Welcome to Gaia! ::

Despite a few days having passed since Tanglewood, Alessa only realized she was 5$ short in her budget when she wanted to buy a chocolate bar at the dispenser and there was a bill missing. However, having not checked her wallet in the meanwhile, and more things having happened in the between, she did not make the connection, and had no idea how it got lost.

Standing near the dispenser, tapping her foot on the floor thoughtfully, she stared at her near-empty wallet, before putting it back in her bag. That was not exactly serious, and fortunately, 5$ weren’t much, but it still was lost money. That was a handful bars wasted.
Better take it with optimism. That was just like the light version of a diet (that sounds weird, she thought).
Absent-mindedly, she looked around, searching no one in particular, only a friend to talk to after classes. She disliked going back home with frustration in mind, no matter how insignificant.

It took several seconds to register what the red-haired girl had just told her. Alessa blinked, staring at her, then she remembered what she was talking about. “Hey, you’re right, you were at Tanglewood too! Oh dear, you were in that cheesy thing”, she said with a soft laugh. The memory of what happened afterwards was fuzzy, but she did her best to give her own version of her disappearance. “I think I was walking too slowly behind you guys, and an actor caught me. They threw me out of there afterwards. So… huh… was it fun?”

Clank, clank. “Whoa, cool! This thing prefers holding snacks hostage usually.” She didn’t want to complain about the money that had gotten lost. Whining was something she hated doing, and she didn't want to start today (though she couldn't help but eye the extra granola).

Another half-hearted laugh followed the first. “Must be in the rule, or maybe they were doing something in the back and they were afraid I’d see it and ruin the surprise. Were there more fights, or something?” She was curious to hear what she had missed. To be frank, she didn’t expect much more than a repetition of what she’d already seen. With several other students, it could nonetheless have been entertaining. Alessa was a firm believer anything could be enhanced if it involved friends.

“So, what was your name again?” she asked right before the dispenser threw a tantrum.
“Uh-oh. I knew it.” She leant forward to check it. Only after a well-placed kick did it cooperate. “Hey, have you considered buying a lotto ticket today?”
Liliana’s proposition surprised the brunette. “Huh? Me?” she asked, taken aback. “Oh, yes, thanks a lot!” After receiving the granola bar, she admitted the truth. “Makes up for my losing my snack money! Man will always be superior to machines.”

A shrug. "It happens" replied Alessa, with a hint of embarrassment, while scratching the back of her head. "Fate won't always have pity on me, so I'll have to be more careful!"
She listened to Lily's tale with great interest, waiting for the conclusion before taking a bite out of her bar. "You mean it wasn't just me? Yeah, they must have kicked out the slow ones and those who were taking too long. So that they wouldn't find secret devices or something." Her eyes looked up, typically daydreaming out loud. "Maybe they changed the rooms as we went and they planned us to go back? That was a small building, after all. They must have added props, or more actors, or there were other participants and they were afraid we'd spoil the rest for them, or..."
Her dark eyes drifted back towards the other girl. "Hey! By the way, I didn't catch your name. Mine's Alessa, Alessa David." Her short introduction done, she took another bite out of her free granola bar. Her personal rule: if it's free, it's extra tasty.