After diving into the food some (and realizing she's a lot hungrier than usual in Ev), she takes out her phone again.  Anything about what this group-parent's like?  Any friends Other Her was especially close to... especially anyone who might be interested in conspiring with her on this plan to keep pretending to be Other Her, if she does decide to go through with it?

He's called Howard and he hugged her a lot, even by group-parent standards. He's quite friendly and mostly wants people to be happy with themselves as they are; kids naturally push themselves to be the best and contribute, but he always dialed down the pressure a bit. Mia and Neil, who both go to her new school, were both really... serious and can be trusted to keep a secret, they're on cop track, and are probably willing to help her as a friend.

Dialing down pressure is... probably good if she's meaning to suddenly go in a different direction from Other Her?  Or if she is going to tell him everything?  Though she doesn't want to do that?

She picks at her pasta a bit more, thinking.  Why does she want to keep pretending? 

Well, obviously, it's become a Project.  And she doesn't just want to give it up!

... and also (she realizes after a bit more picking) this school feels like the sort of utopian project that might get unsavory with someone from another world to try to control the worldgate or something like that.  Even though she can't think of any reason it'd do that, it feels like that.

... Are Mia or Neil in sight?  (She does have labeled pictures of them on Other Her's phone, right?)

She does have labeled pictures of them on her phone; or at least, she remembers well enough how they play-acted at "protecting" her and the other kids and used toys to simulate and practice with pepper spray and batons to protect people like her, and can quickly photos of them training and being super-dutiful on her phone. They were 2 of the people familiar with her before!

(Batons are familiar from Ev too; pepper spray takes a minute for her to place, but she's heard of it.)

So does she see either of them in the dining hall?  If so, she'll quickly finish her pasta and try to say hello... at least as they're leaving; that might be better than trying to talk in front of other people.

Yep, she sees the two of them at one of the tables, talking to each other and relaxing.

... oh, one more quick check on her phone, just in case:  This world doesn't know of any real aliens or other worlds, right?  At least not publicly on the internet?  Yet?

After all - she imagines Kat saying - now that she at least knows they do exist, she'd better check!

...all aliens are fictional, from her looking things up on her phone, and any possible aliens would be too far to ever meet them anyway.

Alas.  Here too.

She finishes off her pasta, and arranges to walk by their table on the way over the dish-collecting robot.  "Hello!" she says with a wave and grin.

...they perk up, though Jenwy doubts anyone else would notice them doing so.

"Hey; got some time to talk?"

They look at her, nodding slightly and saying "sure".

"So I was wondering..."  She speaks softly.  "What would you do if you heard a kid from outside somehow ended up in this school without any of the adults realizing?"

It's technically what's happened, but nothing anyone would think of when it was posed that.  And if their interest does go in unwanted directions - like her fears about a utopia are suggesting - she'll be able to hide just as much as she would've otherwise.

"Make sure they were still paying for the tuition and everything? And also not crashing any classes or doing anything else they're not supposed to."

"And... the adults?"

"Would help us in getting those things done."

"So you'd tell them."  She's not surprised.

"Yes? Would we be supposed to work with them to help violate the school's rules and trespass?" Part of being on "cop track" is wearing a special kind of all-black dress, designed to conceal all the police equipment and body armor as they try to "keep violence as foreign as possible." It makes them sit somewhat rigidly, fitting their current mannerisms.

"Yeah, when you put it like that I guess it's the obvious answer..."

Can she argue that she is the same person as Other Her?  Well, sure, if she twists the statement the right way she can in good faith; she has the same name and family after all, and she has no idea how her world and this one relate...

"I'm surprised you've apparently managed to not learn or realize this!" Neil sounds like he's amused.

"Do I look like someone who pours over the rules?" She mirrors his amusement.

(She absolutely wasn't in Ev.)

They're both extremely confused at Jenwy's reply.

Uh-oh.

... This would've happened sooner or later anyway even if she hadn't talked to them.  Or something like it.  Might as well keep sounding them out from a different direction.

"So if something didn't break any school rules..."