Meal Ready to Eat

[Fiori]

"Oh? Oh neat, yeah, I know the ones you mean. They really, um... Make things convenient, yeah"

Darren clears his throat, before extending his hand to shake Catarina's. "Nice to meet you!" he says with a weak smile, turning the camera back to Jarret as his friend says their piece, nodding in agreement before turning back to Catarina. "We did bump into some... Uh, interesting characters earlier, but otherwise I haven't seen many people about."

He glances back down at the camera. "And, um, I hope you don't mind the..." he continues, giving the camera a couple taps with two fingers. "I know this might sound silly, but I'm hoping to document what's been going on here. Try to blow the cover off this whole thing, show the world what Janus-Hayes are up to."

He bites his lip and glances downwards. "I mean... I still haven't figured out how I'm going to get this footage off the island... Or the rest of us, for that matter... B-but I'm sure I'll figure something out! Very least, it's... Well, it's something to keep me busy, I suppose. Something tangible I can focus on, y'know?"

Darren pauses, unsure if he was still talking to Catarina at that point. He sighs and looks back up at her. "But, anyway, I was just about to have a..." he continues, before clicking his fingers. "Oh, damn, I left my pizza slice... Probably gone cold by now" he huffs, now feeling relaxed enough to get mildly annoyed over relative mundanities.

[Brackie]

Catarina had never listened to the university radio, let alone at midnight. She'd also never given any thought to the university's film class, as she was certain beyond a shadow of doubt's doubt, that the next Martin Scorsese was not going to be born in a university backed by a big science organization, so she didn't really know who they were kidding by even existing as a class.

She also didn't know who Darren was kidding by pretending he could get footage of what was happening off the island. Catarina hadn't reached the point of hopelessness yet, but she was still on the cusp of realism. She knew what she knew, and what she knew was real - they were being watched by mad scientists, like she was in one of the James Bond movies or something, so chances were they thought of that. Then again, if they were really like the mad scientists she'd watched in James Bond movies, maybe they had a fatal flaw they could take advantage of, something that would let her get the upper hand and rescue them all. Catarina didn't fancy herself a superhero, but maybe if the situation was right she could make it work.

But as she looked down at the camera, and at the other person's stash of drugs, she felt something slide softly into place, clicking up an expression she hadn't thought about before. She took pause, before closing her eyes slightly longer than normal.

Cope.

Normality.

Keep me busy.

She opened them again, and nodded at the two boys from the same class.

"Whatever you boys want to do, is fine by me. As long as I can get my 'me' time."

((Catarina Markovitz continued elsewhere))

[MethodicalSlacker]

Jarrett sighed, relieved. No recognition on Catarina's part meant no awkward DJ/Listener conversation. She seemed more relieved to have found clearly not insane people than anything. Darren's mission, Jarrett's lack thereof, Catarina's not-being-a-psychopath—all were good signs for their prospects as a team, going forward. Though it was sort of unclear what exactly she meant by "me-time"—what did she expect, that they'd be hounding her to spend time together or something? If she was going to be put off by the weed, then Jarrett would need some free time of their own.

Speaking of,

"That's good," Jarrett said, "now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to, uh, fumar."

They walked around Catarina, giving her a wide berth, and walked over to the room where they'd left their bags, their half-eaten M.R.E, and their weed.

[Jarrett Bergman continue elsetimeandplace.]

[Fiori]

Darren nods his head. "Yeah-yeah, of course..." he replies with a nervous laugh, turning and nodding to Jarret before following his friend out of the classroom. He briefly stops just outside the doorway, turning back to Catarina and naturally pointing the camera towards her as he did so. "Oh, uh, if you ever... Like, need anything, we'll just be um..." he continues, vaguely mimicking the act of smoking, before shrugging and heading away.

Before joining up with Jarret for a toke or two, he stops by the classroom where he left his dinner, picking up the pizza slice and turning the camera back to capture the moment. He chomps down, chews away for a bit as he ponders, before shrugging. "HMMmmmm... Could be worse" he says with a shrug, before turning the camera off.

((Darren Decker continued elsewhere...))