Chapter 12

When we got to the first floor, we stepped off one by one. "Did the RA show any of you where the cafe was?"

Quake shook his head. "We figured that we'd just follow where everyone else went."

She gave a quiet, "Hmm," before saying, "That's not a bad idea. Mind if I come with you?" 

Neither Quake nor I seemed to mind.

Quake somehow found someone to talk at who didn't mind it. He told her about our hunt to find the hidden vending machines.

"That's right. The professor told us about those. Most of the people I came with decided they'd look for them on their own. You'd think teaming up would make it easier to find them!"

"That's exactly what Kit said!" he exclaimed. Then he said, "Kit is one of the guys who are on the team. He was sorted into Exorcist dorm, though."

Alia frowned. "Don't you think it's weird to work with someone from another dorm?"

I decided to speak up. "We're only doing it together because we get a free pack. If we got some advantage over each other doing this, I don't think I'd still be going."

Quake shrugged. "Can't disagree with that logic."

"Fair." Alia said.

We followed the river of other students to the cafe. It was a lot smaller than I expected. There are barely any tables for anyone to sit!

"This can't be the cafe. There's gotta be a second one, right, Aegon?"

I watched a few students exit the cafe. Their hands were full of a tray. "Maybe there's a spot everyone goes to eat at. No one seems to be staying in the cafe."

The food looked immaculate! Crispy chicken breasts sat beside potato wedges and mac and cheese. We had to grab our own salad from the salad bar, and there was a fountain machine we could get juices and drinks from.

"I think that's the first vending machine I've seen all day that actually dispenses food." Alia pointed to three vending machines. One held snacks. Another held energy drinks. And one held sodas. We all ogled it.

When we got to the end of the line, Quake asked, "Do you guy's want to see where everyone else is going?"

Before either of us could answer, we heard a familiar voice shouting to us. Kit, the kid in Exorcist dorm, was standing beside Mark. They were waving and shouting at us to sit with them at one of the tables. 

"Guess that answers that." I muttered.

We went over and sat with Mark and Kit.

"I'm Alia. I'm in Wizard dorm with those two."

Both Kit adn Mark introduced themself. 

Without hesitation, Quake told the others that there was a hidden vending machine near Wizard dorm.

"Did your RA say where it was?"

I shook my head. "He only hinted that it was nearby."

"Do you think that there's a hidden machine near each dorm?" asked Alia.

"That's entirely possible." Kit said. "If that's true, that leaves nine other hidden machines that aren't near the dorms."

"That's right!" Quake said. "Sphinx said there were a total of fourteen of them on campus."

"Wait, you guys got Sphynx, too?" Alia asked.

"She was on the early bus, I guess." Quake said.

"Did you get the bald one or the creepy one?" Mark asked.

"He was somehow both old and creepy. I think he's a sweet guy, though. It's just all the piercings that threw me off."

"Ah," I said. "You got Sphynx with a 'Y.' He's the bald one, according to Sphinx with an 'I'."

Alia frowned. "That's confusing."

"Not really. Sphynxes, the cats, are bald. You know those sad looking ones with the wrinkled skin."

Mark snapped his fingers. "I was trying to figure that one out. That makes sense." Then he shook his head and snickered. "Their parents must have had some foresight naming them."

We all laughed at the thought of that.

We had some more idle chat while we downed our food. "So, when do you guys wanna hit up the vending machine?" Mark asked.

"How about we head there after this? We have an open schedule until monday."

We all agreed to do that. 

After eating and drinking, we dropped off our trays and headed to Wizard Dorm.