The Truth Will Set You Free

I'm Not Paying for that Wineglass

            “Right next to the water fountain-now I need to pee,” Poppy muttered as we sat down and a small, gentle blue light shone out of the middle of the table. Almost immediately plates of crisp, fresh arugula-berry salad were brought out and we started eating right away. All of the excitement earlier made me forget to have lunch. I had Hector explain the dining system to me while I sucked on the succulent fruit.

            “Well, you have to know that this is a rare thing, like every three months or so, to go to a restaurant like this one,” he started, munching on a crouton. “Usually you go to a more casual restaurant. But the policies’ still the same. You sign up about a week in advance. Then, they send you that little thing which says your table number. When you plug it in, they know you’ve arrived. All of the food options are the same, so it makes everything go pretty quickly.”

            It all sounded so simple-yet one thing confused me. “What if you’re allergic to something on the menu?”

            Hector laughed. “What’s allergic?”

            “Guess it’s not a problem here.” I made a mental note-ahead in medicinal advances. There was something strange about this place, something that wasn’t obvious, but I still hadn’t found anything out of the ordinary. We finished the sweet salad and were instantly brought out a plate of steaming steak, creamy potatoes and celery root, and some tender asparagus. The waiters, silent people in violet aprons, poured everyone at the table rose-colored liquid into wine glasses. I was about to say something before the waiters silently dashed away. Everyone but Poppy and I were drinking and I shifted awkwardly while cutting the tender meat. Meridith poked Poppy in the ribs.

            “Oh come on, why aren’t you drinking?” Poppy took a deep breath and sighed.

            “Don’t you think I’m a little young?”

            “No one’s too young for this stuff, it’s not that strong, it’s great! Come on! Everyone needs something to take their troubles away.”

            I shrugged my shoulders, looking at her. “When in Rome,” I whispered before pulling the cup to my lips. I took a small sip of the bitter liquid and tried to hold back a face as I gulped it down. “It’s great stuff,” I smiled.

            “When you’re actually old enough to have it,” Poppy quietly groaned.

~Poppy~

            My stomach was still churning from the car ride, but I couldn’t stop eating. The food was delicious, almost too good, and I would only stop for a small sip of water (see: any drink that wasn’t wine.) I was halfway through a mouth of potato gratin when the plate was whisked away from me. “I wasn’t done yet…” I tried asking the waiter, but they walked past, ignoring me.

            “You only get the food for so long, silly.” Meridith laughed at me as I chewed my last bite of the cream-based heaven.

            “It’s so strange,” Peter said, staring at the ceiling in his oh-god-I’m-about-to-get-all-metaphorical-and-confuse-everyone position. “They get you hooked on something, then take it away, leaving you begging for more…seems a bit tyrannical, don’t you think?”

            Hector shook his head. “Or,” he said, smiling, “Maybe they just want to help control our portions so we don’t overeat, while still letting us have a full plate of food?”

            I giggled. Peter was always so cynical-it got tiring after a while. Couldn’t he relax every once in a while?

            As dessert came out and I resisted the urge to dive headfirst into the raspberry tart, Meridith leaned over and whispered to me. “See that guy over there?” She pointed to a boy dressed in a white polo and what looked like white boot-cut jeans, the only one in the restaurant to not be in blue, green, or purple. He had straight, blond hair, which was neatly combed back to reveal a white earpiece. He turned our way, motioning towards a waiter, and I almost gasped. His face was perfectly chiseled, his blue eyes looking not like the sea but the sky, endless and light and stunning. Meridith laughed and I saw she was blushing too. “That’s Josh Ariano, the Empire’s Autocrat. So he’s kinda in charge of anything.”