her that weird look again. “What, they don’t have seconds where you come from?”
Sam said nothing. Of course they had seconds. Not often, though. When her dad would make a big pot of stew, or when the little garden her mom kept was putting out more salad ingredients than they knew what to do with, that was when they got to have seconds. Other times they had to worry about leaving enough for leftovers, especially at the end of the month when the food stamps had run out and they had to make their food last until the next allotment. Sam knew she was lucky; she had never gone hungry, but she had learned to be mindful of what and how much she ate. And having no limit was a concept completely foreign to her. Food stamps only covered certain things, and she had gotten used to the fact that there were items in the grocery store her family would never ever be able to buy. Being able to just take whatever she wanted, however much she wanted, felt wrong on a fundamental level.
She had to get over it. She was already an outsider here, a girl from a poor rural family who was only able to attend college with the full-ride art scholarship she had been granted. She needed to acclimate herself, and fast, before everyone else realized she didn’t belong among them.
But she still couldn’t make herself get more food. “No, that’s okay,” she said, trying to sound nonchalant. “I need some time to get my dorm in order, anyway. And I’m sure you have other things to do.”
“I’m here for whatever you need me for,” said Nicole, but Sam thought she sounded just a little bit relieved.
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Thanks for reading!
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How did you do this?
It's really quite superb.
And the end- totally sweet.
Thank you for posting!
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