Capítulo 2: CHAPTER 2 - PRIYA MEETS THREE GIRLS

Although it was late in the afternoon, the cafeteria was especially noisy that day. Three ladies gossiped at a corner table. Nadine Fenway, a tall, thin Nordic looking blonde was filing her nails. She leaned in close to the other two, Dominique Mellow-Garcia and Felicia Chen, and pointed to the other side of the room. Felicia stuck a leaf of romaine into her mouth and chewed it loudly, then turned to see what it was. "Uh-huh … look at this bitch" Nadine observed as Priya strode into the cafeteria, seemingly out of place in a ruffled, disheveled lab coat that was paradoxically more attractive than when she wore it correctly. "She is too prim and proper for me" Felicia noted. They stared in fascination as she hesitantly approached different tables with her tray in hand, and then backed away, too cautious to approach. "I heard she's never had any friends … ever" Dominique interjected. "I guess there are only a few real academics around here" Nadine quipped, feigning a sigh of regret. "Come on, Nadine. You know how all us hardcore academics don't have any friends" Dominique argued, whilst stealing a French fry off of her plate and dipping it in blueberry flavored maple syrup. "Oh, and who the fuck are you supposed to be?" Felicia asked sharply, making the other girls snicker. "Looks like she's lost or something" Nadine whispered, with a sense of the uncanny as she noticed the unfamiliar, somewhat blankness in her features. Meekly Priya inched towards the table. "Do you mind? I could really use some company right now" she asked, politeness in every lyric of her voice. Felicia looked at Nadine as if to say, "Can we keep it?" with big eyes, and she relented. "I don't think we've met. I'm Nadine from math's, and this is Dominique from marine biology and Felicia from chemistry" she presented. "I lecture in the north wing but my lab is on the fourth floor, neuroscience. Thanks for letting me sit here. I'm Priya" she explained. "Are you having a stressful day?" Felicia prodded. "You look like burnt toast, hon" Nadine observed. "It's alright. I'm just having a bad day. My recent project is ending. It's just a room that removes sound waves, sort of like an isolation tank. I thought it could be put to work for useful therapy, but it's not fit for human use" Priya related, not quite ready to share the gory details of her journey. "Sorry to hear that. What kind of lab do you have?" Felicia asked excitedly. "A normal one, I guess" Priya shrugged. "Ooh … do you have brains in there?" Dominique wondered aloud. "Yes. I think you girls would like my lab, it's very science-y" the researcher assured them. "We will definitely crash that later" Felicia joked. "By that, she means we will take the tour" Dominique corrected. "Yeah, we were born to be nerds" Nadine added in a squeaky voice. Encouraged, Priya set about with a follow-up question, "So ... just out of curiosity, what have you girls done in the last couple … let's say three hours. Time can fly on a weekday like this". A question of profound importance. "I fed a shark" Dominque bragged, taking a big bite of a piece of cornbread. "I just got in from Bayer-Dale, where I do community service for seniors, basically wheeling them around and everything. They like that sort of thing" Felicia related. "Graded papers and took a piss" Nadine said lastly, waving her hands as if it was completely uneventful. "Um … that sounds really nice" Priya nodded, then looking towards Felicia, "old folks are so sweet". She considered the blonde for a brief moment. It was obvious she was trying the hardest, and was calm and collected in every jest … a common element sensed quickly, and something else … undetectable beneath the surface. "Not like it's a competition, but what did you do?" Felicia inquired; her voice soft, ready to draw the secret from her like a medieval doctor letting blood. Priya coughed at how subtle the question appeared, and took a swig of water, "To be honest, I was passed out the whole time".