[ Maple has brought some food - real food, not just snacks. Red chicken curry, pork vindaloo, and a vegetarian misal, just in case somebody objects to eating meat.

What a nice gesture, you might think! Unless you can recognize that these are some of the spiciest dishes offered in a spice-loving, heat-embracing culture. And while she's put out some paper plates (stolen from the faculty lounge) she's offering nothing to help soothe the spice burns these foods are gonna be leaving. ]

All right, my friends! My good, good friends of the theater! I've brought the refreshments!

Ah, but Fakir has to have the first taste. As an apology for what happened earlier.