Blank Slates

Chapter 13

Kairo visited again the next morning, and this time, she raised her eyes to look at him and offer a quiet greeting. He appeared to still be in his nightwear, dressed in a baggy grey sweatshirt and matching pants, and his hair was messy as usual. He grinned when he saw her, and her own lips curved into a slight smile, surprising both him and herself.

"Slept well?" he asked, locking the door behind him and making his way over to her. She shrugged, as she had just spent another restless night, but her eyes fell on the items in his hands. In his possession were a plate with toast and a fried egg and something else she couldn't quite discern from where she was sitting.

"Can I sit near you today?" he asked as if they were kids in a lunchroom, pausing slightly in his tracks. She nodded, so he smiled and settled down on the floor across from her. He held the items out and she gingerly took them from him. "Here's your breakfast. I also brought a slate with chalk to write on in case you're bored or something." He voice trailed off near the end as if he was unsure of himself.

She felt a warm feeling swell inside of her, and a smile crept onto her face. She wasn't sure where the feeling was coming from or what it was exactly or why she was feeling that way, but all she knew was that she wanted to hold onto that sensation forever, whatever it was. "Thank you," she said softly, her voice breathy and small.

He grinned back. "Of course. And you have a cute smile. You should show it more often."

She nearly choked on the food she was currently stuffing in her face. She looked over at him wide-eyed and he just laughed. His laugh was a sweet and joyous sound, and it seemed to beckon to her to laugh with him. "You're gonna talk with me this time, right?"

She nodded slowly, wiping excess crumbs from the sides of her mouth and setting the empty plate down beside her. "I...I'll try my best."

"Alrighty, so, how are you feeling today?"

"I'm doing fine. And yourself?"

He leaned back slightly, putting his hands down on the floor behind him and stretching out his legs. "I'm good, thank you. Things have been quiet around here lately."

"What does quiet mean for you?"

"No juicy news of government intel and plans and no field deployment orders. As of now, we're just chilling here and going on the regular scavenging missions."

"Field deployment orders?"

"Yeah. It's like, if they ever need people to take a location or stir up some kind trouble, sometimes we get called in. We never know when we're gonna get them, but we just gotta be ready whenever they come."

"Who gives the order? Do you have a leader?"

He chuckled. "You're asking me the questions, huh?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm sorry. I was merely curious how you all operated. I won't tell anyone, I mean, it's not like I can, but if I could I wouldn't say—"

He clicked his tongue. "Tch, even so, I probably shouldn't tell you that. You need to tell me at least something about you before I say anything else."

She frowned. "Alright...so, what do you want to know?"

He glanced upward briefly and scrunched up his nose as if he was trying to think of a good question. "Hm, well, what was your life like before now?"

"How far do you want me to go back?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I dunno, man. How about your earliest memories? Or is that too far back?"

She fiddled with her fingers. "C-can you promise me something first?"

"I thought you didn't believe in promises."