"Yeah that map is wicked hard to read, I don't even bother. More fun just wandering around making noise until someone finds you, anyway, I think. Did they unpack your shit for you, too?" Erica asked, raising an eyebrow. "They unpacked all mine. Beats doing it myself," she laughed. "A little creepy, but saves me the effort in any case."
Alex had a great smile. Bubbly little thing, Erica thought, and when she smiled it was like nothing in the world was wrong. Erica wondered if she smiled like that... She'd have to give the mirror a great big grin when she got back to her room to see. In any case, it was infectious and Erica grinned back widely. "Awesome! I totally agree. So stupid to sit alone when there's someone else around. Then you're like the loser kid in high school who smells like pee that no one will sit with or something," she laughed.
When Alex asked about the vegan mac and cheese, Erica's face lit up. Fresh meat! "Oh, sweetie..." she said sympathetically. "Vegan is the only way to go. You can eat and eat and eat and you never gain weight because it's all healthy. I'm a vegan, so it's like a more strict vegetarian. Like...okay vegans don't eat anything made from animal biproduct. No meat, no dairy, stuff like that. Because, like, it's so cruel the way those animals are treated...I could go on forever, ugh. I used to work for PETA and I learned a lot of really unsavory things that go on in dairy farms and the whole process of what the animals go through before they get slaughtered for meat? Ugh." She shivered. "I'll never eat that crap again. All it does is clog your arteries anyway, you know? And make you fat. I can't afford to get fat...my body's my money-maker!" she replied.
They'd arrived at the dining room and Erica swept one hand out in front of her as if presenting it to Alex, grinning. "Ta-da, I found it." She laughed and wrinkled her nose. "Fooood...I have the fucking munchies so bad right now, you have no idea," she added with a wide smile, heading toward a table and dragging Alex along with her.