[u] Rosette Sauveterre [/u]

In the cafeteria, near the lunch-lines, a small girl who physically looked to be about eleven years old suddenly phased into view, but was still transparent, giving her an extremely ghost-like appearance, given that her skin was rather pale. When she materialized, she appeared to have been running at full speed, but stopped once she had seemingly ‘arrived’ in the world of the living, as much as what was possible for her. She breathed hard, and her limbs shook a bit, her eyes were wide, as though she had been scared of something. She looked over her shoulder, as though checking to affirm something, and whenever she had confirmed that nothing was behind her, she seemed to visibly relax a bit. She did, though, retain a frowning expression on her face, as she straightened up, and adjusted the scarf around her neck, adjusting her hair so that it was tucked behind her ears, also.

Rosette did a bit of controlled breathing until her heart rate returned to normal, and then finally calmed down enough so that she was semi-normal. She inwardly mocked herself, though, as she had been careless, thinking she wouldn’t be followed by her most dedicated adversary to the Academy. She had hoped that the rainstorm would confuse them when they tried to track her scent; sometimes it worked. She hadn’t taken into consideration that she had to actually be standing in an area where it was raining, in order for them to lose her scent. When she was nice and dry, it might as well have remained a sunny afternoon, as far as anything pertaining to olfactory senses was concerned.

The relief only came in knowing that she had phased back before her assailant managed to catch her again. She had survived once, but she was not going to risk it a second time; she was fortunate she had lived at all. Taking in her surroundings, she noted the smells of food, and found that she had been lucky enough to arrive in the cafeteria, when she was actually quite hungry, right after the chase. Fear only dulled her appetite when she was in danger; once it had subsided, her body demanded food to replace the ridiculous amount of energy she lost in running for her life. Composing herself, she went and got a tray so that she could have what she supposed would be considered dinner, at this point.

As a vegan, she completely avoided the meats, cheeses, and eggs, although if anyone thought she was a tree-hugger or animal-rights person, they made a huge misconception. There was a different reason for why she didn’t like animal products, but it was a long, complicated explanation for why, and it was too tiring for her to get the point across, since nobody believed her, anyway. She grabbed a baked potato and seasoned it with salt, pepper, and a few chives, so that she had some carbohydrates, which she needed the most, presently. She got a certain amount of a mixture containing carrots, broccoli, water chestnuts, and edamame, and to add more protein, she grabbed a side of black-eyed peas, as well, so that she was not getting an incomplete diet. Altogether, the meal looked like more than a person Rosette’s size could eat, but it was actually about the amount as well as variety she needed if she wanted to avoid taking vitamin pills.

With her tray in hand, she walked around the lunch room, and found that the only place that wasn’t crowded was in one corner of the large eating area, where there was one person, probably sitting there for the same reason as Rosette would have. She walked up to the seat at the table across from her, “Excuse me, do you mind if I sit here?” She asked.