"Here." 

     Skip handed Parp one of the bowls of kloval left on his tray.

     "That's to pay you back for the one you gave me."

     He gave Parp a second bowl.

     "And that's just for being such a nice guy."

     Parp scooped the kloval out of one of the bowls to shove down his throat. 

     "I'll save the other one for later," Parp said. "Thanks, Skip."

     "You bet."

     "I would have some kloval if some were offered to me," Ges-E said.

     "Of course you can have some." Skip put a bowl on Ges-E's tray. "You've got to tell me your opinion, though, when you're finished."

     "I already know what my opinion of kloval is. I have never tasted, nor will I ever taste, anything better. Thank you, Skip."

     "My pleasure."

     Skip looked up to see that every human at his table now stared at him.

     "So you have anything like lotteries around here?" Skip asked Parp.

      Parp nodded. "The rabble love them," he replied. 

     "That's all I needed to know." To Claudia, Skip said, "You think you can figure out a way to make those security bots think I just won a lottery?'

     "It's already been done."

     "Sweet." Skip's shit eating grin returned as he announced, "This is the happiest day of my life!" To Claudia, he whispered, 'What lottery did I just win, anyway?"

     "The Doro 6 Jackpot."

     "Congratulate me, everybody! I just won the Doro 8 Jackpot!"

     Skip made another mistake there. He said "everybody" rather than every human. 

     Things came at Skip beyond anything he'd ever imagined. 

     Things that flew.

     Things that slithered.

     Skip shook hands, but he also shook tentacles.

​     Most of what Skip heard was some form of "congratulations".

     One being, though, an android-mammal of some kind, rolled up to Skip to clatter and clack and whistle and whir.

     "You have any idea what it's saying?" Skip asked.

     "This one's got me. I'm stumped. Pretend like it's saying congratulations and hope it doesn't blast you into nonexistence."

     Creatures of every size and shape surrounded Skip.

     He'd become the most popular person in the cafeteria.

     "Happy now?" Claudia asked.

END OF CHAPTER FIVE

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