After we saw the lap pool, which had four lanes, we finally made our way back to the bunk room. Callie was going on about what she and Athimi were preparing for dinner tonight. Some kind of pasta with sauce, from what I gathered. We walked back into the bunk room. Athimi and Morri were deep in a card game.
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“Athimi, are you ready to go make dinner?” Callie asked. “Gimme a minute to finish this game, then yeah,” Athimi replied, not taking his eyes off the table. I watched for a moment as Athimi and Morri finished their game, ending when Morri won. Callie and Amithi left the bunk room without another word. “So…” I said awkwardly. “What is your favourite pasta shape?”180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBxEvuUbbHh
Morri led me to the kitchen, where the smell of tomatoes were wafting out the door. Music was also coming from inside. “Hi, Morri! Hi, Elias!” Callie said. She was stirring a pot of sauce on the stove. Athimi was standing next to a counter, mixing up a salad. A small speaker was on the table. Upbeat, pop music was blasting out of it. “Could we turn off the ear-murder soundwaves?” Morri asked. Callie rolled her eyes while turning off the music. “Thank you!” Athimi exclaimed. “Are you guys almost done? We’re coming up on 6 right about now. Everyone else should be coming in soon,” Morri said. Callie transferred the sauce to a glass bowl and carried it to the table. “Yep! That’s it. We… are… done,” she announced. Athimi put the salad on the table as two people came through the door. I’d never met these people before, and they brushed past me to sit at the table. “Guys, this is Elias,” Athimi said to the two people. They looked up at me from their conversation. Morri and Callie sat at the table, leaving just me and Athimi standing. “Hi,” I said. “Hello, Elias. I’m Nico. This is Grayson. Welcome to the team,” Nico said. “Nice to meet you, Nico.” Nico was wearing a grey shirt and navy blue basketball shorts. It complemented his dark hair and skin. Grayson hadn’t said anything yet, so I took the opportunity to… study him, per say. He had dirty blonde hair that was brushed back, a few strands flopping onto his forehead. His icy blue eyes were wandering the room, and his pale skin looked slightly burned from training in the sun. He was wearing a pair of black cargo pants, a black and white striped t-shirt, and a leather jacket. “You’re not going to come kill me in my sleep, are you, Reaper?” Grayson asked.
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I coiled back from his hostility. He didn’t even know me! How could he make those claims? “I’m kidding, it’s a joke. Welcome to the team, Elias,” he said. I nodded, awkwardly smiling. Grayson needed to work on his definition of a ‘joke’ and ‘kidding’. “No, really. I wasn’t trying to start anything,” he continued, taking note of my expression. “Gray didn’t mean anything by it, honestly. It was a stupid comment, but he sees that now,” Nico said. “Okay. It’s… it’s okay,” I said, sitting at the table. “Hey, are Arlo and Ember coming? It’s five past six,” Callie commented, sitting as well. I didn’t know who these people were, but there were still four empty seats. One side was full, and two of the other sides had one person on each. Grayson and Nico, Callie, and me. Athimi sat next to Callie, and Morri sat next to me. “Ember wasn’t feeling great, so Arlo’s staying with her. They said to not wait,” Nico said. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Grayson, though. I didn’t know what to make of him, and that was a strange idea to me. I prided myself on being able to see people for who they are, not who they portray to the world. But him… he didn’t seem to be trying to hide anything. Which meant he was hiding everything, very well. Everyone had secrets. I made it my mission to figure out his.
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Callie started serving the pasta. “We made spaghetti, with meatballs and marinara sauce. And a salad, and some cookies for dessert.” It looked pretty good. “Oh, and I’ve got some chickpea pasta and plain red sauce, for our gluten-free, vegetarian friend, Grayson,” Athimi announced, grabbing a smaller bowl from the counter. Grayson grinned. “Thank you!” he said as Athimi passed him the bowl. Once everyone had filled their plates, we started to eat. The pasta was perfectly cooked, and the meatballs were really good. It reminded me of the meals Mariah would make back home. She made great pasta. A half hour later, we were finishing up our meal. Almost everyone was done eating. Callie brought over a plate of chocolate chip cookies. They were soft and slightly warm, like they’d just been baked. Well, they had been. Callie baked them an hour or two ago. When I finished my cookie, I looked around the table again. Everyone had finished eating, except for Morri. Half of her plate was still full. She noticed me looking at her and quickly looked away. “When everyone is done, Grayson and Nico, you two can start clean-up,” Morri said, standing from the table. The two of them nodded and started clearing the table. I leaned over to Callie. “What happens now?” I asked. “Well, we’ve got about three hours before lights out, which is at ten. So, you can do whatever you want until then, really.” I grabbed two more cookies from the platter. “Could I bring these to my friend?” Callie looked to Morri for approval. “Go ahead, Elias. We lock the outer door at nine, so be back before then.” I nodded. “Got it. Thanks!” I jogged out to the Main, and then onto the ramp. Juliet would be with either Maggie or Jasmine. I walked down to Maggie’s room and knocked on the door. A moment later, it swung open. “Hey, Elias. Is everything okay?” Maggie asked. “Is Juliet here? Because Callie, this girl on Gold Team, made cookies and I brought Juliet some.” She looked at me weird. “Why don’t you come in, Elias?” I sighed and walked into Maggie’s room180Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtauxQPjQL6
