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Chapter 8 Part 1
The blue line in the floor led Jessie straight to the dinning room, or eating center as Coach called it. He walked in and found Ryder already there.
"Dude, this is awesome. Pick anything you want to eat." He had a plate of scrambled eggs with cheese mixed in, hash browns, and a gooey cinnamon roll.
"I want that," Jessie said as he took a seat next to Ryder. Rake pushed a few buttons on what looked like a microwave. Seconds later, he pulled out a plate of food identical to Ryder's and set it in front of Jessie. "Thanks," Jessie said as he dug in.
The eggs and hash browns melted in his mouth. They were as good, no better, than those at Hattie's Breakfast Hut, his favorite morning restaurant. He wanted to keep at the eggs and potatoes, but that cinnamon roll wasn't going to wait. It looked like those they served at the mall shops. He put a huge chunk on his fork and stuffed it in his mouth.
"Wow! That's the best thing I've ever tasted." Pieces of it shot out of his mouth as he talked.
"Gross, dude," Ryder said. "Chew your food. We didn't ask for the floor show."
Jessie blushed as he chewed and swallowed. "Sorry." Both Ryder and Rake laughed. Rake's laugh shared the same qualities as Coach's.
"It's cool," Ryder said. "And you're right. This is awesome. How'd you say it worked again, Rake? Seems impossible."
"Nothing's impossible as long as someone can engineer the right tools. This machine has most all of the recipes from your home world programmed in. All it has to do is shape matter into that food. It's as simple as that."
Jessie looked from Rake to Ryder and back to Rake. "How is that simple?"
Ryder stuffed the rest of his cinnamon roll into his mouth. "Who cares? It's simple enough to eat."
Jessie nodded and went back to attacking his breakfast.
"As soon as you two finish up, we'll join Coach and Stretch so you can learn the rules of the game. I'm guessing you'll both even get a turn in the simulator so we can see how you do. Coach has no doubts that you'll shine, Ryder."
Jessie stopped chewing for a second, remembering how Coach told him he was only here because they couldn't get Ryder by himself. Would he really get any simulator time, whatever it was? If not, he probably wouldn't mind.
Rake stood up and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a minute to see if Coach is ready for us."
As soon as they were alone, Ryder turned to Jessie. "Do you believe this? I mean, is it real?"
Jessie shrugged. "I keep hoping it's a dream. I don't think I like it."
"How can you not like this? The aliens seem pretty cool, we have awesome food to eat, we're going to play Over the Line, and Mickey Martell is even here. What's not to like?"
Jessie shrugged again. "Aren't you going to miss home? Your mom and your brothers?"
Ryder scooped up the last of his eggs. As he chewed, he said, "I asked about that last night. We're going to time-travel back so it'll be like we never left. That means they're not going to miss me, so why should I miss them? I like hanging out with my family and all, but don't you think it's kind of sweet to be on our own for awhile?"
"Yeah, I guess." Jessie concentrated hard on finishing the rest of his breakfast to keep his eyes from watering up.
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