This is insane, he said aloud.

Come on, Ralph said, pulling him by the collar. Lets get a seat quickly or well have to wait for the next table.

Oliver was tugged along to the column just as the next communal table rose up through a hole in the ground and clicked into place. Kids dashed into seats around him. At the same time Ralph shoved him down into one of the chairs.

Clip in, he said.

Oliver scrambled to find his straps. It was very fiddly trying to get them to click in place, and the other seats were filling up with kids fast.

Just at the last second, Oliver managed to get his buckle fastened. Then suddenly he was shooting upward.

Oliver gripped the side of the table to steady himself. He made the mistake of looking down and, through the glass tabletop, saw his legs dangling above the ground, which was shrinking rapidly out of sight.

Then the table stopped abruptly. Olivers stomach flipped from the sudden sensation of deceleration.

All right? Ralph asked.

I think so, Oliver replied, blowing his messy hair from his eyes.

The sound of mechanical whirring caught Olivers attention and he looked around as hundreds of different-colored tubes moved toward the table. With a whoosh, different plates started flying before him; bowls of fuchsia pink rice, plates of rainbow-colored hamburgers, a dish filled with sparkly broccoli.

What the… Oliver muttered.

He looked over at Ralph, who was busy selecting dishes, licking his lips greedily. He already had three plates; a sausage roll with marble pastry, curly alphabet fries, and veggies shaped like dinosaurs. Oliver quickly grabbed the next dish that came his way. He was pleasantly relieved to see it was a standard slice of pepperoni pizza. He took a greedy bite. It was excellent.

As the initial burst of intensity subsided, Oliver got a chance to look at the others sitting at the table with him for the first time; a girl with two neat braids coiled on her head, the color of butterscotch, a dark-skinned boy with a short curly Afro, and a very pale boy with wide-set blue eyes and hair so fair it was nearly silver.

Youre new, the girl said when their eyes met. Hers were gray, turned a little down at the edges in a way that made her look slightly mournful.

How can you tell? Oliver asked.

You look startled, she teased. Thats how everyone looks when they first see the dining hall. Plus, youve only selected one thing.

Oliver looked at her own choices: blue mashed potatoes, red peas, and a huge sausage in the shape of an airplane. Her drink looked like an Oreo milkshake. Oliver licked his lips.

Thats Hazel, Ralph said, gesturing to the girl. This is Oliver, the boy Professor Amethyst sent me to collect.

Hazel slid her milkshake across to him. Here. I saw you looking. Youve got to be fast sometimes in order to get what you want.