A Price for Everything (10)
My suspicions were confirmed when everyone had taken their seats. My heart dropped as my portion was excluded. Did Luke bring breakfast with him as well? There was no way he could be this prepared.
Unfortunately, Luke was very prepared. The area in front of us was filled with various salads, yogurt and soups in tiny plates. I wondered if he got this from his villa in the third district. I stared at the pancakes on the other side, so close, but unable to get even a taste of them.
Giving up under the watchful eyes of Luke for letting me stay longer than he planned, I jabbed my fork into a piece of lettuce. There was a chance he could change his mind the way he was able to make everything flow the way he wanted. I was never hungry during the mornings anyways. This was why my portions were smaller than his.
Watching my family pour the maple syrup, my food increasingly became less appetizing. I would rather fill myself up with a slice of strawberry shortcake than to chew on a piece of lettuce. I pushed my plates away, "I'm full."
"Do you usually eat this little?" My dad noticed I had barely touched my food.
I had only touched the plate with the salad and ignored the rest. Even the salad appeared plentiful as I only took one bite at most. Most times, Luke would just give me the cake afterwards to fill me up, giving up after years.
"I don't feel that hungry in the mornings," I stared at the pancakes.
"Would like some?" he noticed where my line of sight went.
"Really?" My eyes glittered.
"Rika!" Luke sighed as if he knew where this was heading.
"Please just give her a tiny slice," he asked my dad.
My dad nodded, giving me the tiniest slice of the pancake under Luke's watchful eyes. He slid the piece onto a small plate. I smiled as I grabbed the maple syrup from the middle of the table. I watched the syrup filling up the entire plate before I stopped when it was about to overflow. It would be so much nicer if I could drink it altogether.
Other than Luke, everyone's eyes widened at the half-emptied bottle when it used to be filled, close to the top. I sliced the piece into tinier pieces, trying to absorb as much syrup as possible. With my expertise, I was able to scrape the plate clean with the tiny slice.
"Can I have a second serving?" I asked for more.
"This is all we made for today," my dad turned the other way.
"One bite of the yogurt," Luke pushed a plate in front of me.
I knew he was saying the yogurt would be the payment for the tiny piece of that pancake. I frowned as I tried scooping up as little as possible. It didn't taste as sweet as the pure sugary goodness from before. Although, it was better than the fruits here.
"Your breakfast looks really good," Evan commented.
"You can have the rest. Rika doesn't eat much in the morning," Luke offered.
Most of my plates were pushed in front of Evan. He took a bite, curious how it tasted. His eyes brightened as if it was the same as that strawberry shortcake. In no time, the plates that I haven't touched were emptied.
"How could you not like this?" He looked at me as if I was crazy.
"The pancakes were better," I looked at the remaining maple syrup.
"Is this what you usually eat for breakfast?" He seemed curious.
"It's about the same," I sadly nodded.
"What happens to all the leftover food?" He wondered.
"It goes into the compose," Luke revealed.
Evan froze like he was stunned. My parents pretended they didn't hear anything as they resumed their meals. Evan didn't know how healthy the cakes were in the first district. It provided all the nutrients one needed. Maybe a little bit too healthy for my taste.
"This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten," Evan praised the robots.
Once we had finished our meal, Luke mercilessly pulled out a workbook. Although we had covered most of the subjects with the tutors, there were still one more remaining. It was math, one of my strongest subjects. It was the only one I could pass with a decent mark after his intense study sessions.
"Do we really have to do this here?" I looked at the thick book.
"You know we can't afford to take a break Rika," Luke opened the book.
Maybe it was Evan's first time seeing a book that had over five thousand pages. He didn't know this much material was how much was covered in at most two days. With the time-space classrooms, time wasn't an issue. It was a struggle to keep your attention while the teacher rushed through the material.
"We can always show your parents your grades," Luke subtly warned me.
"Show them," I didn't care.
My parents wouldn't care about my grades. In fact they appeared curious, wanting to know from Luke's mention of it. Luke sighed as he pulled up my grades in front of them. Oddly, everyone started to look at me in a new light. It was unexpected. Even Evan's jaw seemed like it would drop onto the floor.
Why did everyone have this reaction whether it was the first or third district?