THE MOMENT
"You're not getting anything?" Pavette asked. Eph accompanied her to the cafeteria for lunch; but, he didn't have a tray as they got in line.
"Io said we didn't have to eat anything after the upgrade; I don't even feel hungry," he shrugged.
"I don't either, but it's still fun to socialize over food," she half-gestured at the open courtyard around them. It was a wide-open outdoor space with picnic tables dotted throughout and occupied by other students. "The first week's already over and we haven't gotten to know any of the other teams," she added as she moved forward in the line. She and Eph were following the other students picking out their lunch from the hot counter while talking amongst themselves.
"Do we have to? It's a competition," Eph shrugged.
"The more we know about our opponents, the more we can try and guess what they might do...," Pavette lowered her voice so she wouldn't give the plan away completely.
"I guess that's a point...," Eph nodded as the line moved forward. He decided to take a long look around the courtyard and for the first time, he appraised them all with a competitive eye. The first week had been full of new experiences and information for the team; and, he hadn't really had the opportunity or curiosity to consider the other students. "At least it looks like there aren't too many other cyborgs, so we should have that advantage."
"I wouldn't count on it," a friendly voice came from the other side of the serving table. Eph turned and saw a green-haired woman replacing the empty trays with a tray of hot, fresh servings. "Don't forget...," she continued once Eph turned his attention to her. "...everyone at this school is a Unique Soul. Being a cyborg on top of that isn't as much of a bonus as you might think, many of them also have a Superpower or two."
"You're not," Eph was offended some glorified cafeteria lady was trying to give him advice, and he immediately focused his attention on studying her aura to pick her apart. Unlike every other person there, her aura wasn't brilliant gold. Instead, it looked like a dull, boring purple. If he wasn't intent on insulting her, he might've noted the faint flashes of green sparking out with the constant purple light shining from within. "Actually, how are you even here? It's supposed to be Uniques only." It wasn't an intentional decision; but, he raised his voice to make sure she heard him over the noise. "You are nothing more than a regular human...," he said.
Eph was comfortable with 'trouble'. He had a prankster streak that often put all eyes on him, and he reveled in it. At least, he normally did when it was at a regular school full of human kids that he always knew he was better than. Before he met Marina and learned he was a Unique Soul, a part of him always sensed how much more there was than the small-minded people he was forced to interact with daily. Once she explained what he was, and once he achieved his dream of becoming a cyborg, he felt the complete confidence of finally being himself. But, it'd only taken a week among others, and a social faux pas, to crack that confidence again. As soon as he finished his point, it seemed like the world went quiet. Despite being outside, everything went still and Eph once again had all eyes on him.
"She's not though...," Pavette tried to help quietly. She was observant enough to catch the subtle difference in her aura that separated her from normal humans. Zeros, the doppelgangers of humans, had a vague, dim purple aura; but, the serving lady's aura had green flashes that meant something more.
"My name's Gloryanna," the woman smiled at Eph. "If that's not enough of a hint, I'll just tell you I'm a Gloria; a Myth," she said.
"Oh..., I'm sorry," Eph apologized immediately and spoke up. "I DIDN'T KNOW!" he said. The silence lasted a moment longer as if the students were considering his apology; then, the buzz of indistinct chatter began again. He was more concerned about the Myth he accidentally insulted than the person. 'Glorias' were considered the mythical incarnation of the concept of 'human kindness', and no one he wanted to be insulting publicly.
"Apology accepted," Gloryanna nodded at him with a smirk once the rest of the students went back to their business. It was an assessment, not necessarily forgiveness on her part.
"C'mon," Pavette grabbed his arm and started pulling him away.
"You didn't get any food...," he said.
"I said I'm not hungry," she let go of his arm and started walking away. "And now I'm too embarrassed to sit with anyone today."