The trio made their way into the cafeteria. It was reasonably full for the time since it was more like a late dinner. The three walked along the line, picking up trays and grabbing different foods that they wanted. Bryce and Carter followed Nadia as she was guiding them to a table near the back. Bryce and Carter sat on one side with Nadia sat on the other.
Carter quickly dug in, realizing that she didn't have lunch that day while the other two ate at a slower pace.
"Is that all you're going to eat?" Nadia asked her, concern running through.
"I mean, I might get seconds."
"There's no protein on your plate."
Meekly, Carter said: "I'm a vegetarian."
Nadia still kept an unimpressed look on her face before walking away from the table.
"Did I do something wrong?" Carter asked Bryce.
"Nah, she's a mother hen to practically everyone. She's probably just getting you more food," he said as he continued eating. Carter followed his example.
A couple of minutes later, Nadia came back to the table, looking somewhat pleased with herself.
"Did you have any luck?" Bryce asked her.
"Of course, I did. Delilah loves me."
"Who's Delilah?" Carter asked the two.
"She's the best person who works here. If you have any reasonable special requests, she's happy to make it. When I was pregnant, she made all of the weird things I was craving."
"She sounds lovely."
The trio continued to eat when a middle-aged black woman with curly hair tied up in a knot walked over to them, carrying a plate of food. She walked right up to Carter's side, placing the food in front of her and gently wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Now, tell me why you didn't ask for more food," the woman demanded.
"I didn't want to be too much of a hassle," Carter meekly replied.
"Trust me, cooking a vegetarian meal is no hassle at all. I keep plenty of stuff in hand. Now that I know you, I can make something for you. It's not like you're one of the idiots who have to have their meat at a certain temperature."
Carter looked at the woman in shock. "People are seriously like that."
"Trust me, darling. Every type of person is found here."
"Of which," Nadia interrupted, "Delilah is the best person ever."
"That's because you think with your stomach, girl."
"I'm offended," Nadia said with a scoff.
"Well then, I'll leave you three to your dinner," Delilah said.
The woman immediately turned to walk away. Carter immediately dug into the tofu dish she was provided. Feeling slightly satisfied, she started to question Nadia and Bryce.
"So, what's with the partners thing? I understand with field agents, but not really us."
Bryce started. "Everything is done in partners—the adult version of the buddy system. I'm pretty sure SHIELD would collapse without partners," Bryce ended with a chuckle.
Nadia took over from there. "It's pretty much the ability to alternate. One person sleeps while the other's awake. With the high-intensity work, it a system that everyone uses because we can be working on a project for days without really being able to stop. You can also be pulled at any moment from working on one project, and it's good if someone else can still work on it. It makes sense once you really start getting put on projects."
Carter contemplated what she was told. "My next question is, why was the selection random?"
"Honestly, I don't know. I think Lawson did it for giggles. I never understand what that man does, and I really don't want to know what's going on in his head. Usually, they're picked based on compatibility or different expertise that would mesh together.
"I'm pretty sure he put s together because he wanted us to fail," Bryce mentioned.
"Yeah, I saw that. But, hopefully, you guys are going to shoe him up in a couple of months."
Carter was going to ask another question when she heard a cellphone ring from her bag. She reached into it and pulled out her personal phone. She saw her mother's number on the screen and quickly answered.
"Mom?" Carter asked.
"Hi, Dear. How was your day?"
"Not bad."
"What did you do today?"
"Nothing much. Just met my co-workers and got my desk set up." Carter looked up at the people sitting with her and saw their amused looks on their faces.
"I don't understand why you had to go in today. You just moved yesterday."
"Mom, they paid for my plane ticket. I can't really complain. Also, the apartment was pretty much set up. I'll finish unpacking once my stuff gets here, but I'm good with the stuff I brought with me."
"Are you eating?"
"Yes, mom, I'm eating."
"Are you sure?"
"I'm sure, mom. I'm in the middle of eating dinner right now. And there's protein before you asked." Across the table, Carter heard snickering from Nadia.
"At least you're eating. By the way, Danni wants to talk to you. Can you spare a bit?"
"Yeah, I can talk to her." On the other end, she heard the phone changing hands. "Hello, little one."
"Hey, Sissy, I miss you."
"I miss you too."
"It's really weird not being able to feel your presence nearby. It would be better if I could see you."
"How about this? Sometime this weekend, after I finish moving in, we can have a video call. We can make it a weekly thing if you like."
"Yes! Yes!"
"Alright, we can talk sometime over the weekend. I'm kinda sleepy and would like to go to sleep soon."
"Night, night, Carter."
"Night, night, Danni." The other end went dead, and Carter hung up. She let out a deep sigh.
"You did fairly well," Nadia commented with a gentle smile.
"I'm used to telling my family everything."
"Staying as close to the truth is that best way to help," Bryce told her. "Instead of being on a mission abroad, you are on a business trip. Instead of doing things of national security, you are working on matters that the company doesn't want to get out. The best thing to do is to stay as close to the truth as possible. That way, you don't have too many lies to remember."
"He's right," Nadia continued. "I've heard its more worse for people who are really close to their families. I didn't really have that, and I'm fairly certain Bryce didn't either. But hey, you have a family that loves you, and just remember that you are doing this to keep them safe because, at the end of the day, that's what we're doing."
"Thanks, guys," Carter said.
"I have nothing to do this weekend. I can help you move in," Bryce said.
"Thanks so much."
"I have a family thing planned for this weekend," Nadia stated. "I would help if I could."
"It's totally fine; I completely understand."
"Well, anyway, I think we're all done with dinner," Nadia mentioned, looking at all of their empty plates. "I would love to talk to you guys more, but I really want to get home to my kids. I'll see you guys around. Carter, I hope that you do well with your other tests, whatever they may be."
"Thanks, Nadia."
The woman turned away with her tray in hand before throwing a peace sign over her shoulders.
"So, what to do now?" Carter asked Bryce.
"We should go to sleep. You still have a bunch of tests to complete, and you need to have all of your energy, especially since Lawson is gunning after you."
"Why me?"
"Just think, in three months..."
"That's the only thing getting me through this. What happens after all the tests are done?"
"Who knows? It kinda depends on how Lawson is feeling. But other than the tests, there's not going to be much going on for the week."
"Awesome. Let's get out of here."
Carter grabbed her tray and stood up. Bryce was quick to follow her. They put their trays on the conveyer belt and left the room. They made their way to the elevator and continued theorizing what Lawson had for them the next day. They got off on different floors, saying goodbye to each other.
Carter stepped off on her floor, with her head held high. She may have a dick for a boss, but she knew her new partner would have her back. She entered her room, which contained loud giggling girls. They seemed in shock when she walked into the room.
"We were wondering who our other roommate was," the one with curly blonde hair said.
"Especially since you weren't with us," the one with straight black hair said.
"Yeah, I was expecting we would only be rooming with people from our section," the one with straight blonde hair said.
"Sorry to disappoint," Carter said awkwardly.
"I'm Cindy," the first one said.
"Rebecca," the next one said.
"Julie," the last one said.
"Carter."
"So, where were you today?" Cindy asked.
"I was with Information."
"So, you're one of those tech geeks," Rebecca said.
"That's one way to put it."
"So, you're just here to look things up on the computer?" Julie asked.
"I'm pretty sure there's a lot more that goes into it than that."
"We got here for our fantastic abilities in the field," Cindy decided to brag.
"Yeah," Rebecca continued. "We were specifically scouter because of our previous experience."
"I'm pretty sure that's how much of us go here," Carter told her.
"So, you think that you're better than is?" Julie asked with a tone of snark. The other two also seemed to give her dirty looks.
Carter had no clue where that came from. She said nothing of the sort. "No, I meant nothing like that. I'm sure both departments are equal here. Maybe it's because I'm tired that it came out wrong."
"Good," Cindy said with a fake smile. The three girls went into the room farthest from the door and closest to the bathroom together and started giggling.
Carter just sighed and opened her own personal door. The conversation just confused her. She had no clue how, in one short day, they knew to talk in a particular order. Carter simply grabbed her pajamas and toiletries and race to the bathroom before someone decided to get into the shower. She thought about locking the door but realized that the only toilets were in this room, which would have been rude.
Carter was quick to get into the shower. Through the entire thing, she heard what could only be described as screeching. There was no way she was trying to decipher what was being said or who was saying it.
She left the bathroom soon after, with brushed teeth, wet hair, and worn clothes in her hands. She passed the room that the other three were in. It went quiet for a second before whispering started.
"Bryce was right," she thought. "Just like high school."
Personally, Carter didn't see anything wrong with an old T-shirt and sweatpants to sleep in. It wasn't like she had anyone to impress while she was sleeping. She just put the three girls in the back of her mind as she prepared for the night. She pulled out both phones to charge overnight, got the book she was reading earlier out of her bag, and read for a while before getting tired. Before tucking herself in, she prayed for a better day tomorrow.