Quick recap: Vi (acting as Sophia) gets a make-over from Isabella. Thomas, the guard, arrives and calls Vi darlin’ again, but because he has a crush on her, not because he recognizes her. Vi, Isabella, and Thomas are going to go have lunch together.

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The atrium is huge. It’s on the ground floor of the strange building that I woke up in, but I know there are too many people for me to make an escape. Plus, it is all walled-in. And maybe, just maybe, at this moment, I like being around these people so much that I don’t want to leave…

Glass encloses what I assume to be at least four acres of land filled with plants of all shapes and sizes. Some I recognize right away, like the violets and roses. What can I say? I am biased towards the flowers that I was named after. But, I do recognize a lot of the other plants as well. It reminds me of the plant tour you can take at my school, which I have given on more than one occasion; it takes everything in me to not name all of the plants that I am seeing. One of the downsides to being an enormous nerd is being unrelatable. I just taught Isabella a whole lesson on science, I don’t want to bore her, or Thomas, with more science.

“You must reeeaaallllllllllyyyyy like plants, Sophia!” Isabella caught me scanning the fields around us, but instead of looking annoyed or disinterested, she gave me an encouraging smile. “Can you tell me about some of them?!”

“Are you sure?” I feel my cheeks heat up. Thomas is now looking my way with a similar grin plastered on his face. “I don’t want to bore you.”

“You, darlin’? Boring? Not a chance!” I don’t know how it’s possible, but Thomas’ grin grew. “Please, tell us everything!”

With a vigorous nod from Isabella, I start droning on about the plants that I recognize, talking about if they’re edible and what they could be used for. I keep checking their faces to make sure I am not boring them to death, but every time I shift my eyes from the plants back to them, they are looking at me as if my words are honey.

Before I knew it, we made it to a clearing that held a beautiful picnic bench and table. The sight of people in said clearing shut me up mid-sentence and stopped me in my path.

“Why did you stop?” Isabella asked, jarred from the sudden stop, and a little confused that I cut myself off from talking about the violets lining the path we were taking. I couldn’t help but gulp. She followed my eyes to the picnic table. There were three people I did not recognize, but I guess I shouldn't expect to recognize anyone. “Ohhhhhhh. It’s okay Sophia, I’m here.”

She grabbed my hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze, pulling me forward. Thomas noticed my strange behavior but didn’t seem to question it.

“Ms. Herrah!” Isabella smiled and waved with her free hand. “Thank you for bringing us lunch out here, especially after I said that I would take lunch in my room!”

“Oh, Isa, it is not a problem at all! It is good to see you out and about anyway,” Ms. Herrah addressed Isabella with a slight bow before turning to me. “Ms. Sophia, it is nice to finally meet you in. I hope that a turkey sandwich with kettle chips is okay for you for lunch?”

Yet again, I did not realize just how hungry I was until the mention of food. I think I feel drool slipping past my lips. “That sounds absolutely lovely, Ms. Herrah, thank you so much!”

I don’t know what she was expecting, but apparently my heartfelt thanks was not it, as Ms. Herrah put a hand over her heart and blushed. “Oh, you’re welcome dear!”

Ms. Herrah is just slightly taller than me. She has deep olive skin, silky silver-grey hair, and kind pale green eyes. She is probably about 40-years-old. Her clear kindness and care make me yearn for a mother figure.

I hear a voice clearing, so I turn towards the owner of the cough and smile. “Hello, I don’t think that I have had the honor to meet you yet,” I smile as I extend my hand to the person standing in front of me, “I am Sophia, Isa’s new teacher.”

Are people not used to hospitality here? This person is blushing too. “H-hello, Sophia,” they shake my hand back, “I am Marcos, a chef here.”

Marcos is tall. And I am not just saying that because I am really short. He is like six feet tall. He has dark skin and eyes that remind me of pools of chocolate. His hair is cut close to his face and dyed a lilac that sets off flecks of violet in his chocolate eyes. “Well, Marcos, thank you so much for your hand in preparing this meal. I am sure it will be absolutely delicious.” His blush deeps and his smile grows.

I turn to the last new face and just smile. I haven’t even said anything to them yet and they seem like they’re melting. I stick my hand out to a young woman of average height, and yes, I am slightly jealous of the about half a foot of height she has on me. She has amber eyes and ombre hair that reminds me of a sunset. “Hi there, I’m Sophia! What’s your name?” Her eyes seem to glow when she realizes that I am talking to her. It makes me feel so special to see that glow in her eye.

“I am Jessica,” it seems like she is almost afraid to shake my hand, but she does anyway. “Very nice to meet you.”

“You as well,” I smile, trying to make Jessica feel at ease after shaking my hand.

“Well, I am famished,” Thomas’s voice causes me to turn to where him and Isa are standing. They are both smiling, with what looks to me like pride. “Shall we eat?”

“Yes!” Everyone turned towards Marcos. Ms. Herrah looked surprised at how excited he seemed.

“Okay,” Ms. Herrah laughed. “Jessica dear, can you help me finish setting the plates?”

“Is there anything that I could do to help?” These people are going to get whip-lash from the amount of times they turn their necks to look at someone. It’s not that weird to want to help out, especially when I am eating for free, right?

“Oh, no, don’t worry about that dear.” It seemed like a simultaneous response from the people who I had just been so worried to meet. Ms. Herrah, Marcos, and Jessica were all smiling and blushing again. They giggled at saying the same thing at the same time. Should I be concerned?

“How about you keep Isa and Thomas entertained for a couple of minutes,” Ms. Herrah took over. “That way we can set the table in peace.”

She winked over at Thomas and Isabella. I could definitely see them causing mischief. “Sure, just call for us when you are ready. But, if you need help, please don’t hesitate to ask me.”

I smile as I turn back to Thomas and Isabella, linking my arms with theirs. “I guess you do get to hear the rest of my story about violets then.”

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Lunch was absolutely delightful. We all sat around the picnic bench eating and sharing stories. Well, it seems in retrospect that I did most of the story telling, but they didn’t seem to mind. In fact, all of them seemed to hang on every word that I said.

After the duration of the lunch, the general awe I witnessed when I first came into the clearing shifted to a more comfortable contentedness about being around me. I felt at peace as well. It felt so nice to just sit and chat with people who generally wanted to hear what I had to say.

As Marcos and Jessica were packing up from our mini feast, Ms. Herrah turned to Isabella and I, shifting her eyes between us. “You are going to be doing your next lessons in the rec-room, correct?”

“Yep!” Isa answered for us.

“Oooooooooo!” Marcos jumped in. “I will bring you a snack later this afternoon then!”

We all couldn’t help but smile at Marcos’ excitement. 

Not to toot my own horn, but it seems like the excitement is about seeing me again. I can’t help but be excited too. Maybe staying here for a bit is not a bad idea at all.