cafeteria | mid afternoon | wednesday | 25 november

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

Apparently, there was a holiday tomorrow. From what Jonas had gathered from the books he'd read, it revolved around a lot of food, togetherness and was descended from a shared meal by two very different groups long ago.

Needless to say, Jonas had never celebrated Thanksgiving in the Community. Besides ceremonies for Days of Birth, nothing had really been celebrated so Jonas found these specially singled out days as half a curiosity and half enjoyment.

And, while today wasn't the holiday, Jonas found himself in the cafeteria, idly picking at his food (mashed potatoes had a very strange texture) and paging through a book on various holidays. Christmas would, undoubtedly, be the next thing he looked up that. That holiday just seemed...complicated.

[open, sure!]

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[living_endless]

Didi was already eying her tray dubiously as she took a seat near Jonas. "So do you think these are potatoes, or some kind of potato-ish mold? And hi."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Hello, Didi," Jonas said, picking his head up and giving Didi a smile before glancing back down at his potatoes. "And I haven't--I hope it's not mold."

Jonas hadn't really experienced a simple illness like food poisoning and he was fine with keeping that streak alive.

"They're cold," he continued, poking at his potatoes with his fork, "but they don't taste awful."

[living_endless]

"I don't get cold mashed potatoes," Didi said, as she forked a tiny bit into her mouth.

Not good. But probably not mold.

"How have you been, Jonas?"

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"For the most part, I've been well, thank you," he said, smiling. "Lately though, I've been exhausted. I was assigned a robot baby to care for in Ethics class and it's been...difficult."

[future_sandworm]

Like Jonas, Leto had never celebrated Thanksgiving either. Unlike Jonas, he hadn't acquired a book, but as he sat down at a table next to the other boy, he couldn't help noticing the subject of the book.

"So, how would you summarise this holiday?" Leto asked.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

Jonas looked up, gave the other boy a polite nod before saying, "It seems to involve a lot of food that you're supposed to be thankful for. Being thankful for our food seems to symbolize how the first settlers to this world were thankful for the help they received."

Of course, Jonas had only read the bare essentials to get an idea of what Thanksgiving was and had tried to put together his own conclusions.

[living_endless]

Didi made a sympathetic face. "I heard about that assignment. Hayley gave hers to her partner's dog, if you can believe that."

[living_endless]

Didi waved. "Hey, Leto. Happy almost-Thanksgiving."

[future_sandworm]

"It seems like a reasonable thing to be thankful for." Leto smiled a little. "One of the very basic needs of human existence fulfilled."

[future_sandworm]

"And to you too, Didi." He smiled at her. "How have you been?"

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I--" By the widening of his eyes, Jonas couldn't really believe it. "That seems a little extreme. Mine is currently with my partner. I think she's better prepared for this sort of thing than I am."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"I agree," Jonas said, nodding and peering back down at his book. "This is, apparently, one of the more major holidays for this country. Thus, the size of the meal is larger than normal. I suppose more food is always helpful for bigger families or bigger groups of friends."

[future_sandworm]

"That is to be expected," Leto agreed. "Where are you from?"

Clearly not from anywhere close in time or space.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"A placed called The Community," he said, admitting it easily but still expecting question. From what he'd gathered, places weren't named like that for the most part. They had specific proper names and The Community didn't. "I don't know where exactly it is in relation to the island. It's not on any map."

[living_endless]

"It's been a good week," Didi answered. "My class was just watching a movie, and the movie wasn't bad. You?"

[living_endless]

"It's -- not a choice I would make," Didi said diplomatically. "Who's your partner? And I'm not sure parenthood is the kind of thing you can ever be prepared for."

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Her name is Ellie," Jonas replied, letting himself wondering what Ellie and Sarah were up to right now. He had confidence that Sarah hadn't been given to any dogs. "And while she didn't seem prepared, she knew a little more than me. I've cared for my brother but he wasn't a newchild like this...machine seems to be."

Pause.

"And Gabe isn't a machine either." That was the biggest difference, yeah.

[future_sandworm]

"Is it on Earth at all?" Leto asked. "I'm from the planet of Arrakis, about 20,000 years into the future. The distance in time and space is clearer, but I suppose we both share the experience of trying to understand a different culture than our own."

[future_sandworm]

"A quiet week," Leto said. "Although the weekend before last I went on a trip to experience more of the mainland area nearby."

[living_endless]

"That would be a bigger difference," Didi said dryly. "But I'm sure you're doing fine? You seem like you're basically a kind person. I think that's what matters."

[OOC: That icon is just gorgeous.]

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Yes, it is. I don't recall any space travel when I left so I have to assume it's somewhere on Earth," Jonas said almost absently since, even with his progressing time on the island, things like that still nearly sent him speechless. "Twenty thousand years? I'm assuming that your adjustment was rather difficult when arriving here. I can't even imagine."

[living_endless]

"Didi you go into the city?" Didi asked. "I haven't been in a while, but Baltimore's nice. Very ... authentic."

By which she meant grungy.

[see-beyond.livejournal.com]

"Thank you," he said, ducking his head and blushing. "My father was a Nurturer so I've been trying to remember the sorts of things he did when he was working with newchildren but I've found I've forgotten a lot of that."

Jonas knew that leaving the Community had caused that and he wasn't sure if he'd ever get those memories back but it was nice to know that he might have once known how to care for newchildren.

[Thank you! It's a new one!]

[living_endless]

"They say stuff comes back, right? Like riding a bicycle," Didi said, and thought about what she knew of childcare. "Did your dad sing? They usually like that."

[future_sandworm]

"But I needed no space travel to get here," Leto pointed out. "The portals are quite impressive. And I have to say the adjustment wasn't too difficult, but my sister is a teacher here."

And Ghanima's presence made a considerable difference.