The atmosphere in the restaurant was inviting. Somehow, it was both lively... and relaxed...at the same time. Julie was glad to find a spot at one of the tables to sit..and put down her food. Fortunately, she had been smart enough to make sure that she asked the person that handed her food to her to open her soda for her. Of course...that meant that she had to be careful not to spill Tamarind Soda all over herself in the few steps it took to walk over and sit down at the table.
Julie put down her food and drink, and carefully took the cap off her soda. Now was was not the time to get cocky...there was still a chance that she could spill it all over herself...in front of everyone. She reached into the right front pocket of her pants, and took out the round silver pill box with the black enamel lid with the silver Celtic design on it.
If she remembered correctly, it was supposed to protect you from evil spirits that lived in the forest. They were attracted to the design, and would get trapped inside it, and not be able to get out. Julie had no desire to see if there was any truth to the story by walking through the woods near her home in Ohio...or anywhere else for that matter.
She liked the design because to her, it kind if looked like an abstract flower in bloom. Making sure her hands were dry, she took out one of her small white pills, and drank a little of her soda.
Mmmm...she kind of liked that soda...she remembered that Zack said there was a Latin grocery store in San Francisco grocery store that sold this brand of soda. When they got home, she would have to ask him exactly where it was, and she would have to check and see if they had this flavor. Julie *smiled* a bit when they phrase,"When they got home" popped into her head. Noone here was related...except for Zack and Ivy...of course. And they weren't Detectives yet either. But they had already spent so much time working together this morning...and they got along so well...for the most part. In a way...she already felt like knew these people. And she didn't know how else to describe it.
She took a bite of her Beef Burrito, Jr. She had had burritos before, of course. The small town she was from in Ohio wasn't that small, after all. But it had been a long time since she had one...and none of them had been this good!!
As she chewed her food, Julie looked around for a moment. She saw all her fellow Junior Detectives, happily eating...and talking. She saw everyone...except Kidman. She looked around again and saw all her instructors...except Joe Kerr. It was strange how those two people were always disappearing all the time. They were both very mysterious...to say the least.
Everyone continued to have a good time eating and talking about various random subjects. Meaningless stuff, mostly. But when a group of people are getting to know each other, nothing is really meaningless.
Julie didn't realize how close she was sitting to Ivy. She was surprised when Ivy said,
"I hope we can get something on film," Ivy pointed to the glossy black half-sphere with a blinking light, "Though we might have our work cut out for us... judging from the dust, these cameras weren't installed recently."
Julie looked at Ivy...and...at the camera and nodded, and said,"Yes...that would be great. It would certainly make all of jobs easier, wouldn't it? That is..assuming the cameras actually work."
Julie stood up for a moment, and before putting her small round pill box in her pocket, she said to Ivy,"I have epilepsy. But it well-controlled with this medication."
Julie sat down again and ate the last bite of her food and drank the last bit of her soda and continued to enjoy chatting with her classmates.
