He seemed to be in a hurry. You think you recognize him from somewhere. Oh well, maybe you'll see that kid later. You and your posse soon arrive at the CAFETERIA, your trusty slop emporium. While your sense of time is all kinds of fucked up, it must be night time.
The CAFETERIA is an utter ghost town. Most of the tables are completely empty save for dinner trays with crumbs of food still left on them. You could almost count the amount of people still here on one hand, and luckily, one of them is someone you're looking for.
You spot Nicole and Liz in a table towards the center of the room. They're chit-chatting with each other about something, but from this distance, you can't really make it out. Liz's posture is tense and mildly uncomfortable, but she's still talking to her friend.
Nicole, for her part, is trying her best to look nonchalant. At least they're trying to reconcile their differences. You're about to walk over when the <span class="mu-b">Man</span> grabs you by the shoulder. He warns that there's something that needs your attention first.
And that you should brace yourself. He can already tell this is going to be a rough conversation for you. Right after saying that, you hear footsteps rapidly approaching you.
"Hey-" Edward's voice is promptly drowned out by one singular word.
"<span class="mu-s">VINCEY~!</span>"
https://youtu.be/TukMwYXQ3wE - VENTI
Your eardrums are assaulted by a shrill cry that more resembles a bird's mating call than human speech. You quickly identify the source of that noise to be coming from the researcher who seemingly manifested right in front of you.
You recognize her on sight. For the first time in a while, you actually get a good look at <span class="mu-s">Venti.</span>
She's on the shorter side, probably around Hidaka's height. You almost have to crane your head down so you can look her in the eye. Which, admittedly, it's difficult to look her in the eye when they're hidden underneath her messy brown hair.
She made a token attempt to wrangle her hair but her attempts only ended up making it an even more tangled, fuzzy mess. Her clothes aren't much better either. Her teal turtleneck sweater is caked in fuzz balls and loose hair she hasn't bothered cleaning off.
Her lab coat is a wrinkled mess that needs a good ironing before it can look halfway presentable. She was either in a rush, or she doesn't remotely care about how she looks. Could be both. Probably both, now that you think about it.
"Oh, I mean. Cheesed to meet you~!"
"C-Can I c-call you 'Vincey', please~?" She speaks in a diabetically sweet and cutesy voice that's like nails on a chalkboard. "It's, like, a thing friends do right??? We're the bestest of pals in the whole wide world~!"
The <span class="mu-b">Man</span> pleads that he wants to go back to the pizza party. He can't stand listening to her. He'll have to suck it up, you mentally respond, you have to actually talk to her.
Edward politely chuckles. "Maybe don't use a pet name on someone you haven't met yet?"
