Page 58 of Origins
Julian:What kind of Chinese food do you like?
I tilted my head to the side curiously—bemused. How fitting that my first conversation on my new phone would be about food. Food was life, after all. However, in answer to that particular question…
Me:I don’t know. I’ve only ever had lo mein. But I don’t want noodles. What do you recommend?
He didn’t respond, but not a minute went by before Titus and Damen reached for their phones at the same time. A sense of foreboding began to grow within me as I watched the two of them, embarrassed.
Surely Julian did not—
“How could you not have had sweet and sour chicken before?” Titus glanced over his phone at me, his tone incredulous. “That’s astaple.”
“That is not a staple.” Damen lowered his glasses and appeared to be deep in thought. “The pork dish is more popular than the chicken. As well as the ma po tofu.”
“Nobody wants to eat tofu.” Titus narrowed his eyes at Damen, as if the suggestion offended him on a personal level. “Besides, Bianca ate meat at lunch. You don’t need to suggest that crap.”
“Julian likes tofu,” Damen pointed out. “And so do a lot of other people. Vegans, vegetarians…or even those who eat it because it tastes good.”
“It doesn’t ever taste good,” Titus grumbled, turning toward me. I wasn’t sure what to expect from him as he held one of my hands in his own larger one and gave me a very serious look. “Don’t be like Julian. Please eat meat.”
My brow raised as I processed his very strange request. “Julian is a vegan?”
I was surprised. Not anything against vegans in particular, but only that I had never met one before. This was fascinating. I wondered if they were like the rest of us.
“Vegetarian,” Damen corrected. “Julian would be a terrible vegan—he has an extreme fondness of cheese.” He continued to watch Titus over his glasses. “And she can be whatever she wants to be.”
But then he frowned, considering, before adding to his previous statement. “Except a brain-eating cannibal. That would be very bad. We would be forced to report you to some kind of authority in that case; we would have a moral obligation.” His mouth quirked. “Sorry, baby girl, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Don’t worry, the same rules apply to all of us.”
I couldn’t hold back my laughter at the absurdity, but I covered my mouth in an attempt to stifle it. Damen and Titus, who seemed about ready to argue, froze and stared at me. Their faces twin expressions of something unfamiliar, and the heat rose in my face.
Then, slowly, both of them blinked simultaneously and glanced at each other. I wasn’t certain what kind of eye-speech was going on, but apparently they reached some sort of mutual agreement. Titus crossed his arms and glanced to the side, and Damen pulled out his phone again.
He spoke out loud, for my benefit. “I’ll tell them to get all of the popular dishes,includingthe sweet and sour chicken.”
“And enough tofu for one person.” Titus sighed, defeated. “I can’t go through that again.”
“No one is going to make you eat it this time,” Damen consoled, but Titus only groaned in response.
Chapter Twenty
Reprise
“What do you think?” Miles asked, elbowing me. “Isn’t the beef and broccoli better than the sweet and sour chicken?”
Titus, who had been sitting at my other side, leaned forward and frowned at Miles. “Don’t influence her!”
“I’m doing nothing more than what you’ve already done,” Miles retorted, grinning. “Besides, this poor child needs exposure todifferenttypes of foods. Not only the things you like. You have no sense of taste.”
Julian and Damen, who were sitting across from the three of us, ignored the conversation. Instead, they elegantly ate their own meals while Miles and Titus bickered.
I had a feeling that this type of interaction might be a frequent occurrence.
But for me, I was stuffed. And we had so many leftovers. The amount of food they bought seemed excessive, but who was I to judge?
It did bring up one question in particular—why we were eating in the dining room instead of near the monitors? I thought we were supposed to be actively working on a case. Sure, there wasme, but weren’t we supposed to be watching the screens every second?
However, when I brought up my concerns, Damen waved me off with the assurance that it was under control. It made no sense at all, so I wasn’t convinced.
Nevertheless, I was thankful for the break. We had only been working for a short while, but my eyes already felt strained.
