"We appreciate it," he says.

Om nom nom. "The cafeteria food is really good here. Is that more science?"

"That's more about money," Isaac says. "Whateley kind of has more money than they know what to do with and a policy of 'high pay gets better work', so they pay the chefs as if they were a decent-quality restaurant, which means they get really good chefs even though it's line cook work."

"How do you know all this stuff?" Ethan wonders. "I just know the food is good."

"I talk to people, Ethan."

"Huh, I was figuring maybe good food was cheaper here somehow. Anyway, it was nice meeting you - where does this go -"

"Nice meeting you too!" Ethan says. Isaac points her towards where the tray goes.

And she buses the tray, and goes back to the library to pass the time before she thinks she could get to sleep, whereupon she asks if she can checks out some books and brings them back to her room.

Alice is already asleep when she gets back to the room.

Tomorrow dawns bright and early, as it often does. Alice gets up before sunrise and heads towards the showers.

Bella does not get up before sunrise; she gets up a couple hours later, figures out a shower herself, puts on some of her new clothes, and heads to breakfast to be nourished for her powers testing appointment.

Breakfast is available, including Kharoline frybread, which is presumably called something different here but is not labeled.

Nobody she knows seems to be breaking their fast at the moment, though a blonde girl floating several inches off the floor is peering at her thoughtfully.

"...hello," says Bella, loading up her plate with Kharoline frybread.

"Oh! Hi. I was just noting that I haven't seen you around, which is weird because I've seen everybody around and I remember them all perfectly, which would imply that you're new, which is interesting. Sorry for staring. I'm Ariel. Stormhammer."

"Bella Swan. Yes, I'm new. Morty had an interplanar accident."

"Ah, Morty. How're you adjusting?"

"Really well! I like it here and I'm gonna stay, my plane sucks."

"Ooh, that's way better than the alternative! Not better than your plane being cool, I mean, that part sucks, but it makes us kidnapping you a lot less problematic. Wanna sit at my table?"

"Sure, thanks."

Ariel, carrying her own tray of frybread and various syruped meats, leads Isabella over to a table containing a handful of other people: a dark-skinned girl covered with swirling purple tattoos, a couple of skinny white boys, and a living marble statue with feathered wings sitting next to a boy wearing a techy-looking visor thing. "Hey guys! This is Bella, she's new and from another universe."

Most of the table nods to her. Visor boy looks up sharply. "Interesting. I do hope you realize the fact you're recognizably human flies in the face of the laws of evolution."

"I don't think we have evolution where I'm from."

He frowns. "Even worse. Though I suppose an intelligent designer could have been working from an existing template."

"If you don't have evolution, can you still breed horses and dogs and all that?" one of the white boys asks. "-Xan, by the way, is my name, I'm Xan. The sciency one is Hakim, the statue's Sky, my boyfriend is Leo, the girl with tattoos is Sally."

"It's nice to meet you all. I believe people do breed dogs and horses, yes."

Hakim nods. "You've got evolution, then, wherever your humans came from. Though I suppose you could have inheritance without that implying evolution per se... hmm. -I'm an engineer, why am I going on about biology."

"Because you're a nerd," Sky says fondly. "Nice to meet you, Bella. What kind of powers do you have?"

"I'm what's called a subtle artist, which means telepathy-type powers and also a little weak teekay. Some subtle artists are pyrokinetic but I'm not. I also know barely more than high school level arcana from my world's magic system."

"Oh, interesting - kind of a Martian Manhunter situation, powers unexceptional for the home world but incredible anywhere else," Sky says thoughtfully.

"And you call me a nerd," Hakim scoffs. "Did I hear that right - you learn magic in high school?"

"We're learning magic in high school," Xan points out.

"Public high school, then," Hakim says impatiently.

"Not everybody took the class but yes, I was in honors arcana in public high school."

"Not everybody took the class," Hakim mutters.

"I'm not in magic classes," Sky points out. "Not everybody thinks magic is as cool as you do, hon."

"It's objectively cool!" Hakim objects.

Most of the table nods, with the exception of Sky.