The one thing I really learned, and learned well, in group therapy was that you don’t die if someone doesn’t like you.
Julia bounces over to the nurse's office as soon as she'd made herself eat lunch, which is tuna melts and brisket and corn on the cob. She feels that the Scholomance should not pretend to serve fish because fish that tastes vaguely suspect is more nauseating than, like, bread that tastes vaguely suspect.
"Marian?"
"The library needs more kinds of media! Like come on library all the cool libraries are doing it."
"There you go! New Scholomance improvement plan: tell everyone there's a hidden corner full of manga, believe it hard enough that then there is."
Okay. He can definitely sit on the bed.
"I'm Jeremy, I'm from Portland, uh, which is in the US, and I find it relaxing to listen to music." Hopefully that's an acceptable answer? Maybe not, maybe the New Yorkers are going to judge him for having such an impractical relaxation method.
"Music high five!"
Are three way high fives a thing. How are you supposed to do this. People who know how high fiving works help.
Three way high fives are easy! You just high five one person with each hand!
...maybe this isn't actually that easy, but now he's committed to it, so he has to follow through.
Awww, Julia feels like so far the vibes are excellent. "Okay! That's everyone. Welcome to group therapy! I'm thinking we'll alternate the presents from the Void and the talking about our feelings. Marian, do you want to read the instructions on the meditative chocolate?"
Marian has mostly been occupied by feeling WAY TOO OLD to be in this room - she’s never watched anime in her entire life? Probably? Unless the Howl’s Moving Castle movie counts? Anyway she is so culturally unprepared to be supportive to the tiny children incredibly brave and impressive magical teenagers…
- oh good she’s being given a thing to do! Yeah she can read the meditation chocolate instructions out loud. …While trying really really hard to keep a straight face.
HOW TO EXPERIENCE
A Guided Tasting of an Exotic Truffle:
Our truffles are infused with a healing sound frequency to raise your vibe.
Breathe
Close your eyes. Take three deep, ujjayi breaths. Listen to the space between thought and prepare your palate to experience chocolate.
See
Describe what you see. What is the shape, color, sheen and texture?
Touch
Run your finger against the chocolate, noticing its texture and releasing the aromatics.
Smell
Bring the chocolate to your nose. Close your eyes, cup your hand around the chocolate and inhale deeply.
Taste
Enjoy your truffle in two bites. In the first bite, you are just getting to know the truffle, and in the second, you delve deeper, searching out the aromas and nuances. You become immersed in the experience of the chocolate and the sensations. After you’ve eaten the truffle, take a breath and taste the air. The aroma should have a long, lingering finish that is layered with perfumed notes.
"Are the chocolates magical? Sound-infused chocolate wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've ever heard."
"I feel like this is the sort of question that can only be answered by experiencing the chocolates."
"Yeah, all right, let's pass around the chocolates. There are sixteen, so that's not quite two apiece? There are also some, uh, meditation crystals, in the package, if you'd rather have a crystal than two chocolates take one chocolate and a couple of the crystals and it'll even out."
"Do the crystals go with specific chocolates? I want to get the full intended experience."
At any point before the last week, Marian would have said that 100% of what she just read out loud was complete bullshit and obviously the chocolates aren't magical!
...Marian is now much less certain that she has any idea how anything works. Maybe the chocolates are magical? - Maybe the way magic works means that if enough of the kids here expect them to have healing sound frequencies, whatever that means, then that'll be true?
She can attempt to consult the instructions and figure out if particular crystals go with particular chocolates.
Pairing Crystals:
Amazonite - Olio D'oliva
Amethyst - Chef Pascal
Chrysocolla - Ambrosia
Fluorite - Woolloomooloo
Lepidolite - Viola
Malachite - Black Pearl®
Moss Agate - Wink Of The Rabbit®
Ocean Jasper - Soul & Motown
Pyrite - Oaxaca
Rainforest Jasper - Absinthe
Red Jasper - Budapest
Selenite - Giandiua
Shungite - Rap
Smoky Quartz - Naga®
Marian can read this off!
"....Uh, I don't know what half of those are - do the crystals come with labels....?"
"We can probably figure it out via process of elimination if we have to? But there might be pictures somewhere. Let's see, pyrite and malachite and smoky quartz are easy, the jaspers have convenient descriptions, amazonite should be light green, amethyst and lepidolite are easy to confuse for one another but they're not quite the same, selenite is usually white..."
"Okay, what do I need," she asks her cards, and then draws one randomly.
Seven of coins. The seventh thing on the list was a moss agate and wink of the rabbit. Also, there is a tiny dog on this version of the card that looks sort of like a rabbit.
"Moss agate and wink of the rabbit!" she says immediately. "I guess I'll let you know."
Marian has managed to find the bit in the instructions insert that describes flavors!
"Wink of the Rabbit is, uh, soft burnt caramel and 45% cacao deep milk chocolate and New Mexican pecan– ok wait what - sorry, nevermind, go on..."
She has been distracted by the quote labeled 'Inspiration', which she is not going to read out loud because she cannot possibly do it with a straight face.
"What if chocolate could manifest your desires? Chocolate meditations were ritualized for thousands of years by the Mayans and Aztecs. Our cacao rituals have specific and important processes that necessitate daily consistency, true belief and a willingness to banish skepticism. Focusing deeply on desired outcomes has the power to unlock your growth. These meditations are self-affirmations that are further amplified by the power of energetic infusion and taste in the chocolate. Stay the course, and commit to having faith that your intentions will manifest."
"Well, this one's the moss agate. Which one's wink of the rabbit? - oh, the one with the pecan, on it, duh."
She takes the pecan truffle. She holds it up to her face and takes three deep breaths.
"- Uh, right, here - I think there's a picture in the insert that'll let us match up which chocolate is which - wow they're really pretty, actually?"
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