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[dog_eat_dog]

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[dog_eat_dog]

[She chuckles and takes it, but she knows she's going to regret it later. She takes a bite of cheesecake with a smug little look.]

[vaccination]

Oh, c'mon. That's nothing.

[Everyone loves cheesecake, so Ellie has no reservations about cutting off a giant chunk with her fork and using her fingers to stuff it into her mouth.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[ Tess snorts and takes a bigger chunk. ]

You're not going to last a whole meal at that pace, kid.

[vaccination]

[Ellie tries to speak around her mouthful of cheesecake but it's physically impossible. But! She seems to be enjoying it.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess just laughs to herself, continuing to pick at the cheesecake.

She's pretty impressed with herself, actually, pulling off a meal like this.]

[vaccination]

[Managing not to choke with the help of some water from the sink--she'll pass on the carbonated stuff for now--she goes back to trying each of the pizzas. Everything is good. Maybe she should stop eating like a little squirrel outside of this place, even if her stomach rebels.

As good a time as it's turning out out to be with Tess, she can't help but wish Joel was here for this, too.]

[dog_eat_dog]

[Tess paces herself a little, but only marginally. She watches Ellie here or there, wondering if she looked like that in the dining hall in those first few weeks she could keep food down at all. Sometimes it feels like it'll take years to eat normally and not like it could be her last.]

Easy there.

[Tess considers having to intervene if Ellie starts going blue.]

[vaccination]

I'm good. The grease helps it down the pipe.

[It's not real so she won't break out, right? Cool.]

[dog_eat_dog]

That's the spirit. You're a real mid 2000s girl now.

[vaccination]

That sounds horrifying.

[She's seen pictures.]

[dog_eat_dog]

It was a good time, actually. If you were lucky you could even have a phone in your bedroom.

[vaccination]

And have people call you all the fucking time? No thanks.

[dog_eat_dog]

Not a problem if you like your friends.

[vaccination]

Still. Sounds stressful.

[It's bad enough when your friends know where you live.]

[dog_eat_dog]

How'd someone who grew up in military barracks get to be so antisocial, huh?

[vaccination]

[She wipes at her mouth again with her hand.]

That's exactly how. People were up my ass at all hours. Fuck that shit.

[Sort of like living on a cramped train.]

[dog_eat_dog]

I never understood that whole introvert thing. People pushing you is good, keeps you motivated.

[vaccination]

I can motivate myself, thank you very much.

[She thinks she's incredibly motivated when she has a goal in mind. She'll travel hundreds of miles, enter weird space deals...]

[dog_eat_dog]

Yeah?

[ Tess doesn’t want to talk about Joel but it does strike her that Joel is pushing this girl from beyond the grave. ]

Sure, kid.

[vaccination]

You know, when you call me kid, it makes you seem really old.

[dog_eat_dog]

A lot of people here think I look far younger than I am, so it balances out.

[vaccination]

Yeah? Who, and how much did you threaten them?

[dog_eat_dog]

Arthur, for one, you little smart-ass.

[vaccination]

[Arthur Arthur Arthur. Fuck's sake.]

That's one.

[dog_eat_dog]

What, I have to list every person? Listen. Getting old means you survived that long. I'm not going to complain about it even if they thought I looked like an old hag.